Adrian Segar

Children and adults shouldn’t sit still in class: photograph of attendees dancing at a conference. Image attribution: Screen capture from X bytes video.

Children and adults shouldn’t sit still in class. Yet we ignore established research when designing adult learning environments.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/le...

#meetings #EventDesign #movement #benefits #learning #AdultLearning #eventprofs

illustration of the OpenAI logo dreaming up a fake event

For heaven's sake! Fake women conference speakers? Meeting professionals, we can do so much better! What we need is fake events!

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/sa...

#fake #speakers #events #satire #humor #eventprofs

In Arizona, an Electric Utility Holds an Election, Open Only to Property Owners

"In one of America’s least democratic elections, the rule is not one person, one vote. It’s one acre, one vote."

Only property owners can vote in this local AZ election. Voting rules exclude renters and favor large landowners.

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/u... [gift link]

"If you want to rip the heart out of a democracy, you go after the facts. That's what modern authoritarians do. You lie. All the time. Then, you say it's your opponents and the journalists who lie."
—Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate

A photo composite image of Clint Eastwood in his role as Blondie "The Good" in the movie "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", the IMEX America (Las Vegas) 2025 logo, and the title "THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY" with "THE GOOD" emphasized.

My personal “Good” from IMEX America 2025—Part 1—reconnecting with old friends, deep conversations, and joyful moments that remind me why meetings matter.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/me...

#IMEX #IMEXAmerica #EventDesign #MeetingDesign #EventProfs #HumanConnection

An example of an effective activation: A Facebook post for a LEGO™ in-mall collaborative building event.

From brand spectacle to co-creation: how to design event activations with agency and meaningful involvement that generate lasting value.

#EventActivations #EventDesign #ExperientialMarketing

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

Reasons to leave a job: cartoon illustration of a person in a business suit halfway out a door that has an EXIT sign

There are many reasons to leave a job. I share Jerry Weinberg's excellent list and add some observations and thoughts.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/co...

#working #Quitting #LeavingJob #reasons #WellBeing

In 2022, Zoom added avatars to their Meetings and Webinars products to mixed reviews. Here are my and others' thoughts…

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#Zoom #avatars #neurodivergence #DEI #eventprofs #assnchat

easier attendee participation: Adrian Segar caramelizes crème brûlée at a private dinner in Spain

How can we design for easier attendee participation? By modeling participation, creating a safe event environment, and making participation optional.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#meetings #EventDesign #improvement #participation #modeling #safety #OptOut #eventprofs

This is absolutely bonkers and infuriating.

Must-read reporting by ProPublica.

The #Epstein Files.

process not product: photograph of a wall of yellow sticky notes, each filled with a few words and an occasional diagram. Image attribution: Flickr user sixmilliondollardan

Process, not product. It took me ten years to realize that the process I use to achieve my goals is more important than the end result.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/so...

#LifeLessons #working #goals #habits #process #product

The hype and reality of personalized learning: a photograph of children sitting at desks in a classroom. Image attribution: edusurge

Billions of education dollars are spent on "personalized learning". Here's what it is, and how it can and should be extended to adult life-long learning practice.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/le...

#learning #PersonalizedLearning #AdultLearning

How a Decades-Old Loophole Lets Billionaires Avoid Medicare Taxes Some of Wall Street’s richest and most powerful figures are using a legal loophole to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes earmarked for health care, a ProPublica investigation found.

Billionaires are using a loophole to avoid Medicare taxes.

Closing it — and eliminating other ways around the tax for wealthy business owners — could raise more than $250 billion over 10 years for the program.

(Published Dec. 2024)

Exclusive 1m ago The Trump administration will receive a $10 billion fee for brokering the deal that kept TikTok alive in the U.S.

JFC.

Impeach and remove this lawless man, you fools.

Search-and-rescue crews were “flying blind” trying to rescue survivors from deadly tornadoes that hit the Midwest last week.

