Pop quiz: what kind of event is this?

• 90m length
• Held using Zoom
• Free

Is this a marketing webinar, a free workshop, or ???

A TEI member recently held a free workshop. Registration numbers were OK but attendance was low both in terms of numbers and the motivation of those who showed up.

As we were troubleshooting, we realized: maybe the format seemed to attendees more like a marketing webinar than a valuable educational event.

Formats definitely give off signals. If some university packaged up an MBA as 1 month of weekend aclasses, we would question the value because our genre expectations are "masters degree = 2 years of intense learning".

Can you engage in "genre bending"? Of course!

The TEI member with the low workshop turnout wasn't doing that, but it was a good lesson: make sure the format of the group event you're planning sends the right signals about the event's purpose and value.

Keep building; keep taking risks, y'all
-P