Yesterday, speaker notifications -- and session rejections -- for Lotusphere 2010 were sent out. Congratulations to those selected to speak -- we are honored to have you on our stages. Apologies to those who were not -- thank you for taking the time to submit a proposal.
I was surprised for the second year in a row that social media provided the tools to amplify disappointment coming out of those who were not selected to speak. Tweets, blog posts, and comments showed that there was a bit of an undertow to the whole thing. I was especially surprised to see IBMers take their complaints public, but hey, we're all human.
A very blunt comment left on the Lotusphere blog put some people, including my colleagues on the track management team, a bit on the defensive. Before the whole process started, I wrote a blog entry that received a fair bit of criticism, where I outlined some of the factors that go into choosing Lotusphere sessions. It's not just about the 75 words you submit, nor should it be -- there are many dimensions considered, and we've been pretty transparent about what they are.
Andrew Pollack wrote an excellent response this morning, and it's worth quoting:
If you're a complete unknown in terms of the speaking "circuit" then your abstract probably has to be pretty exceptional or your content somehow unique. Is that wrong? When the track managers go through hundreds of submitted ideas and start selecting from similar session descriptions, should they favor one from someone nobody has ever seen present or a very similar topic by someone who has gotten top scores and filled rooms year after year? Speakers get dropped from the schedule too. Speakers who fail to produce high marks don't get asked back. Speakers who fail to meet presentation deadlines, show up late, or cause problems for track managers aren't likely to get asked back. A track manager is swamped during an event like this and needs a stable of speakers that are proven, reliable, and low-maintenance.
This isn't the end of the road, of course. For the third year, we are hosting Lotusphere Idol! This is a session where you can audition for a speaking slot at Lotusphere, and have some fun in the process. We received a few Idol! abstract proposals already, but I will be opening that back up in the coming days for those of you whose sessions were rejected but still want a shot at a Lotusphere stage. Thing is, though, it means you have to already be coming to Lotusphere. Which gets to one of the points that Andrew (and others) have made -- Lotusphere is the "big show" in our community and industry. We want the best and proven talent. Sometimes that means veterans, sometimes that encourages new voices. Idol! is a great way to become a new voice.
At any rate, now we get to the serious work of presentation creation, speaker practice runs, and a little magic. As for me, I have been selected to speak at Lotusphere 2010 -- in a session you will help create. More about that in my next post.
Post a Comment
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Vincent Yeung http://onelotusdeveloper.blogspot.com | 11/18/2009 10:45:19 AM
On the plus side, I am glad that we have too many interesting submissions and we end up have to drop some. This is a good problem to have.
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Dragon Cotterill | 11/18/2009 11:00:28 AM
Well once again my presentation was not accepted. Now I am a total unknown at LotusSphere, so it's not surprising that nobody recognises me when I submit something. But I don't think that's the reason my submissions get rejected.
No, I suspect the rejection reason for me are a little more political given the nature of my presentation. But it won't stop me submitting again next year.
My only complaint with this whole process though is the timing, in that it is hugely inconvenient for non US based people. The early bird registrations closes this week. In fact in just a couple of days. Now if you're travelling from outside the US it takes a while to get approvals from managers, flights booked etc. I would like to see a little more of a gap between the confirmation of whether the presentations have been accepted and the closing of the early bird registrations.
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Andrew Pollack http://www.thenorth.com/apblog | 11/18/2009 11:26:36 AM
@Dragon Cotterill -- Is it possible you're saying "Political" when you mean to say that what you're proposing doesn't fit the agenda or product direction? Proposing sessions that promote competitive products, that have a negative message about ibm's (or anyone's really) products, or generally push away from the marketing direction of IBM Lotus is a sure way to not get accepted in almost any case -- definitely for someone not very well known and trusted fairly highly in the organization.
With proposing sessions -- and especially with the Lotus Awards, you have to be aware that your write up needs to be one that meshes well with the temperature of the conference.
If I wanted to win a Lotus Award, I'd be looking to build an Xpages application that interfaces with Connections and Quicker, but uses Sametime real time chat for support and maybe includes an Ecplipse plug in for monitoring or content management. :-)
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Alan Hamilton | 11/18/2009 1:16:37 PM
@edbrill Can I assume as I have had neither a rejection or acceptance that I won't be required in January?
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Mike McP http://www.openntf.org/Projects/pmt.nsf/ProjectLookup/mPortal | 11/18/2009 2:08:27 PM
All I know is if I make it to LS and I see someone on the presenter list with 'Dragon' as their first name, I'll make damn sure I attended that session!:) I'm cursed with the abysmally boring 'Mike'...
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Andrew Brew | 11/18/2009 3:39:16 PM
Evidently more is required than a good showing in Lotusphere Idol. I daresay my abstract was too allusive and indirect.
I am trying not to be disappointed...
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Lisa Duke http://www.simplified-tech.com | 11/18/2009 3:39:32 PM
For those with great presentations that didn't quite make the cut, there are other opportunities! IBM, STS, and several local Domino clients are reviving/founding Lotus User Groups in the Southeastern US. Send presentations to info@simplified-tech.com
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Andrew Brew | 11/18/2009 4:34:11 PM
Thank you, Ed. Next year I'll submit for every track! Something's gotta stick.
(I know, I know... entirely invalid reasoning)
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Bill Geimer | 11/18/2009 10:04:08 PM
I suppose that I should of written one on "Why I use 8.5.1 every day in an Outlook shop" would not have made it on stage, but its pretty funny to me.
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Daniel Lieber | 11/20/2009 8:28:31 AM
Both Ed and Andrew make excellent points here and similarly in years past. The disappointment of not getting selected is significant. I have submitted many session abstracts over the past decade that met the requirements of content, relevance, and interest and have always been disappointed when the inevitable rejections were received (after all, I am human).
I realized some the deficiencies were not with the concepts, but with how they were being presented. Eventually, I was asked to merge a Birds of a Feather session submission with another gentleman who had submitted a similar idea. It worked out quite well and we learned a lot from each other. Our companies at the time were somewhat competitive, but that did not stop us from jointly facilitating a great session.
Secondly, I offered to help IBMers I knew at Lotusphere in whatever ways I reasonably could without impacting my other responsibilities. These included helping to deliver training at labs, talking with customers, making introductions between customers and IBMers as appropriate.
Also, I submitted proposals to other conferences, user group (including Lotus user groups!), and meetings (such as Instructor Day @ Lotusphere) and spoke at some of these venues.
And yet, my breakout sessions still weren't selected for Lotusphere 2004-2009. This year, I will be speaking at a general breakout session. The advise given by Ed and Andrew is accurate. I've listened, followed the advice, and have positive results. Your results will vary, but listen to the actual messages, be persistent and always relevant, and you may find yourself in front of hundreds or thousands of people!
As I am learning, the work of putting on a good session is quite massive--coordination with other speakers, demos, practice sessions, and such. For those who are selected, it really is done as a way to give back to the community.
I look forward to seeing people at Lotusphere in person and encourage persistence for those who want to speak. Please try out for Idol -- it is a lot of fun and will give you a first-hand opportunity to try out your presentation skills and get immediate feedback.
As an IBMer I hope no-one saw my tweet as a complaint. I pitched a session on composite applications knowing that other learned colleagues and partners would also pitch on the subject. I have absolutely no doubt that their sessions will be excellent. So I'm a tiny bit disappointed, but I'm looking forward to learning from others.