I wrote this as a comment last year in response to a question about why Medicine X was so magical. I’m elevating it to a post thanks to encouragement from E-patient Dave and because I’d love to hear from other people about how they choose events to attend.
5 criteria I consider when I receive an invitation to a conference:
1) Organizer — is it an individual or an organization? Do I know them? Do they include patients and caregivers in their plans, such as on their program committee? Do I like them — ie, would they pass the “have a beer with them” test? I consider the personality of the event to be a reflection of the host(s). It is my #1 consideration since everything follows from whether I trust the organizer(s).
2) Topic/focus — will I learn something new? Is it important, ie, does it matter? Will I be contributing to something that will move the field forward in an interesting way?
3) Audience — who else will be there? Is it a new group of people? Is it going to be a chance to reconnect with people I already know? Is there a plan for including patients and caregivers, such as travel stipends and scholarships? How many people will attend — small, medium, large, mega?
4) Location (city) — will I need to travel? How many days will I miss, away from my research? How many nights will I miss, away from my family?
5) Location (venue) — architecture matters. What’s the main hall like? How about the break-out rooms? Are people staying “on campus” or will we be spread out across a city?
If I had time, and maybe I’ll make time, I’d create a grid that lists all the conferences I’ve attended in the last 4 years down one side and these criteria across the top. Very few events would receive top marks in all of them (honestly, I’m not sure any of them would), but here are the ones which receive top marks in 4 out of 5:
Stanford Medicine X – Larry Chu – large (300)
Health Foo – O’Reilly + RWJF – small (75)
Stanford Mobile Health – BJ Fogg – medium (150)
Health 2.0 Paris – Denise Silber, Matthew Holt, Indu Subaiya – large
TEDMED San Diego – RWJF Pioneer Group – medium (within a large meeting)
HealthCampDC – Mark Scrimshire and the gang – tiny
Mayo Transform 2010 – David Rosenman – large
Note that none of my favorites were “mega” — that’s just my personal preference. TEDMED at the Kennedy Center is now in the mega category and while it attracts a stellar mix of people, I found myself wandering around alone, missing people I knew were there but never saw. The organizers are trying to create intimate spaces, however, such as around the charging stations, equipped with all kinds of power cords. I met two people who, like me, came to the digital watering hole alone and were happy to strike up a conversation. That’s what I mean when I say “architecture matters.”
What criteria would you add to the list? What is your favorite city or venue? What is your ideal size for a meeting?
And, if you’re interested, here’s where I’ll be in the coming months: Upcoming Events.
Small invite-only workshops or larger conferences at which you are invited to speak and the other speakers are interesting tend to be the best experiences in my, er, experience. Otherwise the ratio of time spent to interesting conversations is just too low to justify the time away from getting the hard work done. I had exactly the same experience you describe between TEDMED D.C. vs. TEDMED San Diego. In San Diego, almost everyone I met sparked fascinating conversations. In D.C., I spent more time on my own and while most of the people I met were perfectly nice, there were few sparks.
That said, sampling conferences that don’t meet these rules, especially when we’re invited or when it happens to be convenient has led to a fascinating set of unexpected encounters that have substantially shaped my path. Sometimes it’s good to chuck logic and just jump in!
I violently agree! When I was invited to my first HealthCamp, I didn’t know what I was getting into or who would be there, but I went for it (primarily because I knew Ted Eytan and Jen McCabe would be there and I’d follow them anywhere).
Your experience with the un-Foo this weekend sounds like another unexpected pleasure (note that Ted Eytan was also involved…hmm…new criterion, maybe?).
Regina Holliday’s post tells the story:
Open Door
Hello Susannah,
I have been meaning to comment on this for a little bit…only a little behind, sorry!
If I may suggest a common theme I am seeing in your criteria, which relates to the Breakfast Club clip I tweeted to you last week, it’s that a meeting “allows us to feel good being bad” – meaning, if a meeting/conference isn’t going to allow us to play around the edges, regardless of the size, then it’s not going to be as valuable to us. That’s the synergy that happens when you and I are together. I remember you once said to me, “there are tree shakers and there are jelly makers.” If we can’t make jelly, what’s the point….
