Hello Friends:

Whether you agree with those who think HP World has worn out its
welcome with the 3000 users -- or you're glad that Interex is still
offering a get-together for the MPE community -- you have to live
with this fact: attendance of 3000 customers has been on a sharp
decline for more than a year now. The total attendance of the 3000
community across three Interex events this year was under 300 people.
Of these attending, there were fewer unique faces: many were at all
three events, speaking, looking for something new, looking for a job
or an engagement.

These numbers won't satisfy exhibitors who want to contact prospects
and meet with current customers. And these numbers cut down the
possibility to network, one of the primary advantages of  attending a
show in person. Since the market for 3000 events looks like it's
changing, the events need to keep pace.

In a tough economy, costs are going to be an issue. (And from the
looks of industry forecasts, the IT economy isn't going to roar back
before next summer.) Holding a meeting at a university doesn't mean
sleeping in a communal dorm. I attended two writing seminars this
summer -- each longer than any Interex event -- that outdrew both of
the Solutions Symposiums. I stayed at a dorm at both events. I had a
room all to myself for less than $35 a night, though I shared a
bathroom. Most of the attendees were older than 35, but we had all
adjusted our budgets to the days when we were a lot younger. (It sort
of helped us look at the content with a beginner's mind, a good thing
when you have to come up with new ideas to bring away from a
conference.)

I would not assume that every campus is outside the range of public
transit, either. Really now, how many of the HP World attendees
walked to the conference hall? Moving from our rooms to meetings on
foot was an easy option at those university campuses. I assume almost
everybody takes a taxi or jitney bus (SuperShuttle) from the airport
to any conference site. Good air-to-hotel public transit isn't an
easy option in the Bay Area, by the way. Chicago's layout lets you
take the metro downtown, but McCormack Place isn't near any subway
stops -- and few hotels, by the way.

Spreading the idea that anything different for 3000 customers is
going to be underorganized, ill-prepared and without substantial
value -- well, that message is not going to improve the conference
options for the MPE-IMAGE user. I've been grateful for the effort
that Interex puts forth in its annual show -- Atlanta was the 19th
that I've attended, a string unbroken since the 1985 conference. But
there's a lot that's changed since my first meeting in Washington DC,
held in the basement of the Hilton Hotel. (For one thing, the founder
of Hewlett-Packard spoke at that 1985 show. The exhibit hall had a
nine-foot ceiling.)

Want to see how another group runs its conferences? Check out the
COMMON IBM user group site, <http://www.common.org>. It's the home of
iSeries customers, a group just as far off the industry-standard
mainstream as the HP 3000. We saw some novel ideas at their show last
year, along with a few that didn't go out of style. Like ranking
talks right in the program, or a nightly networking meeting. Free
sodas, cheap beer. How about a lunch hour with two hours of no talks?
Free box lunch for the first 200 to line up. There's lots of ways to
change a meeting, if you're willing to try.

Things are different than they were in the Internet craze of the late
'90s. I can't see much difference in the basic model of what's
offered to today's 3000 user, though. I wonder just how much the
community really gets out of any event staged in the Bay Area, where
housing costs are higher than nearly anyplace else and public transit
is a rarely-used option.

Perhaps the community's consensus is that things have got to change
for any event to hold much significance for the 3000 community. It's
good that Interex is gathering suggestions on improving HP World, at
the same time that its volunteers take credit for pulling together
about three dozen 3000-related sessions. Less than 50 people attended
Dave Wilde's kickoff talk on Monday afternoon, the largest
3000-related crowd of the show, however. There might have been more
in a reception that evening, but that event was cancelled after HP
pulled out. Hoping to cut costs, lots of people were trying to leave
on Thursday evening, when the Interex party took place.

Content is important, but so are the details on costs and time to
commit to a show. I hope those who respond to the Interex survey also
post their ideas in this public forum. Think of it as a focus group
that you can attend in your pajamas.

>Denys, Why do you always get so defensive? People have a right to
>make suggestions, and criticisms. If you want to have your position
>of authority you need to get thick skinned. You have a great
>contribution to this list when the discussion is technical, but lets
>chill a bit.
>
>John McDowell, Operations Manager
>Quadax, Inc
>www.quadax.com
>[log in to unmask]
>440-788-2130
>fax: 440-788-2199
>
>Up until last year, the Solutions Symposium, which is TOTALLY
>dedicated to MPE (you could not get more 3000-centric than the
>SolSymp) was held every year in or near Cupertino.  So last year, in
>order to cater to a wider audience, Interex put on 2 Symposia, one
>on the East Coast and one on the West Coast.  The programs were
>virtually identical.  They were totally MPE-centric.  There is a
>small exhibition, with some tables.  The cost was much reduced from
>HP World.
>
>Now you are suggesting that we go back to a single event.  This
>event would take place in or near Cupertino because you need the HP
>presence.  This is not the cheapest place in the country to travel
>to.  People would still have to fly in and stay at a hotel. Granted,
>they do not have to stay at the main hotel (were the meeting rooms
>are located, and one needs to pay for these meeting rooms,) one
>could stay at a "cheaper" place.  You could do that before and you
>could do that at HP World.
>
>Irrespective of the flight, the hotel accommodations, etc... it is
>decided to hold the cost of the registration to as close to $0 as
>possible.  Universities or colleges could be canvassed to find one
>or two cheap/free meeting rooms.  It might even have some A/V
>equipment, but probably not, so you may have to rent some.  Now,
>these colleges probably do not have hotels/motels nearby, so one
>would need a car.  That is not something I usually rent at HP World
>of SolSymp.  Maybe we could sleep in the dorm.  Well, you could, but
>at my age, sleeping in a communal environment lost its appeal,
>decades ago.
>
>Now, since we are holding the costs way down, we will of course
>dispense with a program, lunches, drinks and such other
>arrangements.  We will make up the program as we go.  That is good
>as far as it goes, but it sort of prevents someone from going into
>any kind of depth on a subject.  Let's say I want to talk about
>volume management, why would others want to talk about that in
>depth?  Is there a speaker for this subject?  Any handouts?  If I
>don't want to attend that talk, is there another talk at the same
>time?  Do I have a choice?  Who organized this shindig?
>
>Well, now I only need to go to my management and say:  I want to
>take 3-5 days off, fly across the country and attend a get-together
>to talk about MPE.  There are no registration fees and no set agenda
>either.  We will be meeting in a room at the local Y and oh, I need
>to rent a car because the nearest hotel is 4 miles away and we have
>to go out for lunch and dinner.
>
>Denys

--

Ron Seybold, Editor In Chief
The 3000 NewsWire
Independent Information to Maximize Your HP 3000
http://www.3000newswire.com
512.331.0075 -- [log in to unmask]