Hi Alan. I like many of the observations in the responses to your Monday Connect: What Works for the Most Vibrant Experiences in a Hybrid Conferene Format post. Especially the goal to create a unified experience. Not an in-person conference with some virtual offerings, not two separate conferences, but a truly blended experience.
And as @toddconaway and others note the secret sauce seems largely about enabling conversations. I think there could be a lot gained by focusing on enabling conversations as the key goal for hybrid.
I’d like to see an emphasis on conversations that intermingle all participants, in the hallway, over lunches and drinks. I’d like to see ongoing Q&A conversation opportunities with presenters before and after their session for the duration of the conference. I’d like to see a live Zoom room open 24/7 for in-person and online conversation. The room should be hosted with volunteer moderators present at all times. A schedule for this room where participants can indicate the days/times they intend to be present or request a meeting with someone (presenter, OEGlobal person, attendee, …). A place where people can suggest a topic for conversation and others can express interest in participating. Opportunities for groups of participants to have a breakout where they can have small group conversation. Opportunities for social meetups to simply catch up with particular people or be introduced to new people.
I know timezones make synchronous conversations challenging but I’d place an emphasis on this over aysnchronous. Having a conversation space open 24/7 would help a lot.
I like @Downes story of real time daily commentary of a conference. I’d prefer though to see a sort of coverage and analysis done by multiple people rather than just one. I can imagine different people covering themes of the conference. Someone for each of:
- Hacking the Open Ecosystem and Praxis for the Public Good
- Innovating Open Content to Democratize Knowledge
- Catalyzing Human Connection, Creativity, and Curiosity to Thrive
- (Re)Inventing Our Shared Global Vision Together
- Exploring Emergent Technologies and the Future of Openness
Or alternatively people covering particular topics of interest:
- Open Education and AI
- Translation
- Accessibility
- Stewardship
- …
I myself will be participating virtually and volunteer to be part of whatever hybrid form the conference takes. Look forward to seeing what emerges.
Paul