Ideation Conference Notes

Charles Lee

It's conference season and I will be on the road at various conferences this week and next.  So expect some live blogging, and reflections.

I was invited to participate in the first inaugural !deation conference hosted by Charles Lee.  It  brought together a rich mix of people working in humanitarian causes, using social media, and creatives. The description:

The !deation Conference is intentionally formatted to create a rich learning and sharing experience. Each element of the conference facilitates a different mode for engaging the content as well as fellow participants. The hope is that these various experiences will lead to inspiration, encouragement, new explorations...

It took place in Long Beach, CA (which has the largest number of Cambodian-Americans in the US).   The format, the physical space, and network weaving activities were extraordinary.   I wish I could have stayed for the whole conference, but alas.

It was great to meet some folks face-to-face that I had connected with online, including Eugene Cho, Amy Carol Wolff, and Lee Fox.   Also great to see old friends like Mark Horvath, who helped run the mic.

The morning was a round of 20 minute keynotes, including me, representing a wide range of perspectives on the issue of NGOs that do humanitarian work.  Many passionate people and stories. 

The main room had a cat walk because of a fashion show from Jedidiah USA later in the evening.   It was the first time I ever gave a talk on a cat walk stage. I spoke about free agent fundraisers and the networked nonprofit.  My slides are here.

Each of the speakers had their photo on black and white silk screen in the area outside the main room and participants could leave you notes and comments. The room had theatre in the round seating with couches and tables that were cafe like.

In the afternoon, I did workshop and put the audience right on the cat walk with me. This workshop was an experiment in the interactive lecture and lots of small groups. My slides are here.

Giving the audience a chance to interact and discuss content in full groups, share pairs, and small groups allowed for some great stories to emerge from the group.  Mark Horvath shared how he searches on Twitter for the words "homeless" and either educates or empowers.  I loved this Five Dollar Bill airplane story.

Marc Payan, the person behind the Twitter ID Imarriage (a domestic violence prevention program) shared that he searches for the phrase, "She said yes" and educates people healthy, happy marriages.

The conference reminded me of Blog Potomac organized by fellow Zoetican Geoff Livingston.  I'm always up for a conference that has been designed to be participatory and offers a creative format.

Comments

[Jason Inman]

Beth,

It was great to finally meet you. I loved the workshop!

@jasoninman

[EugeneCho]

It was great to meet you, Beth. - Eugene

[Jen_chong]

Hi Beth - it was great hearing you speak at the !deation Conference on Monday. I was sorry to not have had the chance to chat with you in person. Me and the team at InVenture Fund would love to connect with you on our start-up!