I May Not Attend the CNBloggerCon 2008 in Guangzhou

同感, I feel the same way. I still remember vividly the first year in Shanghai when BXY小白 spoke very passionately about copyleft and being creators, not consumers. I was very impressed. I think that spirit is gone from the CN Bloggercon.

The transcript:

http://cbc2005.wordpress.com/2005/11/05/seminar-discussion-iii-podcasting-by-hopesome/

A picture:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lookoo/71260242/

A lack of enthusiasm on your part (and perhaps others) over what takes place at this or really any conference, can be blamed, in part, on those who organize the conference. It is the organizers' responsibility to structure the conference so as to meet the needs and wants of those attending. Apparently the organizers wanted the companies there and gave them prominent positions. The companies may well also have donated resources to the organizers so the conference could take place. Hey, we have commercials on TV! The organizers could relegate the companies to a well-defined area and keep them there. The bloggers could then concentrate on what they want to do without the overwhelming interference/influence of the companies.

that is acceptable,since you have attended before.

but i still want to emphasize one point that you can discard it only because you have experience it

Jianshuo,

I really appreciated your advice in our meetup, especially your analogy about the intricate patterns in the sand at the beach as compared to the Jinmao Tower. Although as I shared, my normal behavior is to build the Jinmao Tower, I want to think about how to allow the emergent things to come to pass in a way that is true to the nature of the blogosphere itself. Thanks for helping us with that insight!

I feel you are a bit quick to judge our efforts based on your previous concerns about the lack of focus, the Web 2.0 expansion of the conference, and the commercial pitches. First of all, we don't represent the core of what the CNBloggerCon committee is doing, we are just a small "add-on" for an international delegation. We want to have a very small "footprint" on the beach so as not to take away from the general feel of the conference for the China bloggers. At the same time, we have a mission to bridge the gap of understanding between the East and the West and you obviously share that mission with us.

I blogged about our motivations and ideas here:

http://cnreviews.com/cnbloggercon/the_seed_of_an_idea_for_a_us-china_blogger_meetup_in_november_20080602.html

Given that you already have decided to be a skeptic on CNBloggerCon and by extension our US/China blogger meetup, you can be a valuable sounding board to me by criticizing our plan so that we can improve it and have the most positive effect (and the least negative effect) on the CNBloggerCon conference and the China blogosphere itself. Your sensibilities around the Chinese blogosphere, and your experience with other East-West events like YLF make you an important source of wisdom even if you want to have no involvement in the event.

Just like the blind man and the elephant story, you see an overcommercialized, unfocused conference that has lost its way as evidenced by a couple Americans wandering into your office with half-baked ideas about how to get involved. :) However, I see an opportunity to build valuable bridges of understanding and relationships between a small number of Western bloggers and Chinese bloggers in order to be a positive force toward global peace and stability, all starting with a small number of people locked in at some rural restaurant. I look forward to our dialogue and your continued critique of what we are doing!

No, Kevin, much of the blame has to be placed on "the companies" as well. Companies have money and influence that *individual* ("geeky", to quote Paul from elliottng's post) bloggers don't have, and with this power comes responsibility. It's time to stop the charade that companies are amoral automatons that can stomp all over whatever they please just because they have incorporated somewhere and pay taxes on the money they make. The companies -- or rather, the individuals that run those companies -- need to take some time to think about what their company is doing to the communities around them and to the quality of life of the people in the world in general.

Well, I want to add, that it is just my personal experience, and my personal expectation to the conference. For me, I just turned from "definitely" attend to "maybe". For the first conference, my rating is, the only conference I would choose in China, and now, it is just one of many, although it is still relatively more interesting than others.

That just a meeting, maybe we can just go there and find something interesting, since there are always something boring on any meeting.

I am going to be in this year and try to find something interesting or useful which will be shared and promoted on my blog, that's all.