FutureMidwest starts tomorrow (although there are a lot of great events happening all week):
FutureMidwest is the region’s largest two-day technology and knowledge conference taking place in Royal Oak, Mich. April 16 – 17, 2010. Founded by Adrian Pittman, Jordan Wolfe and Zach Lipson, FutureMidwest is the fusion of two successful conferences held in Michigan in 2009 – the Module Midwest Digital Conference and TechNow.
I’ve been to a lot of conferences – some great – some not so much. And the bar is set really high for my expectations of this weekend. I know I will meet a lot of great people and do some valuable networking. I’m sure there will be some great conversations and this event is part of our energized rebuilding of Detroit & Michigan. But my hopes – for better or worse – are for even higher levels of achievement.
I’m hoping for someone (speaker, attendee, whoever) to really challenge my thinking and opinions about some topic. Conferences need to be about more than hearing rock-star speakers or great networking. They need to energize the community with new thoughts and ideas. They need to get us all thinking in new ways so we can grow and create.
Much of the conversation in the social media and digital community seems to have gotten a bit stale. I feel like we’re in a big echo-chamber right now with the same ideas bouncing around. I want to hear something new or a radically new way to think about something. I want something to really get my brain going. Is that too much to ask?
(As an aside – am I the only one that’s reminded of the dogcow by FutureMidwest’s logo?)
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I said it on FB but for the record I'll say it here, too: I'm so right there with ya. My big concern is that the speakers only get 20 minutes max to present, and I know there are at least a few that I would love to hear for much longer. See ya there!
I hear what you mean about the big echo chamber. Twitter's retweet seems to be a driving force when it comes to the echo. I'll be watching via Twitter before work, so hopefully I'll see some interesting thoughts in the stream as people communicate what they're learning.
Also thought it was a bit odd that the speakers only get 20 mins; For some, I'm sure they'll just be getting started.
**Long Live Clarus!**
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