Why Aren't People Going to Local and Regional In-Person Events Anymore?
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Re: Why Aren't People Going to Local and Regional In-Person Events Anymore?
#2Conferences aren't always a great use of our time, but it allowed us a social escape valve, and it seems to me that just isn't the case anymore. 10 years ago, you'd go to a conference and there would be a massive group conversation about it on Twitter. Not just sessions, but people wanting to get together, eat, drink, and be merry. A simple hashtag search pretty much gave you a quick avenue to meet new people. Now that's pretty much dead, probably due to how people use Twitter and social media, but also the backlash toward it and its owner. Nothing has really replaced that, and most potential replacements either lack the network effects or are essentially restricted in access (requiring a signup or invite).
Re: Why Aren't People Going to Local and Regional In-Person Events Anymore?
#3Since covid required/allowed/enabled it, people want to hide out in their houses. They get takeout or delivery and watch streaming and go online instead of getting out in the world as often. We've started down the path to being the Wall-E society.
As someone who likes getting out of the house, I don't understand the why.
Re: Why Aren't People Going to Local and Regional In-Person Events Anymore?
#4[dead]
Re: Why Aren't People Going to Local and Regional In-Person Events Anymore?
#5Conferences aren't always a great use of our time, but it allowed us a social escape valve, and it seems to me that just isn't the case anymore. 10 years ago, you'd go to a conference and there would be a massive group conversation about it on Twitter. Not just sessions, but people wanting to get together, eat, drink, and be merry. A simple hashtag search pretty much gave you a quick avenue to meet new people. Now th…
You're right - Twitter used to generate FOMO amongst those not attending, plus make it easier for attendees to coordinate after-hours events. Both of those factors are diminished.
Re: Why Aren't People Going to Local and Regional In-Person Events Anymore?
#6Since covid required/allowed/enabled it, people want to hide out in their houses. They get takeout or delivery and watch streaming and go online instead of getting out in the world as often. We've started down the path to being the Wall-E society. As someone who likes getting out of the house, I don't understand the why.
On the contrary, COVID led to an increase in outdoor activity
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michellebruton/2023/02/28/outdo...
People are just going to fewer events together, likely due to price and economic factors, but are very much still going out and socializing.
Re: Why Aren't People Going to Local and Regional In-Person Events Anymore?
#7As mentioned in the article, I think the single biggest reason was that Covid largely showed us that it is not strictly necessary to physically be together for everything.
Conferences, announcements, etc all happened virtually and things were largely fine. Sure things like networking were lost (and the associated drinking), and while that was valuable was not necessarily the marketed reason for the events.
We see the same thing outside of the professional space. Video Game conventions for example never really bounced back because the larger companies found out they can do things on their own terms virtually. Those conventions are still happening but they are not the same.
I do sometimes miss the free traveling but I also find it far more convenient (and less of an impact on my life outside of work) to do these things virtually.
Re: Why Aren't People Going to Local and Regional In-Person Events Anymore?
#8I love conferences and talks and wish I could go to them more — what stops me is the sudden drop in corporate sponsorship of them. It’s been nearly impossible to convince leadership to spend money to train their employees or to socialize within their own discipline, and while I’d love to go to conferences, taking time out of my own PTO and my own wallet to see them isn’t worth it.
Re: Why Aren't People Going to Local and Regional In-Person Events Anymore?
#9> I think the biggest value, and the reason I personally get really excited to attend local and regional events, is the ability to have casual, non-rushed discussions outside of the session rooms.
As someone who's been to many meetups and conferences but who's generally unable to partake in "the hallway track" because of a potent cocktail of social anxiety, impostor syndrome and whatever else is going on inside my head, this makes me quite wistful. I feel like I've missed out on so much of what these events had to offer and, as the post posits, that's largely/probably a world that I won't even have the chance to go back to and try again. That all combined with the rapid rise of "AI", "agents", etc. -- none of which interest me at all -- puts me squarely in the _just coast until retirement_ camp but ... I'm not in a position to do that. I'm actually quite concerned about what the future holds and I feel like a lot of the folks in tech who've comfortably kept their heads down are going to be in for a rough transition period over the next few years.
Re: Why Aren't People Going to Local and Regional In-Person Events Anymore?
#10Since covid required/allowed/enabled it, people want to hide out in their houses. They get takeout or delivery and watch streaming and go online instead of getting out in the world as often. We've started down the path to being the Wall-E society. As someone who likes getting out of the house, I don't understand the why.
My take is less "the mindless hordes crave darkness and ennui" and more "the owner class is squeezing the working classes harder than ever, and so those people optimize things to be lower cognitive overhead or less effort, that they otherwise would like to do the slower but more fulfilling way, in an attempt to eke out any semblance of freedom or free time."
Being able to just "get out of the house" implies you're not crushed by just the facts of trying to exist. I'm glad, for your sake, that you don't understand why. But don't mistake your own lack of understanding for there not being a root cause that's not just writing off most people as inherently seeking out isolation.