I want to go to the IDEA Conference, which starts in two weeks here in New York.
Conferences generally come in two categories.
- Conferences to meet people who do exactly what you do, and where you learn about how to do what you do better.
- Conferences to meet people you can do business with, and where you learn about how they work and what they need.
IDEA looks different. While it is clearly aimed at people who design interactive experiences (and the lineup of speakers includes more than one card-carrying information architect), the speakers and the program are more specifically designed to spark innovative thinking, to expose and educate participants to interaction worlds they may not be familiar with, and to generate a broad spectrum of ideas from many inspirational and thought-provoking angles.
In short, it’s a conference to inspire you to do something you’ve never done before.
(I didn’t pre-register for this conference since I had already had plans for those days in October, but my schedule has recently changed. What’s more, the organizers are offering a free pass to the blogger whose published desire to attend pleases them the most. I shamelessly hope I am that blogger!)