Digitise or Die?

Today we received an invite to ‘Digitise or Die?’ and wondered whether the title had been dreamt up by a marketing person in search of a cheap thrill or someone serious about moving the digital agenda forward. Yes we have seen the full page adverts on the Bookseller but thought it was the title of the latest high adventure blockbuster. The answer that it is the latest in a series of conference seminars from The Bookseller. It appears that there is now a conference, or debate, on digitisation every month, each is aimed at the same publishing people. In this case; ‘Publishers, digital directors, editors, authors, marketing directors, publicity directors, retailers, digital strategists, digital consultants, agents, digital design agencies, software providers, warehousing and distribution IT specialists, and digital asset managers’.

Will anybody be left in the office on 3rd July?

‘Digitise or Die?’ is at best scare mongering and at worst bad copy. Does it promote digital strategies, inform and educate and share best practice or is it merely there to fill conference seats? Do we now have to resort to a title fit for a fiction best seller in order to differentiate one digital conference from the pack? What will be next, ‘Temple of Digital Doom’, ‘The Digital Conspiracy’, ‘The Digital Eagle has landed’ ? Perhaps we are to blame in using the title ‘Brave New World’?

It interesting to note the agenda which is very wide and covers every conceivable digital angle, that is except death and one mention of the word author. There are some interesting ‘book people’ speakers, with a keynote address from what some may refer to as a digital kleptomaniac and a chance to see not all the ebookreaders, but that one earmarked for a Waterstones launch in the late summer. There is also the usual self prophesying, consumer research. The one gem in the agenda is the presence of David Worlock who is always interesting to hear and has genuine insight and knowledge on digital matters.

Can we remove the fear factor sound bites and focus on the opportunities that digitisation brings to the table.

Packaged Events

Conferences fulfil two needs one networking and meeting peers and secondly to gleam information of what is happening in the market. The need to understand the market and seek examples of best practice and benchmarks is very important when the market or subject is in a changing and volatile state and it is understandable that we see a mass of digital conferences at this time of change.

That silly time has come around again when a certain major conference event’s organisers are requesting presentation submissions for the end of the year. Last year we offered an outline and said it was difficult to give more details 6 months ahead of the date. We were obviously rejected and looked with some amazement as the usual speakers and sponsors secured slots.

Conference organisers should actually do their homework and research the best speakers and topics themselves and not merely scatter seeds around in hope or asks sponsors to subliminally advertise. There are many great stories to be told that sadly remain untold.

The ironic statement is that the conference calling notes even state that these are highly volatile and rapidly changing times and that ‘2008 is proving to be a year of unprecedented uncertainty’ so the logic is that much may have changed in six months!
Other than a high level synopsis of our presentations, we rarely write any detail more than one month before speaking and often it is one week before. Some may say that is too short a period but we like to keep it fresh.

The other conferences we have strong opinions on are those where you are asked to sponsor, are then graded according to the wedge you deposit and are given speaking slots on top. This would not be bad if the delegates were admitted free, or at minimal cost but they then charge the delegates top ticket too.

Money Matters

The naive among us presume when you go to a conference and you pay an entrance ticket you will get independent viewpoints and insights and although there may be some vendor stands that’s all that is paid for. When you read a press release and statement of endorsement from a industry body we assume it was given freely and openly. After all when you go to trade fairs you expect to pay little, if anything, to enter and know that you will be sold to at every opportunity. We all know that when you contribute to a feature article in the press that the advertising editor will place a call asking you to buy ad space. You may say no, but often its not easy.

Perhaps we are of an age that expects or respects independence and are cynical when we don’t receive it. Conferences, fairs, press are never free and are businesses that need to be paid for. Visibility and a voice to project yourself and your services is afterall is what you pay marketing monies to achieve. Tying the two together is logical to any vendor.

All the organisations we have worked for have never paid to buy a speaker slot at a conference. In fact we often feel it is to be valued then it should be the other way round. We remember fondly the ‘Publishing in the 21st Century’ research and conference programme which was effectively free, independent but clearly paid for by the vendor, Vista. It sad to see an industry digital conference today that is getting the 'must go' treatment and offers so much in what it has to say, but where the entrant pays to go, the vendors pay to exhibit and according to their contribution are ‘given’ speaker slots with little if no editorial input and where others vendors merely can buy speaker slots. These conferences are often focused on the very issues that are topical but sadly are often not worth the effort nor the support they are given. The keys to watch for are graded levels of vendor sponsorships, wall to wall vendor stands and speakers and slots clearly managed by the vendors and worst of all an entrance fee.

Personally we will not be spending thousands of pounds to secure a speaking slot, tied or not to a stand, nor paying an industry body to get a supportive quote on a press release. We believe that there are many who seek genuine help through these digital times and we should not be ‘cashing in’ on them or the vendor’s eagerness to sell in the name of clarity.