I just got back from INGroup11, an interdisciplinary conference for people who study groups. You can read the twitter commentary at #INGroup11.<\/p>\n
It was one of the best conferences I have ever attended. \u00a0I realize that by saying something like that (or even worse, the tweet confessing that I was “in love” with the conference), I don’t look like one of the cool\u00a0kids \u00a0who never get enthusiastic about anything. \u00a0I don’t get enthusiastic about most things, but when I stumble across a paper I’m reviewing, a research idea a colleague or student shares, or a conference I am attending that I think is really good, I’m not going to tamp down my enthusiasm just to look cool. \u00a0It wouldn’t help anyway: \u00a0I am\u00a0long <\/em><\/strong>past looking or being cool.<\/p>\n In any case, I think every academic or scientist needs to find the conference that they (at least secretly) get excited about. \u00a0Maybe it’s the main conference in your area, which provides a broad exposure to both the research and the leading researchers in your field. \u00a0This is a good idea for grad students and assistant professors who are looking for job connections or review letters.<\/p>\n Personally, I don’t find the broadest mainstream academic conferences to be that useful because I get tired of justifying once again after 15 years, that REALLY! \u00a0Virtual or online groups are REAL GROUPS that have meaning and impact on their members. \u00a0(Michael Hogg, I’m looking at you). \u00a0However, the conferences that are big enough to have sub-groups (like OCIS at AOM<\/a>, Organizational Communication at NCA<\/a>, or a couple of groups at ICA<\/a>) tend to be good places to interact more intimately with researchers in the \u00a0field.<\/p>\n So why did I like INGroup<\/a> so much? Intimacy and close connections certainly come to mind. \u00a0I have never had so many intellectually stimulating conversations about others’ research and my own in my academic career. \u00a0It was a supportive, engaging, and stimulating 3 days. \u00a0Honestly, the papers were good and the keynote by Richard Hackman<\/a> was very good (although I kept freaking out every time he mentioned his collaborator Anita Woolley<\/a> by her first name), but it was the interactions during the meals and extended breaks that were so intimate and engaging. \u00a0Most of the time at these conferences, former grad school friends and current colleagues hang together in pretty tight groups that are hard to break into. \u00a0It seemed the norm here to reconnect with previous connections and \u00a0also\u00a0to meet and learn about new people and research. \u00a0 It’s a great fit for me.<\/p>\n So apart from finding your “tribe” in a conference, what else should you do? \u00a0Get involved! \u00a0So many academics say that “Oh, I can’t do that! I’m not very good at networking at these things!”\u00a0Of course, you’re not. \u00a0You’re an academic! \u00a0We’re all a bunch of social goobers compared to mainstream corporate America!<\/p>\n It’s a lot easier to just volunteer to do something. \u00a0(And from an environmental psych\/behavior settings perspective–DOING SOMETHING in a setting makes it easier to appropriately be there) Contact the incoming president or program chair and tell him or her that whatever they need you to do–from \u00a0finding good\u00a0restaurants\u00a0near the venue to serving as a reviewer or associate editor–you’ll do it. \u00a0Go to the business meetings and see what volunteer opportunities interest you and sign up. \u00a0Not only is it a great way to check off some national service boxes, you get to know the people in the field that excite you, and potentially, you can develop a leadership role in keeping the conference that still excites you exciting.<\/p>\n So I’m coming back from a great conference enthusiastic about what the right conference can do. \u00a0What advice would you give to people looking to make that connection into our academic conference community?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I just got back from INGroup11, an interdisciplinary conference for people who study groups. You can read the twitter commentary at #INGroup11. It was one of the best conferences I have ever attended. \u00a0I realize that by saying something like that (or even worse, the tweet confessing that I was “in love” with the conference), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[6,7,9,8],"class_list":["post-117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-academic","tag-grad-students","tag-service","tag-tenure-track"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p67nDP-1T","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":434,"url":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/2020\/10\/23\/podcasts-during-zoom\/","url_meta":{"origin":117,"position":0},"title":"Podcasts During Zoom","author":"Anita Blanchard","date":"October 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"My mentor, Dr. Lynne Markus, wrote a very important article (Culnan & Markus, 1987 and while that is not the direct link to it b\/c it's a handbook article, the article I do link to is a follow-up that is similar). ANYHOOOOO, the gist of Culnan & Markus is stop\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/10\/VICE-Lab-2020.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/10\/VICE-Lab-2020.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/10\/VICE-Lab-2020.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/10\/VICE-Lab-2020.png?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/10\/VICE-Lab-2020.png?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":253,"url":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/2014\/02\/12\/new-and-old-media\/","url_meta":{"origin":117,"position":1},"title":"New and Old Media","author":"Anita Blanchard","date":"February 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, we're waiting for the Winter Storm of the Decade to arrive. The kids are still asleep. \u00a0The husband is not yet driving nurses all over the county in scary weather. \u00a0And I'm not prepping for class because i'm pretty sure the University is going to be closed tomorrow. \u00a0Sounds\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":237,"url":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/2013\/07\/24\/facebook-at-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":117,"position":2},"title":"Facebook at Work","author":"Anita Blanchard","date":"July 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the newer areas of research that is getting a lot of attention is if, and how, people use Facebook at work. \u00a0Some of the negatives that arise is how employees manage issues of privacy (teacher's enjoying a beer on their personal time) and impression management from sharing one's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":338,"url":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/2018\/04\/13\/academic-colleagues\/","url_meta":{"origin":117,"position":3},"title":"Academic Colleagues","author":"Anita Blanchard","date":"April 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I understand how it can go both ways in academia.\u00a0 You can have colleagues who are really part of your family.\u00a0 And you have colleagues you are, um, not. Whichever way it happens, academic colleagues are completely unlike colleagues in other organizations. Academia is the last career in which you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":374,"url":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/2019\/09\/27\/the-next-education-bubble\/","url_meta":{"origin":117,"position":4},"title":"The Next Education Bubble","author":"Anita Blanchard","date":"September 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Y'all, I think that we, on campus, who give a flying fig newton about our students see the next big educational bubble: Students who have already graduated with a university degree who know only a little more than when they left high school. Let me share some background and then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":143,"url":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/2011\/09\/14\/sabbatical\/","url_meta":{"origin":117,"position":5},"title":"Sabbatical","author":"Anita Blanchard","date":"September 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I am on sabbatical this semester, although at UNCC, we call it reassignment of duties leave. \u00a0(I think it's illegal to call it sabbatical in NC. \u00a0WHOOPS!) \u00a0So I tell people that I'm on leave this fall, which of course makes them think I'm sitting around eating bonbons and watching\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117\/revisions\/123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/anitablanchard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}