Re: COMMON Focus was: SQL Finding & Using -- MIDRANGE-L

COMMON has only one small hurdle :-) change is hard! Pete, those things of
which you speak are no longer called what a cow chews. Those events are now
called iSocials. (Other than the non-sanctioned one on the last night where
people think it is ok to reminisce about the past and drink a lot....)

For everyone else, Pete is right - COMMON has Community and Networking. As a
user group, we are focusing on how we can be a better resource for the
community in which we live. This extends to Local User Groups, iSociety,
industry SIGs and other three or four letter acronyms like YiPs. While
COMMON is now building more tools and applying a stronger focus in some of
these areas, most other conferences are attend+leave.with.CD-follow.up. For
example, is there an equivalent to the COMMON Connect magazine for any other
organization with this level of conference? (ok, TUG has a great magazine!)

While COMMON has a large group of volunteers who do an amazing amount of
work to put together a world class conference, other conferences pay their
people. This is not a ~bad~ or a ~good~ thing, but for the size of the
conference, it is really an amazing feat. Even people with a beef about room
rates and/or "obscene penalty taxes" still turn up to the conference in case
they miss something amazing - like the cool Thursday party. And for those
who want it, we also have the cool Tuesday IBM night, the Comfort Zone
sessions (not a feature of the tech conference), the Recognition Night that
gave away a 515 in Anaheim... the list goes on.

You want education, you can get education from many places. Value for money,
COMMON is worth every penny (including the expenses) and gives you education
across the board, from an active community organization, with a buzz and an
energy that you take home with you from the conference. And, as the
community is re-energized by attending the conferences, COMMON becomes the
place to learn, socialize, expo, and have lots of fun.

I am also somewhat biased - as the leader of the CaN team at COMMON. And,
FWIW, we would love your input and feedback to help us make this a better
place. COMMON has been listening - has your IBM tech conference? :-)

Trevor

On 9/21/07 3:39 PM, "Pete Massiello" <pmassiello-ml@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

There are things at COMMON like Community and Networking that you don't get
as much at IBM's Tech Conf. Whether these are the Ask the Expert nights at
CUDs (COMMON User Discussion Socials) or some of the other social networking
events. Also, you only get the gospel according to IBM, while at COMMON you
get the IBM perspective and the other speakers on the street who live and do
it everyday.

There is a much bigger Expo at COMMON, so that you can look at products from
many companies. IBM does tend to feed you better then COMMON does, getting
Breakfast and Lunch every day.

The sessions at the Tech conference are 15 minutes longer then the ones at
COMMON, which is good in my opinion.

The COMMON Conference tends to be about 5 to 7 times more people then at IBM
Tech Conf.

IBM has much bigger pockets to pay for the meeting space, so they do not
have to charge attendees a fee to cover the meeting space that is built into
the room rate for those people staying at the hotel.

JMHO, and I may be slightly biased being the Executive Vice President of
COMMON :)

Pete

Pete Massiello
iTech Solutions