How often has this happened to you: you attend a CLE (or for the non-lawyers reading this, a continuing education course or seminar of any kind) and were given a thick and heavy book of materials, and then after the CLE is over, that book goes on a shelf or in a closet somewhere, never to be seen again.
I've seen more and more conferences try to get away from this by giving out materials in electronic form instead of written form, a move that I applaud. For example, at ABA TECHSHOW 2010, each attendee received a thumb drive containing the written materials, and now that the conference is over, attendees have access to a special website containing all of the slides used during the presentation. This makes so much sense, not only because it avoids wasting paper, but also because it is more efficient to have materials in electronic form so that I can store them on my computer or document management system in a place that allows for easy search and retrieval when I want to use the documents.
Last night, Chicago attorney Kevin Thompson tweeted about a CNET article describing the annual American Association of Neurological Surgeons conference that started yesterday in Philadelphia. This year, instead of giving each doctor attending the conference a 165-page program book and briefcase-size bag, each doctor receives an iPod touch (in a slender, nylon pouch) with apps containing all of the course materials and conference info, plus links to download follow-up information from the conference. Insert your favorite joke here about "it doesn't require a brain surgeon to ...."
I think that is an interesting idea. It would have been even more interesting to distribute iPads to the attendees as I'm sure that the larger screen would make it even easier to read the content. Is it going too far to give away a device used to read electronic content instead of just the content itself in electronic form? Sure, but I suppose it is in the same vein (although more expensive) as the tote bags to carry content that are given out at virtually every conference I attend. And it certainly creates some buzz for the conference.
I'm now counting the days until the first CLE for lawyers gives out a device running the iPhone OS.