ALTHOUGH SOME may be surprised, I do not know anyone who has spoken to a travel agent while sorting out international air travel to professional events during the past two years. Today's knowledge workers know how to use cool tools--many of those in the pockets of those as SxSW. This is the efficiency of disintermediation (D+16) at work. Where I work, we can burden two other people to book and pay for flights beforehand, but if we figure out the travel requirements and charge them ourselves, it's easy to get expenses covered before flying or immediately after returning from the event.
Tom Markiewicz at SxSW: "How may people talked to a human for travel plans to get here? (2 hands raised in over a 1000 people) "
Keith Bohanna in Kilkenny: "I still am in awe of this percentage."