Orlando gets quite a bit of convention business. It’s an understandable draw. We have world-class attractions, plenty of hotel rooms, the weather is generally accommodating, and there are facilities all of the place. The Orange County Convention Center is one of the ten largest centers in the nation. We get all manner of conventions in Orlando, including the Orlando Comic-Con that’s at the Caribe Royale this weekend.
If a collection of geeks is good for Orlando, why not another collection? I’m trying to decide if that’s what I’ll find if I attend BlogOrlando – an unconference of bloggers at Rollins College on September 22-24. It’s a free event to discuss “blogging, podcasting, public relations, social media, citizen’s journalism and other related topics,” according to the web site.
The idea of a blogger convention within reach appeals to me. BlogHer ’06 just finished recently, and I’ve been reading many of the articles people are writing about it, but I think I’d like something with an implied acceptance of testicle owners. When I first read about BlogOrlando, I thought this could be my opportunity to actually see other people who like to do this stuff.
Then the word “unconference” stuck out. What the hell is an unconference? Why do I need an “un” in front of “conference?” I’ve been to plenty of professional conferences, and I like them. Sure, conference food sucks. They make up for that by offering cool swag, like conference bags.
It seems that an unconference is the uber-geek’s idea of cool for the past few years. Instead of having planned sessions with intelligent speakers (right), the unconference hopes that the attendees will do all the work for them (wrong). My, isn’t this exciting? It’s almost communism in geekdom. Everyone is equal, but the one with the microphone is more equal than others.
In truth, the event is really only one day’s worth of informative sessions. The last two days are set aside for theme parks, and I have no desire to see Disney or Universal Studios (again). The first day is a travel day for people who aren’t local. So the question in my mind – “Is this thing worth taking a vaction day?”
The attendees page shows about 39 people right now, including one woman who doesn’t have a blog yet. Whether this unconference is any good or not is ultimately up to the participants. That thought doesn’t inspire me with confidence. I’ve seen too many open mike sessions ruined by geeks with an affinity for stealing the spotlight, and without regard for the audience’s benefit.
Do I go? Ultimately, I’ll go with my gut feeling. My desire to attend a conference is high, but this just doesn’t feel right to me.