Web Hosting Talk : Other Forums : HostingCon : sessions at 8:30 in the morning. bah

[sailor]

please dont do this again next year - I cant get up that early after partying with customers and competitors (that are friends ) to the wee hours and I wanted to go to a session every morning - I paid for the full ocnference pass and then the other sessions did not start till later in the day when we were ready to slide out and drink.

11 am till 1 would be great - luch from 1-2 and then another session at 2:30 - 4 and then we can hit the show floor for a bit if we like.

please.. I would be more encouraged to buy the full con package for me and y guys again if we are able to use due to realistic times.

[UH-Matt]

I agree, there is enough time in the day to fit in sessions and expo hall all at slightly later times.

It seems that a large percentage of attendee's do like to do the late thing and continue "networking" (hmm yea) into the early hours.

Even if things could start at 10am rather than 8:30 then that would make it a lot easier to take more benefit away. By making it an 8:30 start we didnt even bother trying until 1. If it was a 10AM start we could have a better aim!!

Its not like things were so packed in that it NEEDED to start that early, especially as no breakfast was included and we needed to sort that BEFORE getting to the conference.

[Rochen]

Totally agree with you, Jeff. I think the earliest we made it down on any of the three days was 11AM.

- Chris

[nod32usa]

I also agree - the 8:30 starts were missed on each of the 2nd and 3rd days by the both of us... it's too early with even a semi-reasonable amount of drinking... the lack of breakfast meant we had to sort out some decent grub on our own... the breakfast situation in Las Vegas was seriously better than the donuts at Navy Pier....

[RyanD]

Yeah,

Given that I was with Jeff I was in the exact same "boat" and I think the only day we made it down there before 11 was on the 1st day and that was because I forgot to shut our blinds the night before and the sun had me out of bed early

[hostpc.com]

8:30 - as in AM?? I think I was just getting IN about that time

FS threw a HELLA good party!

[Anky]

I fully agree on this - I made it on Monday by 8:30, but the rest of the week 11-12 is when I showed up, if not a bit later. My strong desire was to just show up before lunch

There were one or two sessions I wanted to attend though and wish I got a chance to do that.

[sirtwist]

We'll be looking at the schedule to tweak it a bit for next year, but you guys need to understand that we have to have a significant chunk of time on days 2 and 3 where the exhibit hall is open and there isn't anything else competing with it. I do hear you, though, that 8:30 is too early. I was over there between 6 and 7 every morning. I'm still recovering!

As for breakfast... the reason we went to just coffee and rolls was that we wasted a ton of food last year on breakfast. If we provide breakfast, we have to let the facility know how many people are eligible to get breakfast (i.e. everyone with Full Conference) so they can make enough food. We only had about 100-125 people actually come and eat breakfast each day last year, when we paid for 500+.

[Corey Bryant]

We spoke at the 8:30 conference actually. There were a few people there, and the questions were actually pretty good so the quality was better than the quantity on this one I will have to admit.

[sailor]

Originally Posted by sirtwist

We'll be looking at the schedule to tweak it a bit for next year, but you guys need to understand that we have to have a significant chunk of time on days 2 and 3 where the exhibit hall is open and there isn't anything else competing with it. I do hear you, though, that 8:30 is too early. I was over there between 6 and 7 every morning. I'm still recovering!

As for breakfast... the reason we went to just coffee and rolls was that we wasted a ton of food last year on breakfast. If we provide breakfast, we have to let the facility know how many people are eligible to get breakfast (i.e. everyone with Full Conference) so they can make enough food. We only had about 100-125 people actually come and eat breakfast each day last year, when we paid for 500+.

I dont care about breakfast - I prefer breakfast in my hotel when I walk downstairs.

there is plenty of time to hit the show during the day - and go to the sessions. later conferences in the morning will keep us coming back so we get our moneys worth.

[WebAus-Angus]

Another vote against 8.30 am starts

As for breakfast on 2 of the days I had a great one at the Bill Goats cafe I think it is called - maybe you could speak to them for next year with a set menu that people with eligibility have the opportunity to take advantage of between certain hours then you just pay them for the number they serve

Otherwise have to say it was my first time and congrats to George and the team for a fantastic show I got everything I hoped for out of it and then some!!

Will definitely be back next year and will be looking to bring some staff and planning for a couple of extra days afterwards to actually see Chicago or some of it

Given the schedule I wouldn't mind there being an extra exhibit day as the first one I spent sussing out the exhibits and getting info from them then wanted to sit down and chat on the second but also wanted to attend the seminars and they had to be ditched so didn't actually manage to speak as deeply as I wished with everyone

Having said that a considerable amount of time was spent wandering around in a hangover induced daze which is self explanatory

[bwb]

I agree, I was jet lagged and woke up around 10am and missed a few 8.30 sessions i wanted to be at.

[the_pm]

I'm about 50/50 on this debate.

