I am so glad to have met you and it was great working with you. What I confirmed with this experience is that you can and should give your ideas away to as many people as possible. There were a lot of people that contributed what they could in small portions and that includes the chain reaction that brought your idea and my idea together. I never expected 15 people to jump in and do a ton, I was just spreading the ripple affect which found the other two passionate people in ATL and what an amazing event that was brought together.
Leonard Witt
· 2 years ago
Hi Jeff:
I agree that the three of us did the lion's share of the work. It would not have happened if the three of us were not pulling together. And we pulled off a minor miracles in less than two months. However, I know the Kennesaw State University side ran smoothly because lots of people helped out. Lauren Booth probably put a week's worth of time into it. Maybe more. Our IT people were there to make sure everyone got on the Internet. Catering, the only ones who got paid, had everything just right. The maintenance people made sure every thing was neat and tidy and every chair and table were set up just right. Christie Jones from event planning walked us through each step. Our folks from presentation technology made sure all the AV stuff worked just perfectly. Outside of KSU Judy Knight and Grayson Daughters took care of PR with the help of Jennifer Hafer inside KSU. The KSU Ambassadors Club sent over a contingent of student volunteers. I am thinking at KSU alone I will probably have 15 thank-you letters to send out. In addition, Kevin Howarth got us the mention in Techlinks and David Reed got PayPal set up at AITA and Raghu Kakarala got us the T-shirts. How many others have I left out? A lot I am sure. For example, all the discussion leaders both on Friday and Saturday. Over the past 10 years I have put on more than 30 of these events both big and small. One thing is certain: you are dead without a strong overall plan and strong leadership, which we had in our little troika, but just as important is the support because it is the little things that make the difference between a great experience and a so so experience. From what I hear the folks had a great experience. And of course in the end that is what really matters. Now enough back patting, it's on to SoCon08.
Jeff Haynie
· 2 years ago
Yes, both you and Sherry are correct in that a number of people came together to help with the event - way beyond what we could have done ourselves. I failed to correctly characterize what I was trying to explain, which was that once we took charge and made the decision, we were able to marshal a number of people behind the event to make it happen. Countless numbers helped and supported the effort - and to that, I'm very greatful and indebted.
Tony Stubblebine
· 2 years ago
Jeff, you guys did a great job with the conference. My big takeaway was that Atlanta has a thriving tech community.
And thanks for being so supportive of CrowdVine. Do you mind if I reuse your tipping point quote?
Amber
· 2 years ago
You all did a kick-ass job with this. There was so much energy at SoCon... it was great! I can hardly wait for next year...
Jeff Haynie
· 2 years ago
Hey Tony,
You can use my tipping point quote if I can use your "Atlanta has a thriving tech community" quote! :) It's funny that 2 valley wags travelled all the way from the SV to an Atlanta event and thought we provided some value. That's wonderful!
It was a pleasure meeting you and Sarah -- you guys are awesome too! Thanks for your help and support and looking forward to a good friendship with you both.
Timothy Moenk
· 2 years ago
I totally agree with you regarding Crowdvine being the tipping point! That totally made the experience for me!
Regarding your theory on micro social networks, there's definitely been something missing in the larger social networks, and that's the idea of group identity. Micro social networks are a step towards being able to better understand the relationships between whole groups of people through behavior.
Atlanta does have a thriving tech community. Great meeting you too and I hope we have other opportunities to run into each other. My only beef with Atlanta is that it's so far away.
Jonathan Johnson
· 2 years ago
Hey folks -- Great "un-conference"...
My idea for SoCon08: how about adding film and/or music, a la www.SXSW.com?
Just my $0.02!
Jeff Haynie
· 2 years ago
As far as music, film - I talked with someone who was involved laterally with Music Midtown about something similar. It is a very interesting idea.
All Comments
I am so glad to have met you and it was great working with you. What I confirmed with this experience is that you can and should give your ideas away to as many people as possible. There were a lot of people that contributed what they could in small portions and that includes the chain reaction that brought your idea and my idea together. I never expected 15 people to jump in and do a ton, I was just spreading the ripple affect which found the other two passionate people in ATL and what an amazing event that was brought together.
I agree that the three of us did the lion's share of the work. It would not have happened if the three of us were not pulling together. And we pulled off a minor miracles in less than two months. However, I know the Kennesaw State University side ran smoothly because lots of people helped out. Lauren Booth probably put a week's worth of time into it. Maybe more. Our IT people were there to make sure everyone got on the Internet. Catering, the only ones who got paid, had everything just right. The maintenance people made sure every thing was neat and tidy and every chair and table were set up just right. Christie Jones from event planning walked us through each step. Our folks from presentation technology made sure all the AV stuff worked just perfectly. Outside of KSU Judy Knight and Grayson Daughters took care of PR with the help of Jennifer Hafer inside KSU. The KSU Ambassadors Club sent over a contingent of student volunteers. I am thinking at KSU alone I will probably have 15 thank-you letters to send out. In addition, Kevin Howarth got us the mention in Techlinks and David Reed got PayPal set up at AITA and Raghu Kakarala got us the T-shirts. How many others have I left out? A lot I am sure. For example, all the discussion leaders both on Friday and Saturday. Over the past 10 years I have put on more than 30 of these events both big and small. One thing is certain: you are dead without a strong overall plan and strong leadership, which we had in our little troika, but just as important is the support because it is the little things that make the difference between a great experience and a so so experience. From what I hear the folks had a great experience. And of course in the end that is what really matters. Now enough back patting, it's on to SoCon08.
And thanks for being so supportive of CrowdVine. Do you mind if I reuse your tipping point quote?
You can use my tipping point quote if I can use your "Atlanta has a thriving tech community" quote! :) It's funny that 2 valley wags travelled all the way from the SV to an Atlanta event and thought we provided some value. That's wonderful!
It was a pleasure meeting you and Sarah -- you guys are awesome too! Thanks for your help and support and looking forward to a good friendship with you both.
Regarding your theory on micro social networks, there's definitely been something missing in the larger social networks, and that's the idea of group identity. Micro social networks are a step towards being able to better understand the relationships between whole groups of people through behavior.
A paper I'd recommend: http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_11/no...
My idea for SoCon08: how about adding film and/or music, a la www.SXSW.com?
Just my $0.02!