Small-Town, Not Small-Time

The digital tools that make it possible to engage in virtual conversations anywhere mean that there are very few places left that truly are in the middle of nowhere. Guest blogger Sheila Scarborough, a writer and speaker specializing in tourism, travel, and social media, brings us the story of how Hutchinson, Kan., pop. 41,000, became host to a conference previously held in New York City, Los Angeles, and London — and more than held its own. 

If there was ever a barn-raising event using the Web instead of wood, it was the 140 Characters Conference SmallTown in Hutchinson, Kansas. Part of an ongoing series of conferences launched by tech strategist Jeff Pulver, SmallTown explored the effects of real-time Web communications on the people, businesses and agricultural issues tied to rural areas and smaller towns. The format is rapid-fire short talks, similar to Twitter, without PowerPoint.

A small group of people connected to make it happen (here's why SmallTown ended up in Hutchinson and highlights included using an historic downtown Art Deco venue, the Fox Theatre, to host a very 21st century tech event.

Photo by Becky McCray

Any town can bring in tech- or social media-based conferences; the beauty of them is that while the number of attendees may be small by traditional standards, each person tends to have online networks numbering in the hundreds (or thousands) through their blogs, Facebook presence, Twitter, video channels, podcasts, etc.

Some tips on using a small town venue for digital gatherings:

1) Don't make assumptions about which places can and can't host. The 140 Characters conferences, for example, "are usually and most effectively held in theaters; in fact, the very first one in New York was based on the idea of [a Twitter-like] one hundred and forty characters gathering together in an off-Broadway theater," said SmallTown's lead organizer Becky McCray, who has also spoken at 140 Conferences in London and Detroit. "All we had to do was bring WiFi (wireless Internet) into Hutchinson's Fox Theatre, and it was perfect."