The “Atomic Unit” of a Conference

“The Atomic Unit of Instagram is an Image” –Kevin Systrom

One of the more interesting memes to come out of John Battelle’s recent Signal San Francisco Conference was that a number of speakers started to spontaneously share what they see at the “atomic unit” of their particular product or service.

Kevin Systrom got it started with “the atomic unit of Instagram is an image”

To be followed by other key execs with:

The Atomic Unit of Twitter is a Tweet

The Atomic Unit of Google is a Search

The Atomic Unit of PinWheel is a Note

The Atomic Unit of YouTube is a Video

Etc….

While this is obviously a trend that can be continued on and on, I think the answers get especially interesting in areas that are not as clear cut as the above.

For example, all of these came up on the main stage of a Conference, but what is the Atomic Unit of a Conference?

I would assert that there are three:

1.   The Atomic Unit of a Conference Program is a shared idea.

2.   The Atomic Unit of a Conference Community is a personal interaction.

3.   The Atomic Unit of a Conference as a whole is a concrete action—one or more next steps taken
_—as a result of the ideas received and the interactions that take place.

How about you?  Is that the way you see the “Atomic Units” of the events you attend, present or sponsor?  Please let me know in the comments.