On Mar 9, 4:59*pm, JJCSR <JCro... (AT) ktp (DOT) com> wrote:

Agreed. Travelling in the Winter is a PITA anyway, and doing so to
just see more Winter isn't very motivating. Add to that the lovely US
TSA factor, and air travel becomes even less appealing.

--
Kevin Powick

On Mar 10, 10:58*am, Kevin Powick <kpow... (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:
Obviously you need to lobby Nathan .... he is about due to hold an
event in OZ again .... and the venues are always "coastal", so need to
worry about snow!

GFC probably hasn't helped his cause either. Having said that, Las
Vegas sounds great for next year to me :-)

Just misc thoughts here...

When I think of Denver I think of last year when people got snowed in
and had to wait a day or more to get home.

As a provider of mostly services I'm not going to get a booth/table.
There's nothing to show people, no reason to sit and wait for people
to stop by. My only chance of getting new business is the hope that
someone will recognize me or be referred to me, I'll get asked a few
"can we do this" questions, and that might lead to a call. In today's
virtual world we can meet anyone via Skype, GoToMeeting, and maybe a
webcam. The possibility for a chance encounter doesn't compel me to
incur the expense.

Speaking of virtual - forget Oz, Vegas, or anywhere else. How about
Second Life or some other virtual environment where we can meet
without travel expenses, and congregate via avatars and/or webcam?

All that said, I have made valuable contacts at Spectrum - and I've
met many of you (arguably valuable LOL) there as well. This people
factor is one of the only reasons I go to Spectrum.

The sessions are of course a major draw, but I don't see anything that
really draws a guy like me. Spectrum is for end-users and VARs who
want to learn basics. It's not a venue for shaking up the market, or
introducing game changing business or technical concepts. If _that_
was what Spectrum was about (like SMA of old), dude, I'd be happy to
pay to brave a mile-high storm.

T

Nathan and I talk with some frequency and I've been encouraged at his
ideas for the future of Spectrum. It does take some time, however, to
make it all come together. But other than the Denver/snow issue (and
hey, I got snowed out of my own end-of-conference party last year), if
Spectrum were your show, what would you do?

On Mar 10, 1:07*am, Tony Gravagno
<address.is.in.po... (AT) removethis (DOT) com.invalid> wrote:
I noticed that Comdex is going reappear as a virtual show. It will be
interesting to see how well that works.

Eugene

"Kevin King" <kevin (AT) precisonline (DOT) com> wrote

Kevin, of course that is the great question.

The answer is "whatever increases attendance". Every decision should be
based on that.

Sorry if that doesn't answer the question but hopefully it clarifies the
goal.
Jeff

On Mar 11, 1:53*am, eppick77 <eppic... (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:
I can see LOT's or virtual beers being shouted!!!

I know I'm chiming in late here, but been a bit busy.

The original plan when I took over Spectrum was to move it around.
There were local groups of MultiValue people that didn't get a chance
to attend because of travel costs.

So the idea was to move the Spectrum around to help offset the travel
costs for those in different parts of the country. While did Denver
first, it was easier to get to. It is easier to keep costs down to
stay in the same location for 2 years, if not the same hotel. So,
next year we are looking at doing stuff on the east coast or Florida.

Sorry, West Coast people, but it’s not going to be any closer to you
next year either, but will be closer to the users on the Easter Sea
board. We will make it back to the West Coast, though.

My plans for OZ and the UK kind of got shot recently, but still have
plans for there as well.

-Nathan

Well, atleast the virtual beer would keep my bar bill down a bit.

I have the utmost faith in Nathan and his decisions for the business.

While some of the shows are an inconvenience for me, I understand that
simultaneously they become extremely convenient for others. I might
gripe a bit about this but I understand the reality of the situation.
C'est la vie.


Kevin King wrote:
On a couple occasions I've sent Natan extensive notes on exactly what
I think should be done with the business. I won't go into it here.

Now - ask me what the DBMS companies should do... LOL

T