#AIAcon15 Recap, Part 2: the convention
This is the second in a series of recaps on #AIAcon15. To see the first, and learn why you should join me a day early next year to help a non-profit, go here.
As I mentioned in the last post, this was my second convention. I left off the recap of last year with a challenge to the architecture world about starting and engaging in the conversation about our profession.
The convention this year centered on the theme of “storytelling” and how you market yourself to clients, interact with your professional peers, and tell the story of your firm and body of work along the way. The May #aiachat, which I helped host, joined in this theme by talking about the tools architects use to tell their story. You can see the chat interaction/play-by-play here. AIA National also worked with a variety of podcasters and other press to provide them entry and welcome them to convention. With all of these things prepping #AIAcon15 to be a digital playground with learning sessions to boot, what did the convention actually look like?
The sessions
Positives:
My #AIAcon15 sessions experience started off with a great Social Media/Marketing talk by Mike Davis, FAIA and Karen Robichaud. I’ve interacted with them on twitter for the last year or so and it was great to hear them drop the knowledge in person. It was a good refresher for me, but I could tell there were a lot of newbies in the room – a very pleasant surprise to see more architects eager to learn about how to tell their story on different platforms.
I also sat in on a great session by Illya Azaroff and Alison Anderson, FAIA (there were two others, but I sadly don’t remember their names) about designing for resiliency. The geographic breadth and span of work from theory to fully constructed gave the session a good variety and made it very interesting.
Negatives:
I unfortunately missed a couple other sessions due to the scheduling of other events during the day (you’ll see one below). I also missed others simply because I had to choose only one to go to. It seemed like some really great sessions were slated in the same time frame, while other chunks of time were lacking/open. I don’t remember it being this way last year, so hopefully next year the schedule will be more evenly dispersed.
The Tweetup
Positives:
The #AIAcon15 Tweetup was on day 1 this year, a day earlier than normal – not sure why. AIA National has been hosting this (with a sponsor) for the last handful of years and it’s typically well-attended. Because I was the May moderator for the #aiachat, and because I had won a scholarship last year that paid for this year’s #AIAcon15 attendance…it seemed pretty important that I attend the Tweetup this year (not that I would miss it anyway).
Negatives:
The scheduling of the Tweetup spanned two sessions that I chose to miss so as to not miss this event. Perhaps that was one of the reasons attendance was lacking this year, but for a variety of reasons (known and unknown) the turnout wasn’t spectacular. I can imagine the paying sponsor wasn’t thrilled with the turnout, but we tried to make the best of it nevertheless! Sadly, they also didn’t do a scholarship this year. I was hoping to see a winner and talk with them about what they’ve enjoyed thus far (also easier to do when it’s not on the first day).
Also, like last year, the President-elect came to speak at the Tweetup. While Elizabeth Chu Richter seemed a little uncomfortable talking about Twitter and the power of it as a platform at the Tweetup last year, she quickly acclimated and is now active on Twitter and other digital platforms. Based on the interaction at the Tweetup, the current President-elect seems to have the same technology barriers. Hopefully there will be some guidance in the coming months to get him up to speed (AIA National, if you’re listening I know some great Social Media/PR/Digital consultants). It’s hard to sell the importance of digitally telling the story of your firm and (next year) how you collaborate – perhaps using different technologies – if our leadership isn’t familiar or comfortable
Expo Hall
The #AIAcon15 expo hall seemed to be bustling this year…and very linear. I know that’s very much relegated to the space itself, but it was LONG! With AIA Town Hall being at the far end of the hall, and not where you enter, it definitely made sure I hit my fitbit step count each day. As a side note: I’m sure it’s cheaper to stick Town Hall at the end, but I really hope they try and make it more central next year. There also evidently was a “podcasters” section on the floor…I didn’t know about it until someone else asked me about it after convention was over. So I’m not sure how successful that was. Other than that, I was impressed with the rep turnout and pleased with the interaction of those I stopped to chat with.
Now what?
In general, I very much enjoyed my second convention: seeing new and old friends, the sessions I attended, and the things I learned at #AIAcon15. We’ve got a little under a year until #AIAcon16 in Philadelphia, the theme of which is collaboration. I think we still have a ways to go to get the average architect to understand (and embrace) the power of the digital world and how they can use it to their advantage to tell their story. I understand that some of this is a generational thing, but it all comes down to the future of business.
I talked to many architects during my time in Atlanta. ALL of whom said that whether it’s for hiring new talent, finding information on a client or manufacturer, or doing project research – they go to the internet. There were many young architects there who said the same thing about researching potential employers. If you aren’t using different current technologies as a part of doing your work, promoting your work, and interacting with your peers – are you actually staying current? If you aren’t staying current, how do you grow or build a future?
We are still in the growing pains stage of showing our value to the profession, but I do think we’ve improved since last year. While AIA National has prodded the conversation with the #ilookup campaign, it is up to us – the 85,000ish of us in the AIA to actually have the conversation and move the profession forward. How do we market ourselves to the current and growing world of clients? How do we share knowledge, information, resources, in an increasingly global world while understanding the importance of locality in a project? How and where do we talk architecture? Online? In person? Over a drink? In a conference room? Does it matter what type of conversation is occurring?
In general, the answer is yes and no. Vague, right? To use the (in person and digital) platforms correctly, you have to know the strengths of the style or tool…but more importantly you have to know your intent/goal/brand. On the flip side, any conversation about architecture and the profession is a good one. Whether it’s over coffee one-on-one, in a BBQ joint with over a dozen rowdy personalities (more to come on that), or on the vast reaches of the twittersphere. Get out there. Chat it up. Hopefully I’ll see you on the flipside.
This is the second of 3 posts of my recap of #AIAcon15. Comment below and let me know your experience or thoughts. Keep an eye out for the last recap in the days to come. And if you have any questions about getting your firm started/updated/current , please feel free to reach out.
