4 ms·

I feel like it's a bit odd to call these "conferences", given suggestions like: "we found that it adds more value for everyone when we hand-curate the attendee

by akerl_ 8y ago

I feel like it's a bit odd to call these "conferences", given suggestions like: "we found that it adds more value for everyone when we hand-curate the attendee list." The idea of a small group of folks coordinating what is essentially a combination vacation / work trip seems viable, and I can see how it would be productive/enjoyable, but this isn't a "conference" any more than me going out to brunch with a group of my friends and chatting about DevOps is a conference.

chrisseaton 8y ago
What do you think 'conference' means more than a structured meeting of a group of people with a shared interest?
- akerl_ 8y ago
  In my mind, the relevant distinction is that a conference is broader than the "hand-curated list". If you had a conference and only 12 people showed up, I'd still be willing to consider it a conference. But when I ask some friends if they want to meet up after work and talk shop over beers, I'm not organizing a conference. To be clear: literally speaking, "conference" is basically a useless word: it just means folks getting together and talking. Practically speaking, if we're going to use "conference" to mean any time multiple people talk to each other, the word stops being useful for communication, because when it's used it doesn't convey any information.
  - WorldMaker 8y ago
    "Conference" has always meant any formal(-ish) gathering of people talking together. From OED: a formal meeting for discussion. "he gathered all the men around the table for a conference" It's "convention" that denotes "large conference". (OED, again: a large meeting or conference, especially of members of a political party or a particular profession)
    - akerl_ 8y ago
      I specifically noted in my comment that I understand the literal meaning of the word can be applied to basically any group of people who meet. My point is that an article about "How to Host or Attend a Tiny Conference" holds a very different connotation than "they gathered all the people around the table for a conference".
      - WorldMaker 8y ago
        I was agreeing and expounding about the literal meaning and how easily it is to confuse "conference" and "convention". It seems like a lot of people's connotations in the debates here confound "conference" and "convention". The existence of "convention" for meaning "large conference" as size being a key factor would also seem to imply a usefulness in the term "small conference" or "tiny conference". I think the remaining debate is about semantic distinctions in individual connotations eluded to in the "formal" part of the literal definition of "conference". To many here it seems like open enrollment is a formality they expect, though an interesting argument here would be that invite-only is more generally/historically considered the more "formal" in connotation. It's an interesting assumption to question in people's connotations of what "conference" means.
jasode 8y ago
>The idea of a small group of folks coordinating what is essentially a combination vacation / work trip seems viable, [...], but this isn't a "conference" any more than me going out to brunch with a group of my friends and chatting about DevOps is a conference. The idea of a "conference" being a very tiny group of handpicked invitation-only friends to discuss a shared intellectual interest has a long history. The Solvay Conferences[1] being a good example. Ernest Solvay curated the physicists to invite and used his wealth to fund the meetings. There was also some rest & relaxation deliberately woven into those meetings. But yes, this intimate gathering of peers is probably not thought of as a "conference" as much as Apple's WWDC and Microsoft's BUILD conferences. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvay_Conference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvay_Conference
leejo 8y ago
We've been doing this since 2014: http://humanstate.com/winter-developers-conference http://humanstate.com/winter-developers-conference We called it a "conference" in lieu of not thinking of a better word. It's also only for our dev/design team, and we get to ski/snowboard (although that's because our Swiss office is based in a mountain resort...)

by akerl_ 8y ago

chrisseaton 8y ago

What do you think 'conference' means more than a structured meeting of a group of people with a shared interest?

akerl_ 8y ago
In my mind, the relevant distinction is that a conference is broader than the "hand-curated list". If you had a conference and only 12 people showed up, I'd still be willing to consider it a conference. But when I ask some friends if they want to meet up after work and talk shop over beers, I'm not organizing a conference. To be clear: literally speaking, "conference" is basically a useless word: it just means folks getting together and talking. Practically speaking, if we're going to use "conference" to mean any time multiple people talk to each other, the word stops being useful for communication, because when it's used it doesn't convey any information.
- WorldMaker 8y ago
  "Conference" has always meant any formal(-ish) gathering of people talking together. From OED: a formal meeting for discussion. "he gathered all the men around the table for a conference" It's "convention" that denotes "large conference". (OED, again: a large meeting or conference, especially of members of a political party or a particular profession)
  - akerl_ 8y ago
    I specifically noted in my comment that I understand the literal meaning of the word can be applied to basically any group of people who meet. My point is that an article about "How to Host or Attend a Tiny Conference" holds a very different connotation than "they gathered all the people around the table for a conference".
    - WorldMaker 8y ago
      I was agreeing and expounding about the literal meaning and how easily it is to confuse "conference" and "convention". It seems like a lot of people's connotations in the debates here confound "conference" and "convention". The existence of "convention" for meaning "large conference" as size being a key factor would also seem to imply a usefulness in the term "small conference" or "tiny conference". I think the remaining debate is about semantic distinctions in individual connotations eluded to in the "formal" part of the literal definition of "conference". To many here it seems like open enrollment is a formality they expect, though an interesting argument here would be that invite-only is more generally/historically considered the more "formal" in connotation. It's an interesting assumption to question in people's connotations of what "conference" means.

jasode 8y ago

>The idea of a small group of folks coordinating what is essentially a combination vacation / work trip seems viable, [...], but this isn't a "conference" any more than me going out to brunch with a group of my friends and chatting about DevOps is a conference. The idea of a "conference" being a very tiny group of handpicked invitation-only friends to discuss a shared intellectual interest has a long history. The Solvay Conferences[1] being a good example. Ernest Solvay curated the physicists to invite and used his wealth to fund the meetings. There was also some rest & relaxation deliberately woven into those meetings. But yes, this intimate gathering of peers is probably not thought of as a "conference" as much as Apple's WWDC and Microsoft's BUILD conferences. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvay_Conference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvay_Conference

leejo 8y ago

We've been doing this since 2014: http://humanstate.com/winter-developers-conference http://humanstate.com/winter-developers-conference We called it a "conference" in lieu of not thinking of a better word. It's also only for our dev/design team, and we get to ski/snowboard (although that's because our Swiss office is based in a mountain resort...)