Every now and then you read a post that just makes you sit back in awe and at the same time despair for the lowly writings that clutter your own blog (like the prior one). Something that’s filled with insight, something that’s well written, something that is worthwhile.
Go read Martin’s post about David Isenberg’s Freedom to Connect conference. He makes so many great points:
We’re on common ground when it comes to “What is ‘the network’ for?”. It’s for people to speak to each other, freely and openly, about anything, in any medium and manner we can imagine.
Anyone going to F2C looking to find someone to make their next deal with, or to discover some hot new technology or investment trend, is likely to be disappointed. It’s really about people who are passionate about human communications and the industries that enable those transmissions. How can you tell if you care enough to be there? Easy, you’ll burn the frequent flyer miles and sleep in a doorway if your boss refuses to fund the trip. And you’ll get out of it exactly as much as the effort you put in to meet interesting people and learn something new.
It was at F2C that I first met Martin a couple years back and I can second everything that he has to say about F2C. I’ve learned so much from people at this conference and half is from the other attendees and the backchannel, not just the scheduled speakers. I’ve never been to anything else quite like it.
I’m working really hard to try to make it to F2C this year, which is Mar 5 and 6 in Silver Spring, MD (just outside of Washington DC). It partially conflicts with a vacation schedule, and it’s going to be tough, but I hope to make it. Maybe I’ll see you there?