I agree with the premise that it seems great to talk to a broader range of people than we might naturally be tempted to at EAGs!
Personally, I find large informal gatherings pretty intimidating (particularly when sober...). So I prefer getting some randomness by reaching out to some different people for 1on1s than I usually would. I love how Swapcard allows you to select for different things, so you can think about what types of people / interests you don’t get to meet much in EA, and then find people like that and ask if they’d be up for chatting. I find it much less intimidating to talk to people one on one, so I can focus on just getting to know them, rather than balancing whether multiple people are interested in a particular conversation topic.
I’m guessing other people would find it more intimidating to reach out to random people on swapcard than go to a social event. But for those that don’t, it could be worth trying out!
I think the current focus on one-on-ones adds a lot of value, but it also makes to tricky to engage in spontaneous conversations b/c a large percent of people are either waiting for one-on-ones are engaging in them. I would really like to see conferences specifically have an area for spontaneous conversation.
This is also the most EA way of saying ‘let’s get a beer’ that I could possibly come up with.
I agree with the premise that it seems great to talk to a broader range of people than we might naturally be tempted to at EAGs!
Personally, I find large informal gatherings pretty intimidating (particularly when sober...). So I prefer getting some randomness by reaching out to some different people for 1on1s than I usually would. I love how Swapcard allows you to select for different things, so you can think about what types of people / interests you don’t get to meet much in EA, and then find people like that and ask if they’d be up for chatting. I find it much less intimidating to talk to people one on one, so I can focus on just getting to know them, rather than balancing whether multiple people are interested in a particular conversation topic.
I’m guessing other people would find it more intimidating to reach out to random people on swapcard than go to a social event. But for those that don’t, it could be worth trying out!
Really good point!
I think the current focus on one-on-ones adds a lot of value, but it also makes to tricky to engage in spontaneous conversations b/c a large percent of people are either waiting for one-on-ones are engaging in them. I would really like to see conferences specifically have an area for spontaneous conversation.