Ted
Nice! The clip Ted mentioned:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86p2jTpDY9o
Apropos of that idea, I attended another HIV-related meeting and yet again was inspired by the frank discussion of love, life, danger, and edges. My summary:
One voice, many inflections: HIV clinical trial communications
As I told the group, they got top marks in most of my criteria, and off the charts when it comes to “work on stuff that matters.” What I didn’t say, and didn’t write in this post, is that I’ve noticed a pattern over the years: the higher the stakes, the better the meeting. Also: the more sexual health is discussed, the more open, funny & honest the meeting will be.
That’s great for people who are established, but I wonder how you would alter the ranking for individuals just entering the healthcare field. It’s easy enough to be choosy when you are a seasoned vet, but for me it’s a bit different.
I tend to allow 1/3 of my conference time to the technology space, specifically to communities that are inclusive and community oriented. This may mean a Hampton Inn in Madison, WI. If that’s where the learning community is, I will follow.
The remainder I have to be fairly choosy. I don’t have an unlimited budget, or time, for that matter. How do I choose between a 10k attendee conference that will pay my way and a 150 person conference that takes time before a major release?
More great points! And thanks so much for making the jump from Twitter. I didn’t fully understand the points you were making and now I think I do.
“Inclusive and community oriented” as a criterion resonates with me. I crave that, particularly since I’m sort of a unicorn within my own office (I’m the only person at Pew Research who focuses on health). Community is why I blog, why I spend time on Twitter, why I immerse myself at conferences when I can.
Since we’re a non-profit, I also have a limited travel and conference budget. There are events I do not attend because of the price tag, plain and simple. I also try to get a mix of people so I meet and reach policymakers, entrepreneurs, patient advocates, clinicians (just to name a few key groups). And I didn’t even mention that my interest and ability to travel waxes and wanes with my research schedule. I’ve been in an intense period of data analysis and writing, so I’ve been extremely limited in what I can make time for.
Friends who are in start-up mode, looking for investors or collaborators, or those who are trying to change the public conversation in a significant way have a different challenge and approach to conferences. But I think some themes are universal when we’re making the choice to take time out from the work we do.
What a great post! Thank you for sharing with those of us who have the same question, but a lot less experience. Good advice ePatient Dave. Also enjoyed the magic of MedX post and look forward to attending your Master Class there this fall.
I’m so glad that you find the post useful — and I’m looking forward to being part of the inaugural Master Class series!
Adding to the criteria you mentioned I think “age” would be another criterium I tend to check with some of the conferences I think of attending. The first Medicine 2.0 or Health 2.0 events were great (and I made great friends there). Later events have been more focused on different audiences, different formats and I notice how I tend to lose interest then, as it seems that value goes down with age going up. Of course this does not go for all events, but I feel that new or young events still profit from an different kind of enthusiasm and willingness to overcome being unknown by going the extra mile for things like surrounding, attending to the community or finding the best speakers. There’s an excellent thread on Quora about whether or not some conferences or events should have an expiration date: http://www.quora.com/Conferences-and-Conventions/Should-conferences-have-an-expiration-date?srid=Csc&share=1
Another is “comfort zone” – I’ve been to too many events that attract some “big name” speakers, some hype topics (say hi to Quantified Self) and then just mix it all up in a rather bland mix. On the other hand: if organizers are willing to go out of their (or their visitors) comfort zone, that spikes my interest. It could be that they give counter-ideas a voice (there is a large need for more discourse about emerging ideas), it might be in how they take care of practical things (beach chairs? having everybody draw their profession on a sticker? unexpected venue?) or whether they are willing to draw in new fields outside of the realm of their audience (architecture speakers on healthcare conferences?)
A large part of decisions I make for conferences are definitely also based on where others go (you mentioned Ted and Jen – who both did/do have a great nose for sniffing out new healthcare related events). This also goes for some of the people who organize things, whatever they do, I’m almost always interested in attending / hearing about it.
In one of the brainstorm about my own events we once defined our favorite audience as the “film festival audience” (open minded, broad interest, willing to sit through thing which might seemingly uninteresting at first sight), but going to a DJ party (valuing curation, love to connect, enjoy a good time). That’s still my main lens through which I’m trying to assess the (audiences of) events I’m thinking of attending.
