Owen, so glad you called out "play for pay" at many scam conferences. Of course, it's much worse in the business world where conferences always have a trade show adjacent. I started and built a software conference for 16 years: happily someone else sold exhibit space, and I was responsible for the speaking program. Through intense bullying, crazed phone calls and creating a rep for holding grudges for at least five years, I actually managed to wring the marketing and selling out of our 70 keynotes, individual presos and panels. People noticed they weren't being sold to in the conference, only on the trade show floor. The just-about-dead separation of church and state once honored so closely in print. It can be done and the business benefits that accrue make up for the cash you didn't get selling speaking slots.
Love the insights. Egocentricity is real and feeding into the "shiny object syndrome".
Shiny objects that have the veneer peel away with breathtaking rapidity.
well said!
More of a wink, I should say!
:)
I so appreciate you calling this out! I’ve always wondered why these scam conferences exist.
me too!
Owen, so glad you called out "play for pay" at many scam conferences. Of course, it's much worse in the business world where conferences always have a trade show adjacent. I started and built a software conference for 16 years: happily someone else sold exhibit space, and I was responsible for the speaking program. Through intense bullying, crazed phone calls and creating a rep for holding grudges for at least five years, I actually managed to wring the marketing and selling out of our 70 keynotes, individual presos and panels. People noticed they weren't being sold to in the conference, only on the trade show floor. The just-about-dead separation of church and state once honored so closely in print. It can be done and the business benefits that accrue make up for the cash you didn't get selling speaking slots.