My first liveblogging opportunity happened just about a year ago when I was asked to blog the 2005 Desiring God National Conference. I knew nothing about the art of liveblogging (and neither did anyone else I knew) so I just sort of made it up as I went along. I was gratified to see that the response was good and than many people took the opportunity to visit my site to read about the conference as it progressed. It was an unexpected surprise that many people attending the conference enjoyed reading my summaries in the evenings after they returned to their hotel rooms. It seemed to all involved that the experiment had been a success.
After Desiring God, I was able to liveblog the Shepherd’s Conference, Together for the Gospel and WorshipGod06 as conference organizers began to see that liveblogging adds an interesting and helpful dimension to a conference. I learned something new at each of these events and at this point I feel that I’ve got a fairly good handle on how liveblogging works, though in a sense I continue to make it up as I go since there is not an objective standard on what it involves and how to do it right. I am continually grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to attend such wonderful conferences and to listen to the teaching of some godly men. The fact that this is a unique blessing is not lost on me.
Future liveblogging opportunities continue to roll in. I have already accepted several exciting opportunities for next year and am considering a couple more. It seems that I may have the opportunity to attend a diverse number of conferences in the coming year. It really is my joy to prayerfully consider each of these events and to attempt to serve the body of Christ in providing updates from the conferences. At the same time, I feel a bit hesitant since I am not sure how liveblogging fits the model of what I do with my blog. I also find it difficult to be away from home. As much as I love attending conferences, it is always difficult to go away and I always look forward to returning to my family. And so I have some mixed emotions as I look to the future.
While I consider my future in regards to liveblogging, I thought it might be helpful to know the opinions of the readers of this site regarding these conferences. Feel free to answer these questions as objectively as you like. Any other advice or information you have would be appreciated. Do you find it is an interesting and helpful addition to this site to have blogs written about the various conferences? Do you think there are ways that I could make liveblogging a more helpful service? Are there some conferences you think would benefit from liveblogging? Do you think it would be beneficial if I blogged more or fewer conferences? I guess I am just looking for information and advice that will help me as I consider blogging future events. I appreciate any you’re willing to provide!
