One of the banes of going to events like this is that the same speakers get recycled from event to event. It’s a small group. So who were the best speakers at the IDPF event? This makes them, by the way, the best speakers at ToC, Digital Book World, etc., so you might want to remember them and be sure to glom onto them at the next conference you go to. Here they are, in alphabetical order:
Peter Balis, John Wiley & Sons: Peter always tells the truth, be it good or bad. No corporate-apeak for him. Not only that he tells it in a compelling way.
Richard Nash, Red Lemonade: Richard is one of a kind. Entertaining, irreverent, witty and opinionated. You might not agree with him, but he’s always worth listening to and thinking about. He also has one of the best vocabularies you’ll ever come across. (And it’s fun to watch him laugh at his own jokes.)
Dominique Raccah: If you want data analysis, Dominique is the way to go. You can count on her to tell you what’s really going on from a publishing perspective. And, importantly, when your butt gets tired from all that sitting, her enthusiasim is infectious. She really loves her job and the industry – and it shows. (She also has a great first name.)
Evan Schnittman, Bloomsbury: Again, someone in the Baylis category of truth tellers. A thoughtful person whose opinions you have to respect.
The next time you go to a conference be sure to hear these people, even if the topic is not one you’d normally be interested in.
