Conference ideas
As some of you know, for the past couple of months I’ve been kicking around in my head ideas for a new conference to be held here in Atlanta. Last night I finally got around to having an extended brainstorming session and fleshing out some of the germinating ideas (thanks to Rusty for helping with this process) and I wanted to go ahead and let everyone know what I’m thinking of. I was going to try to organize all of this into nice, grammatically-correct paragraphs; but then I decided, no, I’ll give you the straight-up stream of consciousness post I typed last night. So without further ado, I give you…
Random disjointed ideas for a feminism/social media/sexuality conference.
In light of some of the 101-and-below level conversations that go on at other social media conferences, and all the amazing, awesome stuff women are doing online that isn’t getting enough offline (positive) attention – We need a new conference.
Tracks:
- media
- education
- business
- hippie shit (personal growth, self expression, self acceptance, community building, etc.)
Goal:
- How can we support one another and give back to the larger community?
- Providing education
- Raising awareness
- Mobilizing for social/political activism
Web filling the gap left by US government (and other countries’ governments) mandating abstinence-only education and/or taking a “moral” approach to sex education. Example: Scarleteen. How to support these kinds of sites/projects and help reach more people? Is it limited to just teens when we talk about the education aspect? How can we leverage the power we have thanks to the Web to reach people who don’t have Web access or have limited access?
Analogy comparing the above to new media filling the gaps left by traditional media (e.g., local coverage – “hyperlocal”).
Topic likely to spur lots of debate and discussion: The Web empowers women to start and run their own businesses and do it on their own terms, owning the production and the presentation. E.g., cam girls, porn sites run by women, etc. (Dacia’s book Naked on the Internet also offers some examples.) This could cause debate bc some people still see it as exploitation simply bc there is “selling sex” involved (also a debatable terminology).
Positive: new media in general tends to cut out the middle man, for better or for worse – in this case better, e.g., cutting out skeevy porn makers who treat the workers like shit. -Or is this only an illusion and the reality doesn’t support it most of the time? Need to hear people’s diverse personal experiences.
People might start debating the merits of capitalism vs. other social systems and the question Octogalore raised, should women be benefiting from capitalism in this way if possible? (I think yes but it’s open for debate.) Plus, in some ways this is like socialism in that it puts the means of production in the hands of the workers – so I’m not saying I’ve just got a total gung-ho “yay capitalism, boo socialism” attitude.
Name:
Need a good name that conveys it’s women-centered but not some earth mother moon juice BS; feminist and sex-positive. Men are welcome bc part of the focus is sexuality and the internet, and we want to hear men’s stories and experiences as well – how has this been freeing for them, for example. But it’s not centered around men; like BlogHer with more sex. And of course, the experience should not be like a “walking into an Inserection” version of sex. Should be much more like Babeland!
Would you come to such a conference? Add your thoughts! This should be community-driven.
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Take Back the Blog! post coming later today. We’re going to hit the Inman Park Festival this afternoon, so it might not be until after that.
Also, re: “middlemen” … are there still cases when it’s good to have middleman/filter? Example: teachers in schools. Are kids just going to teach themselves?
amber, i love the idea. and it may be just because i haven’t had my first cup of coffee yet, but i like the name “Running with scissors, Online without clothes, Women 2.0″ It even rhymes. Could even be Women 3.0…. for the 3rd wave and all.
This was the definition for running with scissors on urban dictionary “Doing things your own way putting convention to the side”, I quite like.
You fucking kick ass, woman! :-) I love this idea.
To me the “mobilizing for social/political activism” piece is key for conferences. While I love the social and networking aspects of big meetings, I’m always annoyed if there isn’t some sort of action plan to take away. But that’s probably just me and my activist soul. :-)
Though obviously, if done well, any topic/theme can commence with an action plan. It’s just all political in my head…
Sounds like my kind of conferecnce! Sign me up!
The first question that comes to mind when thinking about this dialogue; you mentioned the gap left by government and the web filling that gap, how does mainstream/pop culture fit into the mix? Especially when it comes to youth? Does it broaden the gap? Is this where the opportunity for better education comes in?
