Thanks very much for this informative conference overview. To be even more complete I’d ask you to add our yearly Single Source Forum in Munich, Germany. This yearly one-day conference takes place every year in May or June (since 8 years already). This year, the conference takes place June 2, 2008 with focus single sourcing and knowledge management.
We always have German and English talks and an exhibition hall with famous tool vendors. We would appreciate very much your participation either as a speaker ot as a participant.

Regards
Sissi

Thanks for this very useful overview of upcoming conferences. If you’re still looking for opportunities to get to Europe for a mid-size (150-200 people) and self-contained conference based in a single hotel, the Dita Europe conference in November is normally fun, close to Frankfurt-Am-Main in Germany.

- Nick

Thanks for your comments. I’m especially intrigued by your comment about the possible role of Twitter in a conference environment. Thus far, I’m in the camp of people who don’t “get” Twitter, but I can see how it would be a useful tool for keeping track of friends and colleagues during an event.

I would also like to see more ways for people to keep up-to-date with conference events via text messaging to mobile devices. One can envision an SMS service for getting real-time conference scheduling and room location information.

-Alan

Thanks for the write-up on the various conferences. Few people attend as many conferences as you do, so it’s nice to see your review of them. The three conferences I’ve attended recently include Doc Train, STC, and the Tri-XML conference. All three were helpful in sampling what’s out there.

One thing I liked about the Tri-XML conference was the hospitality suite — a two hour block set aside to mingle with other people in a more private setting. Doc Train had a similar two hour block, but it mixed it with a vendor showccase.

I think STC had something similar with the dance and pub nights? Anyway, conferences need to place a greater emphasis on structuring the networking/interacting activities for the participants. It’s no fun to end the day at 5 p.m., return to your hotel room, and wonder what you’re going to do because there’s nothing on the agenda. More structured hangout sessions would be a big draw.

I really liked leadership day at the STC. That format worked perfectly. When people start to embrace Twitter, it might have its greatest relevance in conference settings.