If You Can't Beat Em...
Taking stock of where the events industry has been since last October, it’s hard not to feel a sense of déjà vu
by Rachel Globus | Published in October 2009 event industry | From the Editor | Departments
A couple years ago, a news publisher in my area did something quite unprecedented in journalistic endeavors — it started outsourcing its local reporting to India. This was met, of course, with shock, dismay and a good dose of Chicken Littleism. If local news coverage could be outsourced, what did that mean for the future of journalism? This was just one of a series of blows buffeting the media industry in recent years.
Taking stock of where the events industry has been since last October, it’s hard not to feel a sense of déjà vu. No one can deny that our industry has been fundamentally changed by the most challenging economic environment in recent memory, combined with being a lightning rod for public ambivalence about bailing out financial institutions.
Being at the nexus of two industries facing such historic challenges, it would be easy to feel glum. But I don’t. Every day I’m inspired: a new business model like Spot.us, which “crowdfunds” investigative reporting, or a new way to help people consume information like The Photo Stream, where headlines are rendered solely via images.
Yes, it’s a time of unprecedented challenges. But it’s also a time of unprecedented innovation.
As I planned education for our 2009 Conference, I couldn’t help but appreciate this fact. Everywhere I turn, there’s an exciting new idea — the session by The Virtual Edge Institute’s Michael Doyle on how to expand the event experience by adding virtual and hybrid event strategy to your skill set. Or association planner Jeff Hurt’s session on how the social media revolution will forever change the way we do conferences and events. And many others.
We can’t beat the forces of change. So we might as well join them — wholeheartedly. I hope you’ll do so this March.
About the author: Rachel Globus
Rachel Globus is the former editor and education director for Event Solutions.