That Quora thread is excellent, particularly your comment about managing (then shutting down) a great conference series. Sometimes, when I see an announcement about a massive event, I think of the great American philosopher Yogi Berra: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” (OK, don’t be fooled, Berra was a lovable, quotable nut.)
But then again, these events can be wonderful for someone just starting out in a field, as a way to see across the landscape and get a 3-day immersion course in what people are talking about. Here I’m thinking about Lauren’s point: how does the choice shift when you are new vs. a veteran?
I’d add ‘action’ and ‘impact on the world’ as criteria. Some of the conferences I have attended have been full of ‘insights’, ‘lots of big egos’, and lots of ‘talks’ where the audience have a passive role. However, I’ve walked away thinking, 1,000 amazing minds in one location, and yet I don’t see the ‘impact on the world’ from those conversations, or any real ‘action’ as a result. Two of the best conferences I’ve ever attended are Wisdom 2.0 and Open Science Summit, both in Silicon Valley. There were more hugs than handshakes at Wisdom 2.0, and I remember being in a room of 600 attendees, where nobody was tweeting or emailing during the talks. Everyone gave their full attention for every talk. The Open Science Summit was novel, because there was so much creativity and innovation, yet none of the ‘How I am going to profit from this conversation?’ that guides so many encounters in many conferences. When I attended TEDActive, I was focused on attending every talk, rushing from each break to grab a seat in the hall. After 2 days of this, I noticed a small group were ‘connecting’ and ‘sharing stories and dreams’ with other delegates in the coffee area outside the main hall during the talks. When I asked one guy why he wasn’t watching the talks after spending nearly $4,000 on the ticket, he replied, “I can watch the talks online in a month. I won’t be able to talk to this person face to face, when we return to our home countries after the conference.”
The largest conference I attended was the mHealth Summit in 2012, with 4,500 delegates in a hotel that felt larger than my home city of London. The organisers did not provide any way of finding out who the other 4,499 delegates were. That’s right, no attendee list. If you met someone interesting, it was purely by chance. It would be a good idea for every conference to display the attendee list BEFORE you register. Conferences are supposed to be about the exchange of ideas between people, aren’t they?
One of the best conference curators I know is BJ Fogg, whose Mobile Health event was purposely kept to 300 people and held all in one room, with luxurious spans of break time so we could talk with each other. And, to Maarten’s point, BJ sunsetted the event after last year, choosing to hold smaller, more focused events. I wish I lived closer so I could attend some of them!
Bravo, Susannah! This has immense utility for conference-goers.
I curate a comprehensive list of health innovation and life science investor conferences occurring around the globe and am always being asked which ones are the best or right for a particular individual’s needs (I may institute user reviews in the near future). Since your blog post captures some essential points for consideration, I’ve added a link to it so that people looking through the conference list can use your comments as a reference in making decisions about which events to attend.
https://www.wirelesshealthstrategies.com/events.html
I’ve also shared it in my 17,000+ member Digital Health group on LinkedIn.
Best,
Paul
So happy you find it useful — you know that’s my watchword, as it is for you, too. As the comments so far show, there are some universals, but mostly this is a matter of taste and circumstance. I see a role for anonymous reviews (complete honesty) but I also would rather know who was behind the critique or recommendation (I may not share their goals at all).
For some reason that link isn’t working, but this one is:
http://www.wirelesshealthstrategies.com/events.html
Hi Susannah,
My apologies on the url change and not updating my comment or adding a new one on this thread!
I had been needlessly paying GoDaddy for a web commerce-secure site which has ‘https’ in the url. Once I discontinued that the ‘s’ was removed from the url and the link became obsolete. Seems ridiculous to me, but that’s the way it worked.
I actually am launching a new website soon that will have a better looking event list with with tags and categories for such things as location and themes/categories. Here’s a preview: http://storyofdigitalhealth.com/events/
Paul
No worries!! This is turning out to be one of my most popular posts of all time, so I want to keep tending to the helpful links, like your conference list.
Congrats on the new site. It looks fantastic!
