I had the chance to attend KMWorld & Intranets for the first time this year and found it very different from the other conferences I usually attend.
- First of all - there were a lot fewer laptops around - which was great because the free wireless wasn’t clogged.
- The conference sessions had fewer people in each of them - I’m not sure if it’s because there were fewer people there or because there were more sessions to choose from.
- The presentations were much more corporate based - versus the library related sessions at other conferences.
- There was no blogger badge available - and very little blog coverage that I can find on Technorati.
So, what did I get out of a conference that wasn’t focused on libraries? A TON! I was able to hear how businesses were handling new technology which gives librarians an insight into how to provide better service to their patrons. I also learned a ton about knowledge & knowledge management. So, overall, it was a great conference - not one I’d attend every year, but one I think we should all try and attend once in a while to see how the other half lives.
