I am posting an After-Action Report on the recent Instant Messaging Planet Conference, rather than a series of reports during the conference, since the conference organizers did not provide a wireless network for the show. (In fact, I heard a rumor that the conference hotel shut off their wireless network during the conference, so that all expo internet access could be routed through leased internet services.)

I found the IMP conference itself rewarding, particularly the keynotes by Steve Boom (SVP. Enterprise Solutions, Yahoo!) and Gurdeep Singh Pall (General Manager, Real-Time Messaging and Platform Group, Microsoft).

The conference format I found wearing: two tracks of panel sessions aside from the four keynotes, but the quality of the presenters seems to counter the problems in format and makes listening worthwhile. But it seems like an endless banquet of finger food, and I found myself by the end of day one hungry for a real meal: a deeper presentation of market trends, protocols, what's happening in the wireless community, or best practices from the field. Notably absent are case studies from end users, which in my experience are the presentations most desired by technology users.

For the conference to grow into something more useful and well-attended (I think there were at most 150 paid attendees, after you subtract all the speakers, vendors, analysts, and journalists) the organizers will need to revamp the conference structure, and market it more aggressively, as well.

Despite these shortcomings, I look forward to the conference as an opportunity to meet with dozens of my industry contacts and to learn what others are saying about the state of the market. I'm like the guy who goes back to the same cottage in the mountains every summer, despite the lumpy mattresses, the mice in the attic, and the tendency of the nearby stream to flood its banks. All year long I tell fish stories about the last vacation there and make plans for the next trip back.