Thanks a million! I had help, which made it possible as I’m no web designer (obvious in the ‘old’ site). 🙂
Hi Susannah,
I announced my new website and event list yesterday to my 19,000+ member Digital Health group on LinkedIn. (This is the announcement: http://lnkd.in/jsAdYg)
Here’s the direct link to the new event list (same link I included in our conversation above): http://storyofdigitalhealth.com/events/
I’ve compiled more than 60 conferences, meetups, and other meetings occurring around the globe. I’m pretty sure I’ve captured all of the well known big conferences, but sometimes I miss a few. But, the great thing about this new website list (it’s a pro version of the Timely calendar plugin) is that anyone can submit a relevant digital health, health innovation, life sciences, or consumer health and wellness event. I do have to approve them, of course. Previously, I had a discussion in my group where people would submit events, or they would email me directly. Disintermediation is a good thing!
I’ve also added a slew of event categories, which are helpful in filtering by region or type of event. I’ll be tweaking these a bit as I can also use tags, which I didn’t do at first (except for ‘wearables’).
Lastly, people can add comments to individual events. Here’s an example event, Health 2.0 Fall Conference (I may be going): http://storyofdigitalhealth.com/ai1ec_event/health-2-0-fall-conference/?instance_id=144
Best,
Paul
Here’s an example of a conference tweet that makes me wish I’d been there:
One afternoon of #GET2013 trumped any day of #TEDMED. Pretty good material with a heavy dose of theater.
https://twitter.com/jsonin/status/327569286010912769
GET stands for Genomes Environment Traits and you can check out their site here.
On a sidenote, I ran into Juhan at TEDMED and our 5 minute conversation was a highlight of the day — and then I never saw him again. Note that I don’t mean to pick on TEDMED — I had a wonderful time, saw some incredible talks, reconnected with interesting people — it’s just the most recent event I’ve been to, so it’s fresh in my mind.
Maybe we could also add “depth” as a variable. Nowadays it seems that many conferences can get by on superficial ideas, without much content. I’m seeing much more positive energy from events that do not shy away from digging through more difficult subjects. It also works in selecting another (more dedicated?) audience.
About meeting Junah – a meeting like that does start a (first) digital friendship and can keep going for very long, most likely until you will find some time or place to meet. I think we’ve been connected digitally for more than 5 years now and never met… 🙂
LOL, it’s true! When we do meet, what a chat we’ll have! Like the first time I met Berci — we sat right down on the floor in order to be able to focus and be alone in the crowd for a few minutes.
2008 especially was great! I know crashing in my room after Health 2.0 w/ blisters on my feet and this photo still brings back warm feelings from Medicine 2.0 (featuring Jen, Cisco and Berci – taking by Carlos) http://cl.ly/image/0K0M2e0Y2A0E
Agree in terms of ‘depth’. We have a lot of difficult challenges our societies face in the decades ahead, whether you live in a rich or poor country. It seems the majority of conferences cover topics where the solutions regarding those topics would have the highest chance of getting funding from investors? In terms of audience, are we missing out on great minds that could help us solve these challenges, but are excluded because they can’t afford to attend these conferences?
I asked Juhan how he chooses conferences and he wrote back (on Twitter, so forgive the shorthand):
“Go to where the 6-sigma out there ideas are + outside of the field you live in. The free electrons of the world = best edu
+ getting freaked out, a little fear = fabulous forcing function in learning. Having to look up concepts in realtime= good sign”
I love that idea. Last year I attended a meeting that was way over my head, hosted by clinicians with 20+ years of experience in this subspecialty. I took pages and pages of notes, jotting down acronyms as they flew by, Googling at the breaks. It was exhilarating. My hosts said that my fresh perspective on the issues was useful — they’d invited me for exactly that purpose, to mix things up and introduce new ideas.
I’m going to do more of that this year, if I can.
Kevin Liu posted this on the Upcoming Events page, but I’m moving it here in case anyone has advice for him:
“I really like the ponits you made in the previous blog article .Since i am on the conference team of UBM ,when deal with clients ,now i really feel those top four points are curcial like organsizer ,content candidate they are going to meet ,benefits by attending and locations ,etc .However ,how to convey these ideas efficiently in a few miniutes or how to hold clients attentuion is really my concern .I have been trying for a few days ,i really need some tips from you if you think you have .Because i really did not do a good job ,so if you could help ,i couldn’t thank you more .Looking forward to your reply !”
