Every year I post about it, so forgive the repetition.

There is a very good way to do a conference that is worth the cost of admission. First, offer good content. Second, don’t use a hotel as a venue. Third, make sure the cost only covers expenses. Fourth, use the internet ans social networking sites to promote it.

This brings us to the Unconference 3.

If I could get away for the weekend of March 6-8, I would go even though I am not a college student. I am hoping to have a similar conference here later this year.

The other bonus of previous UnConferences has been that content is available free online afterwards. I cannot go, but I have enjoyed the content from previous years. What makes this a great conference is more than a break from the traditional content, it’s the thoughtfulness of the content and the prevailing attitude of the conference. It’s the lack of self-importance and the accessibility. I could go on, but I’ll stop here. It’s a great idea that has been long overdue.

In a related event, the ILC in Kiev was availble in realtime by the internet. I mentioned it before, but this is also a great idea when it is financially feasible.

For future events, I would hope to see some other ideas as well:

1. Real-time IM without video.

Not everyone has broadband and transcripts can be preserved for offline reading later.

2. Permanent archival presence.

In other words, if I want the files from Unconference 1 or ILC 2005, they should always be available.

3. Supplemental material added after the conference.

This would be things like outlines, notes, additional material not covered in the presentation, etc.

4. Links to on-going discussion or other sites about a given topic.

Say for example we have Biblical Transformation: How to change from the Unconference 3. On a website with the audio or video, link to a discussion area where folks can share their stories, ideas, and progress. It’s not bad if it is on DTSpace or Facebook, but I’m always going to want more openness – not everyone has an account on DTSpace or Facebook. (I understand, though, that using Facebook has no cost, that factor cannot be ignored.)

5. Additional topics not presented at the event.

In other words, a topic is related, but given by someone that could not attend. It gives the attendees another reason to go to the site.

The key is seeing the conference in a different way. You should not be paying for content. Once a digital copy is on the internet, it costs zero to distribute it. However, there are things at a conference that cannot be distributed on the internet. Going to the conference gives you a host of things that are worth the money.

• Access to the presenter.
• Access to others at the conference.
• Convenient access to books, CDs, or other physical media.
• The experience of tangible fellowship.
• Access to the city where the conference is taking place.

There’s more, but that’s just a few off the top of my head.

Anyway, best of luck to the Unconference 3.