Why? Because Kristi Noem hadn't approved FEMA’s $200,000 contract with a tornado-tracking tool.

But she had time to spend $220 million on anti-immigrant ads. Priorities.

The Trump administration could really restore confidence by getting the entire Cabinet to ride a tanker through the Straits of Hormuz to show everyone how safe and easy it is now.

They could bring along a lot of MAGA influencers and Fox News hosts to broadcast it all live!

Exclusive | Trump Administration Set to Receive $10 Billion Fee for Brokering TikTok Deal Investors in the social-media platform’s U.S. business agreed to give the government several multibillion-dollar payments, sources said.

this is just open and abject corruption, but the way U.S. journalism frames it you'd not really understand that there's anything untoward

What most schools don't teach—programming! Screenshot of a video by industry leaders on the value of learning to code.

What don't most schools teach? Make algebra, geometry, and calculus optional; teach programming to all children instead!

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/le...

#education #teaching #programming #learning #school

personal change is easy: a photograph of an outdoor sign that says "CHANGE MACHINE" with a directional arrow

Don't believe those who tell you personal change is easy. It's a miracle when personal change occurs. But it can happen!

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/fa...

#FacilitatingChange #NotEasy #effort #preparation #imperfection #trap

Photograph of two men in intense conversation, listening to each other

It's not hard to give the gift of listening. Doing so can reap rich dividends for the success of your meetings.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/un...

#listening #meetings #gift #eventprofs

right and wrong ways to set theater seating: photograph of the Poetry Foundation auditorium

It doesn't take much to get theater seating right. Face chairs correctly; set them long; flare aisles off-center front at 45°; and keep unbroken rows short.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#seating #EventDesign #events #eventprofs

associations exist only in the mind: A 1979 Visa credit card advertisement

Associations exist only in the mind. As evidence, here's the story of the birth of VISA, an association of tens of thousands of member banks.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/as...

#associations #assnchat #eventprofs #VISA #CommunityOfPractice #agreements

An example of an effective activation: A Facebook post for a LEGO™ in-mall collaborative building event.

From brand spectacle to co-creation: how to design event activations with agency and meaningful involvement that generate lasting value.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#EventActivations #EventDesign #ExperientialMarketing #newpost

virtual meetings lower costs and interactions: an illustration of a businessman sitting in a chair with a virtual reality headset strapped over his eyes

Virtual meetings lower costs. Yet I believe that the unique benefits of face-to-face meetings are still valuable.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#meetings #EventDesign #online #virtual #InPerson #value #eventprofs

this means it is not open for transit

The cover of the Convenings 2.0 report prepared for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation by Special D. Events. It includes a color illustration of people convening in a brightly lit meeting space with round tables, small group seating, whiteboards, and audience chairs

Free report! Convenings 2.0: Connecting adult learning, communication strategies, and event logistics to build stronger relationships.

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/re...

#meetings #MeetingDesign #report #learning #communication #logistics #relationships #standards #eventprofs #assnchat

I Watched 6 Hours of DOGE Bro Testimony. Here's What They Had to Say For Themselves The hours of videos provide fascinating, or perhaps horrifying, insight into the thinking of someone inside DOGE.

I have watched 6 hours of a DOGE bro deposition. The whole thing, start to finish. It's a fascinating, and horrifying, look at the people who caused so much damage, didn't really achieve anything at all, while still being so sure they are right. Here's what they said: www.404media.co/i-watched-6-...

the stink of gender resentment coming off Silicon Valley has been obvious for a while. these men hate women because they hate being told no.

artificial intelligence matchmaking at events: a screenshot from the movie "Star Wars" of the famous alien bar scene

As companies market artificial intelligence matchmaking at events, unresolved issues could impede the adoption of this technology

www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/ev...

#meetings #TradeShows #exhibitors #marketing #MatchMaking #AI #technology #eventtech #eventprofs