Free conference on new media and society: old-style event

The RSA is following up discussions it hosted recently on open source politics with a more substantial free conference on The social impact of the web: society, government and the Internet on May 25. It fits with moves by the new chief executive, Matthew Taylor, to re-energise the 250-year-old institution with new forms of engagement inside and out. Earlier posts on that here and here. The e-mail invitation says:

The RSA is looking to explore the political culture and norms that the internet has been instrumental in fostering, both in relation to centralised democratic politics, and more diffuse social and civic networks, including blogging.
Our view in essence is that the high hopes of the 90s for e-democracy and new forms of on-line consultation and community mobilisation have not been met. Rather than fostering new forms of constructive engagement, dialogue and 'pro-social' community action, the type of politics most favoured by the internet seems to be conversations between fellow believers, anti-establishment cynicism and single issue mobilisation.  Too many attempts by public authorities to use the web simply involved putting existing information and processes on-line.
The communication model has been vertical and mainly downward. But we think the emergence of web 2.0 offers an opportunity to revive the idealism of a decade ago. While internet 1.0 continued to reinforce an 'us' versus 'them' divide between citizens and power, we can envisage web 2.0 encouraging a rich and constructive 'us and us' dialogue in which citizens deliberate, innovate and act together.

I have signed up with the promise of these speakers:

• Professor Cass Sunstein, Karl N. Llewellyn Dist. Service Prof. of Jurisprudence, Law School, Dept. of Political Science and the College, University of Chicago
• Tom Steinberg, Founder and Director, mySociety and former policty analyst
• Andrew Chadwick, Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Royal Holloway, University of London
• William Davies, Goldsmiths, University of London

I'm sure these speakers will have lots to tell us, of great value. But I am also sure that there will be even more wisdom in the several hundred people attending, and I suspect we will be rather inhibited in contributing beyond the usual question and answer sessions, and coffee-break networking.
The problem is that the RSA has a wonderful theatre-style Great Room (pictured) that is terrific for 'us' to 'them' lectures, but no good for more participatory events where everyone gets a say, perhaps with a mixture of presentation and open space or unconferencing.  We'll be collected, barely connected and certainly not collective. Definitely not Web 2.0. The invitation says:

This conference will ask: How can new internet technology empower us to interact with each other in novel ways?

Daring thought: might the RSA modify its events format on special occasions, and "explore how new meetings technology can empower us to interact with each other in old ways (conversation)"? Any ideas?
Update: William Davies is promising an update on what he calls his bah humbug thesis ... may be Curmudgeon 2.0. The earlier version included:

My plea is simply that we should give serious and sustained thought to what types of cultural norms are going to be needed to make ours a civil and decent society which can respect the norms of public space, without being locked into private forms of entertainment and quasi-socialising.

Comments

[Andrew Brown]

Looks like it could be an interesting event and I'll try to get there.

Not so sure about whether the stuff about "lines may be crossed between what is real and unreal in our lives." will be entirely relevant for me though...