Actually, I’m experiencing a flood of questions and directions these different themes can go. Yeah. This is a dialogue I’m really aching for.
“Y0u hav3 my sw0rd!” “And m1n3 ax3! *ahem* Sorry. Slipped.
Re Rusty’s comment about middlemen/teachers/filters – when is it time to toss them? Surely you don’t think that the only learning happens in schools? I don’t know what kind of education you received and where, but I found most teachers more of a hindrance than a help. That’s one reason I homeschooled my daughter ’til she asked to go to high school. She’s finding the same thing to be true now, despite the fact that she attends a far more liberal school than I ever dreamed of.
Happily, she’s Scarleteen-familiar and has spread word of it and other resources to her peers. The information they get from her, or from sources SHE recommends, is given far greater weight than it would if it were tainted by association with an oldster like me. The middlemen would kill the process.
Amber, the conference sounds great. I look forward to hearing more about it as your ideas gel!
Cyn
Cyn,
Re: “Surely you don’t think that the only learning happens in schools?”
Not sure where I might have implied that.
All I’m asking is when, where and how are filters appropriate, and when aren’t they? When should the goal be to eliminate them, and when should it be to preserve them? Those aren’t questions that necessarily have right or wrong answers or that have answers that could be applied blanketly.
Amber,
This is a terrific idea. Count me in.
[...] quick post about my burgeoning conference idea: What would be a good [...]
I’m in Australia so any input I have is purely theoretical, but here goes.
At present the goals stated are a bit nebulous. Forgive me for asking the selfish question: what’s in it for me? If you want women to take the time (and spend money) to attend the conference, what are the benefits of doing so? Is it just a big discussion group that exists to define what women are doing with the web or is there more to it than that? Is it a way to create a network of sex-positive people? Is it a way to educate women about new technology and new trends? Is it a way to help women with their online businesses?
I agree with JT that an action plan is helpful.
My vague thoughts here are that it would help if you had a definite business strand to your conference. Maybe this is because I’m used to porn industry conferences where there are roundtables and discussions about business issues, and often there’s the promise of learning something new. Networking with other women is of course vital.
I had a bunch of stuff typed out but I just deleted it. Maybe because I suspect I have a different idea of what a conference should be about.
You talked about capitalism… I work on the web to earn my living. That doesn’t mean I don’t have feminist ideals, or pro-sex ideals, but it’s a big part of why I do what I do. So my thoughts are coloured by that. If I did live in the US, I think I would want to attend a conference that could help me learn something, help me network, and – ultimately – help me to improve my business. It would be a bonus to participate in community based stuff on top of that, but that alone wouldn’t be an incentive to get me into some decent clothes and out of my office.
OK. I’m going to post this comment even though it’s a bit meandering and vague.
You’re right that the goals at the moment are nebulous. Which is exactly why I’m asking for feedback, thoughts, and ideas.
As for spending money – ideally I would like it to be free. This is very doable – I just organized PodCamp Atlanta, a free unconference, on a fairly small budget. Yes, people would have to pay for travel and lodging if they are coming from out of town, but it sure beats dropping a few hundred bucks for a conference fee.
Roundtables, networking, learning – absolutely. I can’t imagine a conference not having those components!
Love the idea, Amber.
I’m very rushed right now because May is very hectic for me, but I will be at Blogher. I’ll also write Susan Mernit.
One thing to consider. A bunch of us felt comfortable presenting at Dark Odyssey because there were no cameras or recording equipment.
Although I will be at Blogher, there will be no official events for the sex bloggers, because I personally am unwilling to out myself. I plan on organizing a private event for the sex bloggers.
Are you coming to NY for any of Audacia’s readings?
Yep, looks like my porny background made me make a few assumptions about what a conference actually is LOL. Sorry about that.
[...] thoughts on the conference [...]
amber, let’s connect….this is interesting….and I am working with the blogher organizers on some events..and with viviane…
[...] I’m exhausted and swear I’ll never organize another conference – and yet, I dream up the idea of Sex 2.0 and decide to try to make it really happen. In honor of my 5th blog birthday I’ve moved my [...]