Fortune senior editor David Kirkpatrick reaps what he sows. He bared his soul this morning in a breakfast workshop at iMeme, a symposium held yesterday and today in San Francisco. He says that next year's conference probably won't be called "iMeme" because Fortune edit boss Andy Serwer doesn't like the term. Also, David said, at least one invited speaker teased him about the trendy and hard-to-pronounce iMeme name.
Another factor: several Time Inc. insiders say they regret walking away from their conference brand called "Brainstorm." Until this year held each summer in Aspen, Colo., Brainstorm addressed tech topics through the prisms of global politics, society and the environment. In 2007 Fortune chose to move the conference to the Bay Area, making it easier for its target market to attend. It also focused the conference more sharply on tech trends, such as platforms, identity and enterprise software.
In today's 7:30 AM session, attended by about 50 early-risers, Kirkpatrick asked for feedback and got it. People said they like this year's iMeme event, but they like David even more and so brought candor and creativity to help him develop his franchise. David listened carefully to each suggestion, non-defensively. His guests felt appreciated. In business, such a dynamic is rare indeed.
Wasn't Kirparick once head of Fortune's Board of editors? It's good to see that he was gracious receiving driticism.
Ahh the long tail and the short term memory loss.
Great brief piece, Sam. Excellent writing.
Jim
Posted by: Jim | July 13, 2007 at 04:52 PM