Our Discoveries have been small by design. We've never put more than 500 people together at any one time because we know the kinds of conversations that can happen in intimate settings. We've seen enlightening exchanges, best practices shared, head-scratching moments morph into ah-ha moments. If you've been to a Discovery Summit, you know what I'm talking about.
But now the world has changed, and in-person gatherings are ill-advised. Yet it is more important than ever to put brilliant people together...to challenge one another and to lift each other up.
What does this mean for the Discovery Summit series? It means my colleagues and I will figure out how to keep Discoveries collaborative even as we move online. We will figure out how to present plenaries, papers and posters in a way that incorporates questions and conversations. Meet the Developers and Ask the Experts will evolve as needed. And we'll even figure out how to facilitate those hallway conversations.
There is a bright, shiny silver lining to moving Discovery Summits online for a while: These events are now available to the analytically curious people who have previously been limited by geography and/or inability to travel. While I expect that we will continue to restrict registration numbers to maintain that intimate experience, I predict that we will see a more globally diverse line-up of papers, posters and registrants. The only limitation is time zone, and when you're working from home, is that really that big of a hurdle?
So, October's Discovery Summit Cary will become the Discovery Summit "from" Cary. Discovery Summit Shanghai will be "from" Shanghai and Tokyo will be "from" Tokyo.
In other words, no passports, no visas, no airline tickets needed in 2020. Just a curious mind, an interest in data exploration, and a desire to work through real-world problems with statistical techniques.
