Everybody now comes to conferences with lots of very current knowledge, acquired through their own PLN. So what are they expecting from keynote presenters? It’s not trivial anymore.

You nail this, it is a difficult topic, and like you said can easily be polarized and simplified as good or bad. But what you’re doing here is framing is far more important, the delineation of what might be happening to the idea of representing more generally, how is the performative act of presenting changing radically—like the way we write, create video, photograph, etc., with this new media, and why would we expect it wouldn’t?

What crazy here is that presentation of ideas and “thought” about the technology is kind of providing another space to push what it is you do in perserson given how much one can already get online. And that is the real interesting part for me, what can you do in person—as an event with some real expectation, power, and a sense of importance of you being there—that actually warrants and demands something new? I’m always struck by cogdog’s presentations as just another space in which he is following a whole series of ideas, experiments, and tinkering that he has been doing all along, but he frames the presentation not only as an occasion for the audience, but a particular demo of his thought process that is often externalized on a technology or story. And, probably like you, I think what is missing fro the worst of presentations, many of which I’ve given, is a clear narrative arc, and sense of detailed framing of what you want your audience to think about when they are done. I think presenting is an art form that has been lost to some degree by a routinized idea of “making the donuts” in academia to get a CV note. But what you frame here is a way of thinking about it as yet another form in this media landscape that needs to be critically thought about, imagined and considered on a case by case basis. And, interestingly enough, it may be my favorite form, because there is nothing better than a great presentation, it’s like a great concert, or play—-the being there can truly matter if it’s done well.

@John That’s a good point… and is doubly effective because a Twitter backchannel will be more productive with an audience that is aware of its existence. I make it a practice to have my Twitter username and the conference or session hashtag on an early slide. If I can, I have someone Twitter-jockeying as well.

You’re also right on when you suggest that expectations may differ, and affect outcomes. We are seeing a broader range of presentations now, some where the audience is passive, some where the audience is active. I prefer different styles depending on the topic, the speaker, and (unfortunately) my wildly changing moods and preferences.