It seems reasonable enough to me that a large group of business people ought to be able to manage making it to a morning session at a reasonable time on a work day. Of course the reality here is that "social networking" is a huge part of HostingCon, often times at the expense of the event itself.

Here's a question for everyone who did not make it to morning sessions. If one of the sessions gave everyone who entered the room $10,000 cash just for showing up on time, would you have been there? Would you have dragged your asses out of bed, despite the partying and made sure you made it on time? Or perhaps would you have cut off your partying at a more manageable time to make sure you were fresh the next morning?

I'm not saying this because I'm putting blame on people who partied. Just the opposite in fact! Perhaps the problem was that the first morning sessions didn't offer enough incentive for people to alter their behaviors enough to show up. Incentive could be anything - quality/relevance of information, cutting edge "you cannot afford to miss this" content, star appeal, what-have-you. I went to the Wednesday morning session led by Troy Augustine, and the room was nearly at capacity - great presentation, great information, well communicated/advertised intent and people showed up!

I left Wednesday mid-afternoon, so I don't know how the show ended. Were participants given a survey, or some way to respond regarding each session? What measurable feedback was gathered from the conference that tells us the sessions were on-point?

So maybe there's a happy medium here. Maybe starting the first session at 9:30 or 10 a.m. gives people enough time to balance their partying v. their mornings, but doesn't push sessions off too much in terms of timing. Maybe find a way to gauge the impact of various sessions being offered, and front load a bit.

I like the idea of the exhibit hall being open Monday and Tuesday, with tear-down Tuesday evening. Mix that with a high-impact last day, the biggest keynote speaker, the BBQ or whatever event ends the conference, etc., and I think the schedule works out best.

Oh yeah - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not skimp out on the air conditioning the day of exhibition hall setup!!! Holy crap, that was an uncomfortable room!

Chicago was great. I personally liked it much more than Vegas a sa general venue. Vegas is great for partying. I'll be sure to make it out there again soon. Chicago is much better-balanced. I had no problem with the Navy Pier's distance to the hotels. The shuttles were quick, and it was much faster than getting to the conference from hotels in Vegas - not even that much different than trying to get to the convention area from within the same hotel! Chicago

[sailor]

Originally Posted by the_pm

I'm about 50/50 on this debate.

It seems reasonable enough to me that a large group of business people ought to be able to manage making it to a morning session at a reasonable time on a work day. Of course the reality here is that "social networking" is a huge part of HostingCon, often times at the expense of the event itself.

Here's a question for everyone who did not make it to morning sessions. If one of the sessions gave everyone who entered the room $10,000 cash just for showing up on time, would you have been there? Would you have dragged your asses out of bed, despite the partying and made sure you made it on time? Or perhaps would you have cut off your partying at a more manageable time to make sure you were fresh the next morning?

I'm not saying this because I'm putting blame on people who partied. Just the opposite in fact! Perhaps the problem was that the first morning sessions didn't offer enough incentive for people to alter their behaviors enough to show up. Incentive could be anything - quality/relevance of information, cutting edge "you cannot afford to miss this" content, star appeal, what-have-you. I went to the Wednesday morning session led by Troy Augustine, and the room was nearly at capacity - great presentation, great information, well communicated/advertised intent and people showed up!

I left Wednesday mid-afternoon, so I don't know how the show ended. Were participants given a survey, or some way to respond regarding each session? What measurable feedback was gathered from the conference that tells us the sessions were on-point?

So maybe there's a happy medium here. Maybe starting the first session at 9:30 or 10 a.m. gives people enough time to balance their partying v. their mornings, but doesn't push sessions off too much in terms of timing. Maybe find a way to gauge the impact of various sessions being offered, and front load a bit.

I like the idea of the exhibit hall being open Monday and Tuesday, with tear-down Tuesday evening. Mix that with a high-impact last day, the biggest keynote speaker, the BBQ or whatever event ends the conference, etc., and I think the schedule works out best.

Oh yeah - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not skimp out on the air conditioning the day of exhibition hall setup!!! Holy crap, that was an uncomfortable room!

Chicago was great. I personally liked it much more than Vegas a sa general venue. Vegas is great for partying. I'll be sure to make it out there again soon. Chicago is much better-balanced. I had no problem with the Navy Pier's distance to the hotels. The shuttles were quick, and it was much faster than getting to the conference from hotels in Vegas - not even that much different than trying to get to the convention area from within the same hotel! Chicago

you do not understand us at all.


we would have partied harder all night and then simply walked in with drinks in our hand and picked up the 10K and kept going. that would have given us something to keep partying all night for.

just switch to red bull and jaeger

[the_pm]

Originally Posted by sailor

you do not understand us at all.


we would have partied harder all night and then simply walked in with drinks in our hand and picked up the 10K and kept going. that would have given us something to keep partying all night for.

just switch to red bull and jaeger

Then there's your answer

a) More incentive to attend morning sessions on the part of Interjuncture.

b) Party all night so you don't have to drag your assed out of bed in the morning, because you never went to bed in the first place. Problem solved, right?