Hello Susannah. I remember this post when it went up originally. I love the questions you pose. And personally I love a conference that has a mix of comfort and new frontiers – some people I know, many I don’t, some new kinds of activities within the event itself. When I organize an event, the idea is not to fall back on the safe speakers and topics but to dig out those new people and or new topics that will really interest the participants. I also love bringing together — all of healthcare’s stakeholders – silos are in my opinion, the reason why we haven’t gotten further faster in digital health. –And bringing together people from different countries; participants are always fascinated to find that others have the same problems and yet are using different approaches — meaning that maybe they too can try something different…And, as you know, I love giving big roles in digital health to patients and the HCP from the field…the crux of the system. Sorry you can’t make it to Paris Doctors 2.0 & You this time, where you’d see that we are very much in the style of the conference you love, MedicineX, although different of course!
Thank you, Denise! My younger son loves to ask people what their desired superpower is and I never waiver: To be able to be in two places at once. It would solve so many problems, like the personal conflict that is keeping me stateside when I would very much like to be with you, in Paris. Second choice superpower: to heal.
I do love Medicine X, but there are many events and conferences I adore equally. Remember that small meeting where we met in Berlin? That was a highlight. And I grab at any chance I get to be part of the Health 2.0 community, East Coast, West Coast, or abroad — I think Matthew and Indu outdo themselves with every cycle.
There are so many more conferences now than 10 years ago — but then again, there are so many more people to reach!
I may add “it’s a flipped conference” to my criteria after reading this post by Eric Schnell, a medical librarian:
Flipping the MLA Conference
OMG, “flipping” puts a name on something I’ve been hungering to do. (All, if you didn’t read that post in the last comment, go do it.) I’d heard some rustling about it being done in classrooms, and it resonated because I’ve been hungering to have audiences SHOW UP PREPARED so our face time can be about “What next???”
I’m gonna explore this.
Great to see your Mayo Clinic Transform Symposium speech from 2010 on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xFhPxLNSD8
And would be great to see/*see* you at Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation Transform Symposium this September. Which is being offered as an in-person event, full of workshops, networking opportunities and activities. As well as a live-stream of the main stage presentations!
Here is the schedule; http://www.mayo.edu/transform/schedule
Thanks for your mention of TXFM! Please feel free to reach out – would be great to have you as a part of TXFM in some way!
Thanks so much. Once again you’ve put together a fantastic line-up of speakers!
Thanks so much! MCCFI would be happy to give you a virtual pass to view the main stage presenters! It’d be great to hear your thoughts on the ideas exchanged during and after the event!
Feel free to email me for details hayhow.maria@mayo.edu
Thanks!
An excellent addition to our ongoing conversation:
How to decide on attending a conference, by Andre Blackman
Key questions:
How much will it cost? (Not just money, but time)
What will you be doing there? (Speaking, networking?)
How will it align with your body of work + expertise? (Think about possible tangible results.)
HUGELY important for patient voices who are asked to donate their time, too. I feel another Speaker Academy post coming on.
It’s hard to add value to an already-great comment thread but there is a criteria I’m using for conferences as well as companies I’m willing to spend time with. As much as possible, I try to suss out whether the conference organizer and attendees view health & healthcare as
a)a huge industry to be monetized and figure out how we can grow spending even more
OR
b)perhaps the most important long-term foundation/asset for individuals, organizations and a country and that we can realize much greater value given what we’re investing
If it’s “b”, one tends to find fascinating people and ideas with individuals who understand that oftentimes less is more. I believe it can be compatible to be a capitalist AND create products and services that have deflationary effects while achieving the Quadruple Aim. [Side note: “Solutions” to what ails are system will be sustainable if we remember the 4th aim — https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/square-deal-clinicians-quadruple-aim-dave-chase%5D
Chase, let me know what events YOU’RE going to, and I’ll try to get myself there 🙂
You got it, Dave!
I compiled this list of conferences that cover topics in the behavioral sciences (and are categorized further on domain and whether they are more suited to industry or academia)
Enjoy!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VnqHr0bt-kl_cawGyoRfKM5iNmz4gYqgUtwAlSklbf4/edit?usp=sharing
Best,
Aline