It’s time for conference 2.0. “Scientific conferences are essential both for the exchange of ideas and for networking, but they don’t have to be organized the same way as they were ten years ago,” writes clinical fellow Martin Fenner in his Gobbledygook blog Nature Network. The user-generated phenomenon of Web 2.0 and its interactive nature translates easily into ‘conference 2.0’ in various ways, as described in more detail in the blog post.
Fenner, of Hanover Medical School in Germany, suggests that active participation works best in gatherings of fewer than 150 people and that attendees should have input into the programme; for example, helping to select session topics in an online network created in advance. If organizers allow open reporting and provide free wireless Internet access, the conference experience can be enhanced by ‘microblogging’, in which audience members make notes online simultaneously with a talk. This is especially valuable for those unable to attend, as they can ask questions or provide relevant information in real time.
Nature 455, xi; 25 September 2008.