How do I run a discussion group?
Part of the magic of MeasureCamp is that there aren’t keynotes or vendor presentations. The sessions are run by people like you. But they don’t just get there by magic. Attendees get ready for MeasureCamp by thinking about what they’d like to share and preparing material.
How to run a session at MeasureCamp
Soon after we kick off the morning at 10am, the Session Board opens up. Then people start writing up and placing cards on the board to mark out their session. The board rapidly fills out.
The cards get moved around to ensure high demand sessions end up in the bigger rooms and to balance things through the day. I often move my cards a couple of times when I find there’s a clash with another session I really want to see.
When the time comes around for your session, get ready and set up the room. The Google offices have excellent AV equipment so you should be able to plug in with the usual standard connectors. Though projecting slides is by no means mandatory or the only way to run sessions.
After a few minutes of people moving around, you start your session. It’s up to you how you run it!
Running a discussion session
Sessions don’t have to be “person stands at front and presents from slides” type talks, though there are always plenty of great talks in that format.
You’ve got a high concentration of smart specialists interested in analytics, measurement and data. You can use that to solve problems and learn stuff.
One of the best sessions I went to a few years ago was when an analyst from a broadcaster hosted a discussion on “measuring engagement”. She started the discussion really simply, asking people how they measure it and what problems they had. The group was self-selected as people interested in this topic, so an epic and high value discussion kicked off. Brilliant!
So if there’s something you’d like to know, or a debate you’d like to hear all sides of, an informal discussion can be a great way to go!
If you’re planning a discussion, they often work better in the afternoon when people have warmed up and perhaps aren’t quite as fresh for intense learning like they were in the morning.
