If you have a chance, check out this article in the latest issue of EDUCAUSE Review: Conference Connections: Rewiring the Circuit

Not only does it give some great insight into how technology is changing conferences, but also gives a plug to OCS:

"Open Conference Systems from the Public Knowledge Project is an example of a powerful and freely available toolset for adjudicating, presenting, and publishing conference proceedings."

The authors:

George Siemens is Associate Director, Learning Technologies Centre, at the University of Manitoba and is Founder and President of Complexive Systems Inc.

Peter Tittenberger is Director, Learning Technologies Centre, at the University of Manitoba.

Terry Anderson is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Distance Education at Athabasca University