As in where there are talks, people get to chat with the presenters, hackathons, etc. but not necessarily hands-on hardware demos
We have a big conference every year where I live for the tech industry. It’s hit or miss depending on the person presenting, and it’s usually a miss. Many talks can last over an hour when they could’ve been a much shorter youtube video and are just there to pad time. Also 95% of the people are there for other motives. Looking for investors, trying to get hired, browsing the booths, etc. Despite being very crowded it’s very clear most of the people don’t actually care about the talks and do anything else on their phones.
I think in-person conferences can be great experiences when done right but I really got anything out of it. For all the talks about networking with others they give very little opportunities to do that. When everyone is looking for opportunities from other people it felt almost like a competition to try and talk with companies and important people, and it usually boils down to them asking for my contact info so they can flush it down the toilet. I don’t know, I just have a bad experience with them.
What would your optimal conference (or conference experience) look like?
For me the optimal conference is one where your accommodation is included in the ticket price and in the same building as the conference. Book out an entire resort or cruise ship and encourage people to socialise late at night and/or early in the morning outside of the main conference track.
And with the actual talks, spread them out so there’s plenty of time for attendees to have discussions in between talks.