Brewed Fresh Daily

Yesterday at the CC meeting, we briefly discussed the Convention Center Paradigm. Jack Ricchuito said something incredible profound that I fortunately had the foresight to jot down, "It's an Industrial Institution in an Information Age". Kenn Louis also questioned the validity of the model when Cleveland businesses like Webcast Group a creating growing industries using the internet to broadcast conferences. But then again, that doesn't allow "two old guys to stand belly to belly and talk". Which is why I'm posting this link Joi Ito's post about a HeckleBot. A bot is a simple piece of software, in this case, used in Internet Relay Chat. Joi is trying to get people to help him set up an LED screen that will display audience feedback to the speaker thru IRC. How cool is that? Has anyone applied this sort of thinking to the Convention Center Paradigm? I doubt it. I think the folks leading the charge haven't even given much thought to the financials, let alone how to position it successfully. What do you think?