Hey Rick,
I wanted to attend this year and may have even presented, but
situations
change. I'd like to hear some other views of the show. I attended Long
Beach
last year(was it last year? days are running together now) and it seemed
quite small compared to the Las Vegas show I attended several years prior.
I
think, and have always thought, that the Spectrum conference is an
organized
show-and-tell for software vendors. The vendor exhibits is a norm for
conferences, but I would like to see more non-commercial sessions. What I
mean by that is less of the product focus in topics and more about the
developer and technology in general. I've talked with Nathan and even
Cliff
a little regarding that and I feel that many people know what the
community
wants. The problem is getting "it" freely and without the commercial
strings
pre-attached. I'm working on an DIY XML ****pping integration article set
for
Spectrum and was hoping to have part of it out before the conference, but
that fact is I'm a full time developer/network admin/system admin/IT
director/etc and I have my own job to do before I can spend time on fun
perimeter stuff. That tends to be a typical problem with getting the
things
that attendees really want. Chuck seems to alway do atleast one or two
non-commercial sessions, but the focus there is still vendor advertisement
in some light. It's extremely difficult to pay for a coast-to-coast trip
if
you're not getting anything out of it apart from lime-light, especially if
you have to pay your own way. People attending a conference want to see
the
newest toys, learn which way the new current is going to flow, pick up a
few
new ideas and also leave with a negative or positive sense about their own
project and business directions. From the few conferences I've attended
(Spectrum, Comdex) I feel that Spectrum is a vendor groupie meet where
Comdex is a technology training ground and showcase. Yeah, I know that
Spectrum is a tiny conference compared to the larger market conferences
but
the attendee wants are the same. I have a well-founded notion that a
developers association could help with that, if it was a member funded
organization. It would be nice to offer recognized developer Joe Smith
free
airfare, meals, and a hotel room to present on technology X to a
free-ticket
audience. The problem there is getting the commercial backing to help
sup****t the public view of the organization. Secondly, who would pay $100
a
year to be a member of an organization that has no defined focus, no
"recognized" members, and definately no conference plans. Lastly, who has
the time and skills to make such a thing happen? I'm putting the iniative
out, but with twin infants my free time is small. Comments anyone?
http://mvdevcentral.com
GlenB
"Rick Weiser" <rickw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:17e1301a-bb43-4865-8dbd-5c2564a77dcd@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> All,
>
> I am sitting in Phoenix waiting for my flight that has been delayed
> for 3 hours. So, I thought I would write a note about the Spectrum
> show that ended last night. To describe the event in one word,
> "Excellent". I don't know the exact number but it appeared to me that
> there were many more end users and VARS there this year than last.
> For the first time in years, I didn't recognize the attendees walking
> around. This is a good thing as this means that Nathan did a good job
> of marketing. I had a short discussion with Nathan this morning and
> congratulated him personally on a job well done.
>
> For those of you not in attendance, you should rethink this for next
> year. Nathan has some good ideas to put forth in the coming years and
> I think you will all enjoy whats ahead.
>
> I missed the first couple of days of the show because of scheduling
> conflicts but for the 2 days that I was there I found the events to be
> fresh and enthusiastic. The closing event was the highlight of the
> show, a Casino Night. People were having such a good time that we
> complained every time Nathan interrupted us with a door prize
> drawing. And as usual Drew Conboy won the grand prize, this must have
> been fixed (only kidding). Come to think of it, I won the first door
> prize (and no, it wasn't fixed or at least thats my story).
>
> Serious though, I thing all of you should serious think about
> attending next year. This one was a blast.
>
> Thanks again Nathan,
>
> Rick
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