Click to hear the audio from my Keynote
One thing is for certain, the dynamics of conferences have been unalterably changed with the advent of the Internet and more specifically the emergence of social media tools that enable you to connect anywhere in the world, at any time and in a manner that is both engaging and effective.
Nowhere was this capability better demonstrated than it was at this year’s eWorld Conference in the UK.
Scheduled to deliver a keynote based on my Changing Face of Procurement seminar, circumstances prevented me from attending in person. Problem? Not in this modern age of globalized communication in which tools such as ooVoo, USTREAM Producer and the like put you on location virtually speaking. In fact in many ways, the remote Internet Feed itself added to the presentation providing if you will a unique CNN quality that the audience found appealing as an adjunct to the content being presented.
Click to hear the audio from my Keynote
In the end of course content is still ultimately the driving factor for a successful presentation, however what the eWorld Internet Remote Feed experiment as it was called demonstrated is that a personal presence is not undermined by a physical absence. What this means is that the calibre and diversity of conference content will likely improve, and improve dramatically as both convenience and reduced travel costs will enable event organizers to engage a broader range of speakers without the added burden of conflicting schedules and budgetary restrictions.
As someone who has hosted many roundtable discussions through the PI Window on Business Show on Blog Talk Radio, the next obvious step is a multi-screened broadcast. That’s right, some platforms already support the broadcast of up to 12 individual screens simultaneously meaning that you could for example have instead of just a single presenter’s live image on an overhead, have 4 or 5 participants at the same time from different parts of the world.
Another great advantage of leveraging the new medium services is that besides recording the audio (you can access my Keynote by clicking on the images above), you can also record a video for rebroadcast on Internet TV.
For the eWorld presentation I will be releasing a video version shortly however, and as a means of demonstrating just how powerful a tool a Internet Remote Feed capability can be, the following is an Internet TV interview replete with video clips that I had aired in December 2010 with UK-based public sector expert Colin Cram. You can access the program through the following link: UK Gov Tells Large IT/ERP Vendors That Big Paydays Are Over!
All-in-all, this is an exciting time in the knowledge sharing business as it has never been easier for people to connect and within the context of L.J. Hanifan’s definition of social capital, add significant value to their respective communities of interest.
Stay tuned for conference updates . . .
NOTE: To learn how to produce and promote Internet Radio and Internet TV Shows check out my book “Your Show Will Go Live” @ http://wp.me/PydAP-c3
30
Procurement Insights 
Kelly B. & Cindy A.M (@BuyersMeetPoint)
October 3, 2011
Maybe it is the dynamic speaking skills demanded by the internet radio format Jon Hansen knows so well from his PI Window on Business program, but his remote keynote speech at eWorld makes the case that being physically present is no longer necessary to contribute to a conference. (Besides, who doesn’t speak more eloquently when given the opportunity to secretly present in bunny slippers?) The content is the critical component to any speech, and ‘The Changing (or Changed) Face of Procurement’ does not disappoint.
Jon’s comments on the growing need for procurement to align with the CFO and CIO are in agreement with many of the sources that have covered the same topic recently. One key detail of Jon’s take, however is that procurement needs to step up and make alignment happen by approaching the CFO and asking to know more about their areas of focus so we can proactively find commonalities between our functions. Being the driver of such conversations can be a challenge, particularly if you work in one of the 80% of companies where CFOs don’t believe procurement makes a contribution to competitiveness. I would still prefer that situation to not having any ability to affect the relationship – for better or for worse.
The other interesting component of his speech is the role of the internet and social media. As Jon asked, “How are you leveraging the internet to do what you want to do?” It seems as though having a LinkedIn account is an automatic these days, with some subset of people also using Twitter and/or Facebook for professional purposes. Continuing the idea from above, where each of us can be in the driver’s seat, I have to observe that there are far more onlookers in the discussion forums on LinkedIn than participants. The same contributors get involved again and again. On this subject, I also need to be totally honest in admitting a selfish interest, as the co-owner of one of the communities of interest Jon described in his speech. At Buyers Meeting Point we do our best to work within the time constraints of our peers and to stay on top of topics in a dynamic way that more formal curriculum-based associations are unable to. The more we communicate – whether with each other or with Finance/IT, whether face to face or via video link – the better positioned we will all be to tackle the changes and challenges to come. Maybe the question should not be about the format of the speakers, but increasing the engaged participation of the listeners.
Kelly Barner
Co-owner, Buyers Meeting Point
http://www.buyersmeetingpoint.com
piblogger
October 3, 2011
Thank you for your comment Kelly . . . I just have one very important question; how did you know about my bunny slippers 😉