Yesterday afternoon, I had the pleasure of Saul Colt’s company over lunch, and we discussed various ways to monetize business and create a community around content. The conversation drifted towards the number of events that are being curated in the city of Toronto. I’d like to talk about how the conversation went and some thoughts that I have on this topic.
Before I go any further, I’d like to give credit to Saul Colt, as it was his insights that formulated the basis for this post.
The Situation in Toronto
A quick glance at the YouSayYeah Calendar for the month of July 2009, and you’ll immediately see what the event landscape in Toronto looks like:
YouSayYeah Calendar - July 2009 Screenshot of Events
It’s enough to make your eyes water. If you filter this list and remove events for movie/music/art/fashion/food lovers, you’re left with 39 events relevant to our industry, be it conferences like FutureRuby, informal social gatherings like TechKaraoke or regular monthly gatherings like Toronto Third Tuesday or Wired Wednesday.
Most of us work 9-5’s and at the end of the day, we’re tired and would like to go home and spend time with our loved ones or pass out on the couch. However, we feel this constant need to connect, share, learn, inspire (or be inspired) and interact. In a sense, we are fulfilling a Maslow-esque need by attending these events and interfacing with fellow industry folks.
But when is it too much? At what point do we say enough? Are we suffering from event fatigue in Toronto?
The problem
The problem lies within the sheer number of events that take place. It’s very difficult for me to attend all these events. Doing so would require commitments that I cannot make, mainly due to time constraints (I have to sleep sometime!) and because of the high financial costs involved (eating out/having a few drinks 5 days a week or more can be costly). I’m sure that there are many of you out there that are thinking along the same wavelength.
With these factors in mind, how does one choose the events that they would like to attend, and keep our significant others happy, stay healthy (lack of sleep can result in severe psychological damage, or worse) and keep money in the bank?
Pick me, pick me!
When it comes to deciding which events I’d like to attend, the first factor I take into consideration is the type of event it is. Is it a conference, a networking session, or are there guest speakers? I like to know what I’m committing to before I register. I wouldn’t want to part with my money (or my time, which is just as valuable as money) if I wasn’t interested in the nature of the event.
Next I look at who’s speaking. Have I seen this person speak before at another event? What are they speaking about? Obviously, I’m going to attend if the person is interesting and their talk is relevant to my function and my interests. I have been known to ignore the former in favor of the latter. One of the reasons why I attended FutureRuby was because of the amazing people that I knew I would get to meet. I am not nearly as well-versed with Ruby on Rails as some of the other attendees, but I did get to meet some fascinating people that weekend and had a great time at the evening events.
I also look at who’s attending. Are my friends going? Are there people going that I can talk to who share my interests? Have I seen them recently? Am I going for purely social reasons, like getting out of the house and interacting with society? Even if I know one person who is attending, I am more likely to attend an event.
Finally, I look at the cost. This is a sticky point, not just for me but for many people. When you pay to attend an event, there has to be a quantifying of the expense. What value are you going to get out of attending? Is it an engaging speaker, a fascinating topic or an audience of attendees that I would like to connect with? Where dollars and cents are involved, there needs to be a derived value that may involve some or all of the above factors. While Wired Wednesday (for example) doesn’t charge for their events, if there was a nominal fee (like $5 or $10) introduced in the future I would gladly pay it. I would do so because of the connections I’ve made while at their events. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some interesting people working at some very interesting startups, some of whom have spoken at previous events.
How do you choose which events you attend? What factors come in to play for you when deciding if you are going to pay to attend an event, or attend those same events in the future (paid or free)?
What keeps you coming back for more?
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