Getting honest about problems?
I get press releases all the time about how a conference had record attendance or went over the top in some other way. But I have never, ever, as a journalist or as an attendee, heard of something like this e-mail Cindy at AE on the Verge talks about.
What makes it so striking is that the conference organizers actually admit that some things didn’t go quite right, and they vow to learn from their mistakes and do better next time.
But this really shouldn’t be so unusual. I know it hurts to tell the truth, but just because it goes unacknowledged by the conference organizers, do you really think no one noticed that the shuttles were running way behind, or that the keynote bombed, or any other little glitch? Trust me, we notice. Huge kudos to any organizer who’s big enough to own up, learn, and commit to fixing what was broken.
If perchance anyone reading this has done this and wouldn’t mind sharing their experience, please drop me an e-mail. I would love to hold you up as an example of how to show that you are truly professionals at what you do, and that you respect your attendees and aren’t afraid to show it by treating us like the adults we are.
