ASAE08: Scheduling - 2 steps forward, more needed
As a follow-on to Ben's "schedule fail" post, I can't help but vent a bit on the Annual Meeting schedule/structure. But, before I do, just want to say that I get a massive amount of value each year from attending the Annual Meeting. So, take this vent as constructive criticisms from a devoted customer...
In regards to steps forward, kudos to the event planners who listened to complaints about the commingling of awards and keynote speakers in past years. Folks would show up for the speaker and then "suffer" through an hour of singing and dancing. This year, the solution has been to put all the awards action into a breakfast celebration. Perfect! No confusion or mixed expectations. Another step forward has been the inclusion of much needed social media related sessions (one of which I'm co-presentingg).
In terms of gripes, well the first one is the classic "good problem to have": there's too much I want to attend! With an average of 20 sessions per slot, argh, it is painful to just pick one - and frustrating to know you are missing out on so much more.
What's bewildering is that, to Ben's point, there's actually a lot of overlap within any given time slot. For example, during my slot there are three other social media sessions, plus the BloggerCon meeting. My sense is that this has partially to do with using the CAE "areas of knowledge" as the framework for sorting content. And, if it is, I'm ready to debate why that's the wrong approach... But I digress.
Further, the most frustrating element is the "forced" herding onto the expo floor. I look at my schedule and all I see are massive gaps for when the exhibits are open. Personally, I don't care much to see 101 different CVBs, etc, and would much prefer cramming in another learning session on each day. Most conferences I attend have content and expo running in parallel. This gives the option to the attendee to determine where to spend their time.
Also, what was the idea behind putting Learning Labs up against Thought Leaders? And, do I really need a "mid meeting break" on Monday?
Anyway, surely there are all good rationalizations for my above gripes. And, I'm still super excited to attend and have no doubt that my brain will be exploding with new knowledge and inspiration.
| | Permalink |
Comments
JDR - I am with you. See my post on sessions. I also agree that forced exhibit time is not for everyone. I understand that many of those folks want to go to sessions too, but not everyone wants to hit the floor, again and again. I know the exhibitors help pay the bills, so we need to get them traffic, but maybe kill a day of the floor. Or have the floor open all day for one day.
Great conference though. Just some ideas.
Posted by: Matt Baehr | August 14, 2008 5:14 PM
For the past 2 years, BloggerCon was held as an unofficial session over expo hours. It worked pretty well for those of us who can only take so much "Meet in Springfield!" :-)
One of the unintended consequences of giving the BloggerCon more exposure is that it's now up against other cool sessions. Hence, the BloggerUnCon. It will be interesting to hear how the association community bloggers react to the new, more public format.
Thanks for the link! See you soon, Jason, and everyone else, too!
Posted by: Ben Martin, CAE | August 14, 2008 5:33 PM
All of us who put on expos hear the exact same things about tradeshow time, and it is extremely difficult to find a balance to keep up traffic without making attendees wish they had something else to do. One sure way to get crucified by exhibitors, though, is to hold competing educational sessions at the same time as expo hours -- particularly if it's a conference tradeshow whose attendees at the tradesow are primarily conference registrants; it's a little easier to manage when you serve a market that can draw drive-in "expo only" attendees.
Frankly, I feel the same way as Jason and Matt in that there's always so much expo time at ASAE, and I don't really need or want that much time on the floor, but I completely understand the difficulties ASAE must experience with scheduling. I don't think any conference out there has found the magic formula, but if they have, I wish they would share it with the rest of us!
Posted by: Kevin | August 14, 2008 6:12 PM
I have the same mixed feelings on the exhibit hall. I know my meetings colleagues (and others as well) need the three days on the floor to visit all of the exhibitors and CVBs. On my end, in membership, I typically don't need three days in the hall. So, I find myself heading out of the convention center for some fresh air and sunshine and then returning for sessions later in the day. The challenge for all of us is how to keep our exhibitors happy and contributing financially, so that we can have a strong financial base, and also a show that draws attendees. But I'd also wonder the best way to keep attendees not interested in a full exhibit hall experience in the building--whether it's short stand up programs on the floor, lounges (a la Decision to Join last year), etc. It's something I'll brainstorm on while I'm on the floor next week. Like Kevin said, there's no magic formula. But I'm sure there are some ideas out there.
Posted by: Miriam Miller | August 15, 2008 1:34 AM
Sure, no easy answers here regarding the expo hours. However, I'd say that keeping exhibitors happy is not serving my needs as a member. I need more education and learning and peer interaction.
Adding more education slots would allow a better spread of the existing content, or addition of more content. Which, in turn may help to attract more attendees - actually creating more traffic for exhibitors. And, keeping the expo floor open for longer (and in parallel to the content) would ensure that exhibitors are not overwhelmed.
Fine, don't open the floor at the same time as the feature speaker or a big party/event. But, all in between folks should have the choice to jump to whatever most meets their needs.
Oh, BTW, another step forward that I forgot to mention above is how the session formats are labeled more intelligently this year (eg, lecturing vs group interaction, etc).
Jason
Posted by: Jason Della Rocca | August 15, 2008 3:42 AM