March 04, 2004
Impressions and photos
I’ve been an IA since ‘98 and I’d been looking forward to attending the IA summit for years but the distance kept me from doing so. This year I was finally there, and must say it was a great experience. The things presented were very good, but more than all what impressed me was the true feeling of community and warmth.
My quote of the weekend would be the one I heard more often: “It’s great to put a face to the name” but I can tell that what I got were way more than just faces. Nothing compares to be able to talk to someone while seeing her eyes, expression, accent, gestures, clothes... It really didn’t matter what we would talk about, just chatting about where to get illegal cheese was a kick. I was really impressed by how reachable the folks that I admire so much ended out to be, and how exciting it was to meet so many people who are less loud but just as wise. The 15 minute breaks were just as valuable as the sessions.
Thanks again to Dick, Mags and the rest of the organizers, and I’d like to extend the appreciation to some who did not get mentioned last Sunday night: Mike Lee and Bob Doyle for meticulously recording the event in images and video, I am aware that albeit being a fun thing to do, it takes a lot of time and concentration and makes you miss some of the relevant stuff. Thank you for that.
Enough chatter, here are my photos!
Posted by javier.velasco at March 4, 2004 04:33 PM
Javier,
I concur with all your comments - albeit not those about distance (as Canada isn't quite as much of a distance to travel to a conference!). I too was struck by the sense of community and warmth and how exciting it was to finally meet some of these people in person. I walked away with more than just excellent ideas and an awesome collection of materials, but a real sense of pride at what an interesting group these IAs are. If the profession can be measured by the quality and integrity of its individuals and the power of their work and original ideas - well, then I'd say we should be very, very proud :)
My kudos go out to the organizers as well. A perfect weekend - looking forward to next year already :)
And your pictures are great - a blog really is useful for capturing these moments and you captured many of the key players. One of these days, I'll get around to my own (blog, not photos - I'll save that for next year).
Best,
Rachel
a Canadian IA back from Austin, on her way to SanFran bay
I couldn't agree with Javier's sentiment's more, especially since I was in his shoes last year and felt the same things. I don't have anything to add except violent agreement.
Posted by: Brett Lider at March 4, 2004 09:09 PMJavier!
I think your collection of photos is a great visual record of your summit experience. Your feeling of community shows in that every one of your photos has people! See you next year (or maybe sooner).
I'm about 75% thru editing down my few hundred images in between work and changing diapers. I'll post a link here in a day or two.
Mike