What makes you humble? When out of 15 people interested in your 7 pm session at Web 2.0 expo NY only 1 shows up!
It was titled How Much is Too Much? Where is the Value in Attending Conferences? Another session next to mine (out of 4 altogether) had the same turnout.
Signage for the sessions was lacking and the rooms where not ready at 6:30pm.
Was the topic worthy?
When 7pm comes around at any of these big events, people are tired, thirsty, not to mention hungry.
Nokia was hosting a party at its New York flagship store at the same time with food and drinks.
Good food and drinks might be way to go at that time.
I put the accent on good food because the 4 to 6pm happy hour at the expo was lacking in its food offerings.
Food fuels your brain.
Many people who attended the last Le Web in Paris told me they were amazed by all the great food served there. The fifth edition of Le Web takes place on December 9/10, 2008 with Paulo Coelho as keynote speaker.
On the positive side, during the free shuttle bus ride from Javits Center to the Hudson Hotel (the sessions where taking place there) I had a good conversation with someone from the UK contingent and added a new contact this way.
I did get a chance to take a look at the Hudson Hotel.
Definitely a trendy place.
You would not guess that the door is the door, I thought it was the employee entrance.
The outdoors bar-patio is real nice with plants and brick walls.
As for the girls-servers in teaser outfits not sure what to think of it.
With drinks under $16 it is not for the Consumed to Thrifty crowd.
The place is hard to navigate when you are not familiar with it.
Also on the plus side, I had a chance to strike good conversations with 2 more people while there.
We will see what comes out of it.
To conclude, I did not feel like I wasted my time.
There are lessons to be learned from every experience.
Related: Being ‘Consumed’…More than Money…Time to hit the ‘Pause’ button?