It can be incredibly refreshing to start learning about something new. I’ve been spending the last few months focused on learning more about digital media, including virtual reality and social media.  Two recent trips really made me think about the future of business models.  Now, I admit that I am fascinated by business models, how businesses work, and how they create  (or don’t create) value.  There are often questions about whether women-owned or women-led businesses are structured, work differently, or at least have different cultures than those owned or led by men.  Let’s face it, there are a lot more questions in this area than there are answers.  But I’m curious as to what the long-term impact of digital media is going to be on our businesses.

My first trip was to the Game Developers Conference (GDC), definitely entirely new territory for me. Professor Heidi Neck and I went to learn more about Serious Games.  These are games, mostly but not entirely digital, that are used for serious purposes – hence the clever name.  We heard from large organizations such as Hilton and the American Army as to how they are using games for training.   We also talked with smaller business owners that helped us think through how Serious Games might be used more extensively in higher education.  It was a large conference and was run just like you’d expect – key note speakers, panels, exhibit halls, and lots of meeting and greeting in the hall ways.  Heidi and I came away with the business cards of our new support group and felt it was time well spent.  Check here for an overview of the conference.

The week after GDC I went to the Digital Marketing Conference.  Yes, the entire conference was on-line and I sat at my computer from 10:30 until 5:00 doing conference types of things.  I went to the sessions, heard the keynote, hung out in the lounge for a while, and visited the exhibits.  I did exactly the same things virtually that I had just done physically.  When I sat back to compare the two experiences, the two trips came up pretty even – with two very great exceptions.  If thinking about learning, I learned a great deal at both conferences.   More than I could readily absorb in the given time.  The digital conference was actually better at having a resource center where white papers and copies of most of the presentations could be instantly downloaded.  This was a very nice feature.  The exhibitors at both conferences were friendly and helpful, and I’ve been inundated with follow-up requests from most of them.   Good news or bad news – some of both.

The first major difference was in the networking.  At GDC Heidi and I had great hallway and lunch table conversations and came home with lots of cards.  The most amusing memory is a short, very short, talk with a young man who said he was from Sony.  When we asked him what he did, he just gave a small smile and said, “I can’t tell you.”  Ironic, the Army guy was telling us everything.  In contrast, I came away from the Digital Marketing Conference without one single individual contact to follow up with later.  Part of that is my fault.  There was a way to switch from group chat in the lounge or in the conference hall, but I didn’t figure it out fast enough.    Too bad, I did hear one group talking about switching to Second Life at the end of the conference to go for a drink.    I was the wallflower due to my more limited technological expertise.  But it wasn’t all my fault.   It was just much harder to connect.

The second major difference was a no brainer.  For GDC I flew to San Francisco, stayed in the hotel, and ate out for every meal.  The Digital Marketing Conference was free.  I didn’t even need a new outfit since flannels worked just fine.  

So, what do I take away for business models?  The social media currently available has the potential to change the way we think about opportunities, resources, and types of leadership.  If we only use them to create the same types of businesses and jobs, shame on us.  So, what might we do differently?

Submitted by: Patti Greene, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Babson College