British educational journalist-blogger Ian Delaney is at Le Web 3, formerly Les Blogs 2 and he is among several unhappy attendees who have been subjected to a keynote by Nobel Laureate Shimon Peres, followed by a parade of French candidates for president.
I think Ian has a most valid complaint, although if I were there, I probably would probably not share it. Ian came to hear geeks talking about geek stuff and its social impact. It's bad enough that those of us fortunate to live in countries where people vote, have to listen to the struts, frets and rants of our own candidates, let alone those of a neighboring country. I won't even speculate as to why the candidates themselves decided to address a gathering dominated by people who could not vote for them even if they could.
For me Shimon Peres, reminds me of the last time there was any real hope for peace between Palestinians and their Israeli neighbors. For me, I would have been thrilled to hear what he had to say I would have tried to be first to ask a question of how--or if--such hope can be restored.
But then, all that stuff is off topic. If I were Ian, when there are speakers who do not interest me I would use that time to hang out in the hallways, where the social networking opps are usually first rate.
Although I was one of the speakers at Les Blogs 2, I agreed with most of last year's attendees that the
real value to the conference was in the social networking that took place in the hallways and at the social gatherings and not from speakers in the front of the room.
Ian, enjoy the conference. Meet people. Share thoughts. I hope the food is better. At the end of the event look back. I have a hunch you will feel you got your 600 Euros worth.
Besides, this whole experience has allowed me to write my first tri-lingual headline.
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