Did not know about it in advance – would like to be on the email list for further information! Thanks!

There was a curious divide that was palpable, but few people to bridge it.  Maybe that was the point, but it would be nice to find a few people who understand all sides of the equation.  Not sure who they are, to be honest.  The DC influence weighed heavy. I think there would be a very different feeling in another city, for what that’s worth.
 
I like that you’ve continued the conversation on Twitter after the conference and created the wiki. Let’s continue to do more things like this to stay connected.
 
More hands on deck and more $$$$$
 
I was surprised at the lack of media coverage and public relations. I was surprised that there was no list of feminist bloggers and/or websites handed out.
 
I think for a first time event, you rocked it. Thank you for letting me involved.
 
Earlier notification for planning purposes.
 
Here are my suggestions that I posted on my Kiamsha.com: That Which Awakens Me blog on February 8: A. Post 2009 Fem 2.0 Conference – What’s Next Suggestions   1) To continue the Fem 2.0 dialogue, I think we should host community calls on Talkshoe.com or Blogtalk Radio because it allows people with or without technology to participate by telephone or online. It also gives us documentation of our conversations which others can listen to when they want to. 2) Invite women’s magazines, social networking sites, sororities, service organizations, mother’s organizations etc. to participate in the community calls as speakers, panelists, and participants. B. Preparing for 2010 Fem 2.0 Conference Suggestions 1) Liberate ourselves from the traditional conference model by designing a meeting model that honors both the left and right brains and includes self-care and space for creative expression.  2) Offer a pre-conference day devoted to five core areas: – feminism, womanism, and women’s concerns – diversity in women’s community building,  – how women of color use social media tools in their lives and work,  – using self care in the work we do,  – using creative expression to tell and document our stories  3) Include some form of movement in all sessions . 4) Use circles and other room setups that promote community and open dialogue when meeting space can accommodate the changes.  5) Offer creative and healing space for expressive arts (collage, drawing, journaling etc.), Reiki healing touch, chair massage, and chair/eye/mouth yoga.   6) Limit the use of Twittering on a wide screen during sessions because it could cause distraction and information overload. 7) Simplify our conference agenda topics so that we invest more time on a few core areas that will generate deeper sharing and dialogue. Consider using the unconference model from She’s Geeky conference for some sessions. Text taken from She’s Geeky conference: What is an unconference? Beginning at 9am each day, we start with a blank wall and create a multi-track conference agenda that is relevant and inspiring to everyone. Rooms are assigned to each topic and participants attend sessions they are interested in. Notes from each session are collected and a book is compiled with all the notes from the conference and distributed to everyone who attends.

Creating space for movement, interaction and self care. More opportunities to address differences and connect cross them.  Room setup – circles instead of theatre style seating.
 
Great job and great diversity of people and ideas.
 
Next time there should not be a focus on just two organizations (Now and Feminist majority), they are a small part of the picture. Wasn’t sure whether Fem 2.0 was put on by them, but felt like big promotional thing for them. The heads of those groups represent the past not the future.
 
I feel there should have been more action involved at the end of the conference. Overall, it was very inspiring, uplifting and motivating but lacked the action to make a change. You all had about 250 feminists in one room and let them go without an action.
 
More understanding of search engine optimization – how do you build traffic? A clearer understanding of how people have learned this medium. More collaborations showcased…take an issue and show all the people in the ‘space’. Creating and distributing an actual directory of people there.
 
The panel talks were wonderful subjects- too wonderful! I felt as though I was missing out by choosing one session over another. Limiting the choices for attendees would be greatly appreciated.
 
I’m glad you’re doing the wiki and the tweetchats as extensions of the conference.  Conferences are good energizers, but what happens after is more important. Linking the conf. to after is always a challenge & we need to do it better, in our own way, not aping what has been done.  We actually have to reinvent the wheel in some areas of communication.
 
You all did a great job. There is just lots to do. The venue was great.
 
There really needs to be more women of color planning this conference…i felt that while there were plenty of women of color speaking in the conference, it was still from a middle class white perspective behind the scenes.
 
Great job to all you organizers – a totally inspiring day!
 
