Oh I soooo know that feeling ....

Suw Charman's report on WeMedia brought it all rushing back.

As I had feared, it was a complete waste of time. I'm sorry, I'm never normally this critical of a conference - particularly as I know first hand how much damned hard work it takes to put one on - but it was unexpurgated garbage. I had thought it might turn into 'MeTooMedia', but it went one step further than that and became 'TheyMedia'. Instead of progressing the conversation, or even bringing it up to date, the BBC managed to thrust us into a timewarp and take us back at least two, maybe three years.

.....

All in all, the day was very insular and introspective, with a lot of people appearing to think that they are doing very well, thankyouverymuch, without the input of anyone who knows what they're talking about. By the end of the day, I was beyond my usual state of British reserve and just about ready to spit feathers. I'm used to people not getting it, remember - I do this stuff for a living so I have plenty of experience of people talking out of their arse. But this conference brought me to a new level of frustration.

Comments

[Tamsin Hemingray]

Euan - are you referring to the conference you spoke at yesterday? Or am I being cruel? I was in the audience and I would have really liked to come and chat to you afterwards - and in fact, you were sitting in my carriage on the train back to London - but I felt a bit embarassed about the whole thing.

Anyway, I had made a promise to myself that I would check out your blog because what you were talking about blew my mind a bit. So it made me smile to see your latest posting.

I was once a "community" editor at a strange Swedish-invented dotcom called Dobedo. (The premise of that "online community" was so preposterous that I won't even go into it!) I always felt that there was so much further to go with all that stuff, but the company went bust, I got disillusioned (and a load of other boring stuff) and now, 7 years later find myself working in "internal communication" at the Home Office.

But your presentation really opened my eyes to how far things have come since then. I'm desperate for the Home Office to do something brave with its intranet. What you showed from the BBC was how hugely beneficial it can be to an organisation if you TRUST your staff to talk to each other. It amazes me, no actually it ASTOUNDS me, how few organisations have that trust in the people they employ.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that there was at least 1 person in that audience who GOT what it was you were trying to talk to them about. And I feel pretty inspired now. I will certainly be talking to my colleagues - who are currently involved in a huge redevelopment project for the Home Office's intranet - about what you showed us. And I'll be pointing them at your blog.

Cheers,

Tamsin

[Euan]

Hi Tasmin - glad you enjoyed the gig - I certainly did. You should have come up and said "Hi" on the train though with the jet lag I might not have made great company.

Yes there was a degree of complacency in the audience at CiB yesterday and yes it probably has much the same roots as what Suw encountered at the BBC.

Most of the time I shrug it off as people learn at different rates and not everyone gets the stuff we rave about - and nor will it work for everyone - but when complacency is combined with smugness then I am afraid .....