It's been about 14 hours since I emerged from the Washington Hilton, blinking in the sunlight, head swimming with what I'd been able to learn at the Nonprofit Technology Conference. On balance, it was a blast. I learned a ton, met some phenomenal people doing inspiring things, found a bar in DC I'd never heard of even after living here 3.5 years, and had great feedback on the presentation I gave about my work project. 

It was my first time at NTC, and I wasn't the only one. This year's conference was the largest in NTC history, and the complaints I heard people have were all tied into size. There was an issue with the hotel wireless service, which at a tech conference isn't a huge surprise, but should have been thought through. Similarly, there were some logistical issues that the Hilton should have been on top of - if you're going to host massive events, know how to work with your layout.

Then there was the battle for the "soul" of NTC - some people felt that with the increase in attendance, the event became too much of an ad for the sponsors and not enough about the inner circle of nonprofit tech folks. I did attend a poorly-named/described panel that turned into an ad for Convio, but the room seemed interested. I might have been, if I were a Convio user. But as a first-time attendee, I felt a few things were true. First of all, if it had just been me and the folks who'd been for years, I would have been incredibly intimidated. By having a more open event, NTEN can showcase what's best for its members, and continue to grow and expand its mission. (That might be a paid software solution.) Also, there's no denying that by hosting the conference in DC, with its huge concentration of non-profits close by, the deck was stacked in favor of a larger group.

Most interesting to me about this complaint was that it's identical to what I heard from people who didn't love this year's SXSW. Everyone wants to feel like they're part of the cool group, that their event is putting them ahead of the game. I absolutely felt that way at NTC, but even I can feel myself falling into the same trap. Other than my panel, the event I loved most at NTC was the launch party for StartSomeGood - who I've written about before - in the beautiful offices of the Case Foundation. In that smaller group of people, I felt like I was at the heart of something unique, something cool.

At least I started following NTC people on Twitter as I was already there. I'd hate to have to ignore them out of envy...