I previously wrote encouraging my readers to consider attending the Indigitous Waterloo conference. Now that the event is finished, I thought I would write six reasons why I really enjoyed the event.
1. Meeting online friends I had never met face-to-face.
Getting to connect with Matt and Eric, both people that I follow online and influence me was cool. It’s just different being able to sit face-to-face instead of interacting 140 characters at time.
Ample time was given to make connections and explore what others are doing. I met a church planter who explained to me that 87% of his target audience doesn’t work where they live. He’s developed a digital strategy called Redeem the Commute to help plant his church. I love getting to connect with innovative people with innovative ideas.
3. “Kitchen Teams”
This conference had a practical component where participants split into working groups to solve some real-world problems that other participants were facing. It was neat to see people come around a delegate from a group called Athletes in Action to help develop a digital strategy around an outreach they are planning for the 2014 World Cup. Strategists, coders, designers and executives were all collaborating together to help each other move forward in their missions.
4. Esteban Contreras
Esteban hit it out of the park with his talk on thinking like a startup. 50% I could identify with that I was on the right track as an innovation leader. The other 50% was helpful input for me on how I could lead innovation projects better. My big takeaway from his talk was the need to be willing to “pivot” often as new ideas try and get off the ground. I appreciated his candor and straight-talk about making things work online.
5. Diverse audience – one mission
There was a wide spectrum of participants. From stay-at-home moms, to business leaders, to pastors to full-time missionaries, the crowd was diverse. The fun thing was that everyone was there to learn and share about how to better help followers of Jesus use digital strategies in their causes.
6. The venue
The event was hosted at heart of Canada’s technology hub in Waterloo. We met at the Tannery, where Google is the anchor tenant and over 60 startups occupy space. We got a tour of the facility and got a first hand exposure to what kind of environment is needed to get cutting edge ideas off a whiteboard and into the mainstream.
Also, here are some good reviews.
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