I thought it was well organized.  Maybe there could be an action plan to create more intergenerational opportunities on an ongoing basis.
 
Not being a new media person I was very pleasantly surprised by the efforts you made to bridge the gap between what many of us practice (not new media) and those on the cutting edge. Keep up the good work!
 
Keep it cheap and open. The twittering on the screen was clever yet distracting.
 
Provide a laptop volunteer note taker at each breakout to post notes for full access.
 
Keep the quality of presenters as high as you did. Keep the fun (energy) up.
 
Keep sharing your experience and web information. Thanks.
 
Cost will be a factor for me – and a lot of other folks – as to whether I can attend. Both my husband and I are out of work but I’m hoping that will change soon!
 
The ability to participate in more breakouts.
 
Online access was difficult. The wifi was fine, but plugs… not so much. I ended up in the back in every break out session & then the GWU people kicked me out of the auditorium when I tried to plug in in the back.
 
Great group of people. Maybe inviting some candidates and/or electeds would be inspiring and add to the pull for the event.  Low cost was extremely helpful for coming in from out of town.
 
Really really enjoyed the conference. A plus experience. Amazing ad hoc gathering. It had a more spontaneous alive, invigorating feel to it than a traditional conference. Worth giving up the tight ship, typed handouts, power point presentations for shooting from the hip, less hierarchical power tripping that can happen when we have too much time to plan things…. WELL DONE!!!!
 
Make clear that children would be welcome and figure out babysitting (GW education students?) ahead of time.  I know many activist moms who can’t make it w/out help with kids.  Thought lunch was great, thanks so much for voucher!  Wish we had a more organized way of sitting with other attendees to maximize lunchtime networking.
 
This conference did not meet my expectations. Calling a conference Fem 2.0 made me believe it would be about the future of the women’s movement and feminism, and using Web 2.0 and new medias and technologies to propel the movement, network, collaborate, and create activism. The women’s movement is behind the technological revolution and is not appropriately using Web 2.0 to its full advantage; we are already behind. I thought this conference would be about bringing the movement online and up to date. I was severely disappointed. This conference was largely off-topic, irrelevant, and dated, unfortunately. Many of the participants were completely unfamiliar with the offerings of technology today and how these mediums can be used by women to propel our collective activist efforts.
 
Specific plans for action would make the conference more effective and worthwhile.
 
Great diversity among the organizers led to great diversity of topics, attendees. How you start is how you end up.
 
Less use of twitter "Unconferences" aren’t really that new, and I’d think a wiki to support generating session ideas, logging who’s coming and why, and helping to produce a prototype of what the conference can extend would help. Maybe it was because I didn’t put in the commitment of travel for the Women Who Tech conference — but I didn’t end that day still wondering "what were we here for?"    But maybe I just wasn’t one of the folks who should have attended. Thanks for the prompt to go back and review some notes — it was a valuable day, I just haven’t figured it all out yet.
 
At times, the Twitter feed displayed behind the presenters during the plenary was somewhat obstructive to what was being presented.
 
I would have loved more time to meet and chat with attendees.
 
One less plenary, and one more breakout session
 
Engage student activists more–reach out to students (college, law, grad) not working at organizations but still doing important feminist activism within their schools or on their own.
 
The exact purpose/justification of Fem 2.0 is unclear to me, as is the intended relationship between the majority women’s groups and the bloggers they bring. It seemed to me that Feminist Majority and NOW got hours of free, excellent tech consulting out of the event (which I am very grateful for, because I got to listen in) but it’s unclear whether the event actually developed a stronger relationship or convinced those groups of the worthiness and usefulness of bloggers and the online world.  And it’s unclear whether bloggers and everyone else there are coming to educate those groups or for their own education. It was useful to me, but that felt like an ancillary function.
 
I thought it was great. Definitely not enough time for networking, especially given that some people traveled from outside of DC and it was hard to follow up. I also thought the breakouts were great but the moderators were more focused on speaking personally about themselves or their experiences than they were actually keeping a panel on track. I thought it was a great day though! Thank you.
 
Try not to cut breaks if there is technical difficulties. Is it possible to make parts of the opening shorter if this occurs? George Washington was a great place to have Fem 2.0!

Tweet This Post