Here at the RIMS conference in Orlando, there are so few attendees walking through the Exhibit Hall that you can throw a bowling ball down theaisles and never hit anyone! It's discouraging to see so many risk managers staying home this time around–and worse, so counterproductive, since gatherings of professional brainpower like these are more valuable than ever in such tough times.
Indeed, a gathering of experts like this helps everyone realize they are in the same boat, and creates a forum where all can share ideas on how to cope with corporatepressure to cut staff, insurance coverage and loss control budgets without allowing claims to rise.
Of course, many will say the same experience can be recreated online via social networking sites, without having to go to the expense, time or troubleof leaving your office.
But while Web-based interaction is certainly valuable, it merely complements rather than replaces the unique level of trust and sense of comraderiefacilitated byold-fashioned face-to-face communication.
Meetings like the RIMS conference are like family reunions. Even thoughpeople may only see one another once a year, wherever the meeting happens to be held, the lifetime friendships and global support networks that areestablished are priceless–I remain close friends and share valuable insights with colleagues from Germany, Venezuela and Egypt who joined me at a magazine publishing conference at Stanford University a dozen years ago. Such meetings are certainly well worth the investment of one- or two-thousand dollars.
The value of the relationships that are established isin addition towhat attendees can pick up in the various educational sessions at a conference, as well as what they canlearn simply by strolling through the exhibit area, talking with various vendors in a relaxed setting–and even by sharing war stories with folks passing you by or sharing your table at lunch.
I realize I risk sounding like an old fogey here, but Twitter and Facebook are no substitutes forlive events, IMHO. (That's Web lingo for “In My Humble Opinion,” BTW. LOL!)
The word on the street here is that attendance at RIMS is down anywhere from 35 percent to more than 50 percent, depending on who one counts as a legitimate attendee (meaning actual risk managers).
Part of that steep decline is undoubtedly the lousy economy, with travel budgets shredded and fewer people employed to attend such functions. But part is also the fact that fewer people value conference attendance these days, and that is a real shame.
I congratulate those who did find the budget and the good sense to show up at RIMS this year. I doubt they were disappointed, or regretted their decision to attend. Perhaps as a bonus, they were able to more effectively network because there was less traffic, meaning folks weren't squeezed like sardines into the opening reception (which featured a kick-butt U.K. rock band in kilts, including a hard-rocking bag-piper), not to mentionplenty of elbow room in the Exhibit Hall.
What do you folks think? Have live events outlived their usefulness, or are those who stay home missing something special?
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