GOTO Aarhus changes format

It is no secret that one of the conferences that I really love is the GOTO Aarhus conference which takes place at the end of September. I've been there the last couple of years as a blogger, and expect to go there in that capacity again this year.

One of the things I've loved about the GOTO conference is the format, where there are several concurrent tracks spread across 3 days, where some tracks take up a whole day, while some only take up half a day. Many of the tracks are related, but the format allows you to spread your attention and explore areas you don't really have much knowledge about, without having to invest too much of your conference time.

Given this, it is with a bit of worry that I see that GOTO Aarhus has cut down the length of the conference to two days, and at the same time changed the format, so there are 5 tracks (including the vendor track) running across both days.

This seems like a step back to me, removing the possibility of the more quirky tracks like the open data / eGov track last year, which was only half a day, but which had some really fascinating speakers, presenting unique perspectives and problems.

Now, such tracks would have to be embedded in one of the more mainstream tracks, which is something I highly doubt will happen, especially given the fact that the conference is now one day shorter.

Having said that, I am sure the conference will still be great, and given the quality of the speakers I can see on the list, I am still looking forward to going there. I just think that the chances of having my mind blown has been diminished.