There was a conference in the UK called Our Social World that ran last week. According to the front page:
Theme:
Demonstrating to you the benefits of the new internet technologies and the benefits of opening up communications with your customers and fellow workers without email!
Who should attend:
You if you are involved in running a business, charity or education and you are interested in improving communication within your organisation and with your customers.
So it’s all about communication, and the power of the blog. How forward thinking of them. However, looking at the the list of speakers, I found no new faces, exactly one women, a great deal of whiteness, and virtually no diversity. Oh, and a woman presented the speakers. Ooo.
Demonstrate what benefits of the new internet technologies? That they’re perfect for maintaining the status quo?
After the last few weeks — last few centuries, really–we should be more acutely aware of what happens when people are grouped, and excluded by, factors such as race and economic class. Diversity isn’t just a ‘thing that people have to do’ so that people like me won’t bitch.
Doesn’t matter if those who presented are nice people, liked by a lot of folks–those that attended and presented should be asking what went wrong, and what can be done to make it better. Especially since they’re promoting this so-called ‘brave new world’.
