# Any conversation can be a conference `Yes. A key difference between these two models is that in academia, the small-group workshops may not be open-invitation, but they are (usually) not secret, and they produce publications. That seems better.` https://twitter.com/andy_matuschak/status/1388854060841906181 It’s fine for a conference to be invite only, but the trick is that the results need to be disseminated and published. I don’t see why a great conversation couldn’t be similar. `Proceedings of conversation between X and Y on $DATE`. Yes, it would absolutely take more work than not producing some kind of artifact and often sensitive things are discussed in 1-1 conversations so there would need to be a social tool to make sure that everybody approves of the output. In the same way that [[A minimum viable scene can be created by two people]]. In fact, this may be a way to kick-start a scene by giving people a bit of a window into what’s going on behind the scenes. Otherwise, in scenes that aren’t devoted to producing legible artifacts (like music or art) the loudest, most legible people tend to dominate. Publishing results of a conversation solves some of the tension between the fact that scenes need ‘open entrance’ to be healthy[^1] but at the same time open discussions tend to suck. < [[Fully open online discussions are low quality because of trust and context]]>. ### Related * [[Cross-disciplinary real research conferences are underdone]] * [[Heretical scientists and cryptoacademics are natural allies]] * [[Treat people as nodes and artifacts as edges]] * [[Fully open online discussions are low quality because of trust and context]] [^1]: This podcast with [[Alex Danco]] gives some good case studies about how this dynamic worked in the NYC music scene: [Alex Danco - Makes A Scene (EP.39) | Infinite Loops](https://t.co/baoQG39PFn?amp=1). [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Any+conversation+can+be+a+conference) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Any+conversation+can+be+a+conference)