Attending UnConferences: Will Companies Pay for their Employees to Go?

Yesterday, I got an email from my friend, Rick Bruner, who runs a group blog focused on business blogging called BusinessBlogConsulting.com. He asked me if I would post to it weekly. I took him up on his offer immediately.

I wrote a piece about UnConferences called “UnConferences: A Waste of Time and Money?”. When you have a minute, you might want to check it out.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, UnConferences, you can read about them on Dave Winer’s blog, as he was the one who has been promoting the idea.

In short, at an UnConference, you don’t have a set agenda. You don’t have speakers or experts. You don’t have vendors or sponsors. The event gets planned out when the UnConference begins and proceeds from there.

I wrote the piece in response to another post on BusinessBlogConsulting.com promoting BlogOrlando, which will be an UnConference.

When I saw that, I tried to imagine an employee seeking permission from his boss to cover the expenses to attend the UnConference:

Bourland: Ms. Walker, if you have a few minutes, I’d like to discuss my possibly attending the BlogOrlando UnConference coming up next month.

Walker: What’s it about?

Bourland: Blogging, ma’am?

Walker: Blogging? What’s on the agenda for this event?

Bourland: No agenda at this point, Ms. Walker. We would set that when we arrive.

Walker: No agenda? Are there any speakers lined up? Any industry experts I might know of?

Bourland: I have no idea who will be there. We consider all attendees experts in one aspect or another.

Walker: No agenda. No speakers. No agenda. Where is this event?

Bourland: Orlando

Walker: And for how many days?

Bourland: 2-3 days. Depends if we go to the theme parks or not.

Walker: So you’re wanting me to pay airfare to Orlando, cover your food expenses and have you out of the office for an event that has no agenda, no speakers and no experts, but is roughly based on blogging?

Bourland: I’m sure there’s going to be SOME experts there.

Walker: Let me save you the breath, Bourland. No!

Bourland: But, but…

Walker: Andy, I need to get back to my work. I suggest you do the same.

***

Had many conference promoters not produced vendor driven events with canned sales pitches masquerading as content, we wouldn’t be talking about UnConferences.

Perhaps UnConferences will meet conventional conferences somewhere in the middle and produce well planned, well executed events with current, relevant agendas, qualified industry experts as speakers and panelists, and a reasonable price for attendees.

It’s doable. No doubt about it.