[LUAU] Am I going to TPOSSCON - If not why?

R. Scott Belford scott at hosef.org
Sun Jan 29 09:19:43 PST 2006


Matt Darnell wrote:
> A little late but here are my answers....
> 
> Am I going - No

I find your response most interesting and obviously a little late to be 
helpful.  Ironically, you made no such comments after our first year, 
when, let's see, you spoke and were an in-kind sponsor.

> 
> Why? - None of the topics were of much interest to me.  They all had a very
> academic feel to them...not practical.  The price was fine, like me, most of
> us here, I tip more that in a month.

When I first began talks with Mark Spencer, I was doing this for you, 
Matt.  You seem to be the VOIP business in Hawaii that should care about 
an Open Source VOIP speaker.  When Mark asked if Rana could attend due 
to some synergies between the work of Softel and the direction of our 
City and County under Gordon Bruce, I still thought that we had an 
appealing speaker for you.

> 
> What would cause me to attend TCON-07?  - I want hear things I can apply to
> my business...things that will make me better.  Local CEO's who have
> transitioned to OSS, what were the benefits they thought they would gain,
> what did they think it would cost - what was the result, how did it
> compare?  Are they happy, sad - what were the lessons learned, did they
> gain/savewhat they thought the would?  What companies in town are offering
> OSS solutions, what are some migration strategies.  Who are the OSS players
> in town, I tend to think of my self as plugged in, and all I know is
> Michael, Hoala, and Vince part time.

So, are you saying that you wanted a typical ROI Case Study?  These tend 
to be full of slides, well rehearsed, and, according to you, "Why would 
anyone want to come to a convention just to hear someone speak to some 
prepared slides, or a listen o remarks that person has already made 
10-20 times already at a conference?"

With respect to your list of FOSS service providers, add HOSEF to it. 
Also - Tim Newsham.  Clifton Royston.  Julian Yap.  Ron Willis.  Kris 
Hansen.  Scott Thompson.  Jim Thompson.  Scott Belford.  Jeff Mings.  I 
can go on and on, Matt.  This is the benefit of networking in an Open 
Source Community.  There are multiple VOIP providers, and, after 
TPOSSCON, the competition will be heating up.

> 
> 
> My Comments:
> 
> I assume the P in TPOSSCON means the conference hopes to attract people from
> around the pacific, Asia and the mainland.  I am not interested in hearing a
> bunch of 'OSS' intellectuals speak about the benefits, direction, etc. of
> OSS.  I need to know what works, what doesn't work.

Do you actually have any idea what the profile was of our speakers, 
Matt?  I fear that your questions belie your knowledge.

> 
> I think a smaller venue with smaller rooms would be more effective.  Who
> left TCON this year talking about how they couldn't get a seat b/c it was so
> packed.  If the conv ctr is a way to get dignitaries from the mainland, it
> isn't worth it.  As prestigious as it is to say TCON is held at the conv
> ctr, I do not see the benefit.  The WIFI situation would have made my blood
> boil.

Who has left any conference saying they could not get a seat?  Have you 
ever sat in a conference session at Linuxworld?

The WiFi situation was a triumph for the engineering of Netgate and the 
spirit of HOSEF.  We had great connectivity, for Free.  Some people find 
problems in the world; HOSEF finds solutions.

> 
> I think general conferences are dead.  If I subscribed to a couple of
> podcasts, I am sure I could hear what the speakers presented, maybe not the
> exact same thing, but something similar.  Why would anyone want to come to a
> convention just to hear someone speak to some prepared slides, or a listen
> to remarks that person has already made 10-20 times already?

Do you know who Aaron Seigo is?  Full-time KDE developer, paid by 
Trolltech and a Nanakuli Graduate.  Do you know that we had hands-on and 
speaking sessions, Matt.  Both Aaron and John Terpstra could have shown 
you plenty that your company and employees would have benefited from.

> 
> Targeted conferences will continue to be successful, IMO, TCON needs to have
> a target market....OSS in education, OSS in government, OSS in the
> construction industry, OSS - making a smooth transition from Windows to
> OSS.  That has a much better chance of attracting the 10-20 people that will
> attend every yeae. The CIO of Hackysack PA can convince the mayor for funds
> for a trip if they will learn how to save $$$$'s and talk to other like
> minded folks.  A general OSS conference is too.....general.

Do you not think that the CEO of Hackysack might have been intrigued by 
Rana Dutt, Gordon Bruce, Peter Quinn, Tom Welch, or Mike Balma?

> 
> Aloha,
> Matt

--scott



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