Sage News and Discussion

This past March, the Sage Partners Employees and Alumni LinkdedIn group (SPEA) held a meeting in Lake Forest CA which was also web broadcast and many of you attended, mostly via the web. We'll we're having another meeting this October - 10/11/12, again hosted by Altec, with @JohnHoyt, Bill Kizer and myself putting together the agenda . If you are interested in attending either in person or via the web see the LinkedIn discussion link below. Please register for the event since we need head counts for in-person and web attendance. http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=106271&type=member&item=151679487&qid=f8284485-605f-4e2f-a906-847badbf5941&trk=group_items_see_more-0-b-ttl

We are getting close to this event date and I wanted to update everyone on the plans and the webex invites too, if you're attending via the web. The panel is set to include three of the biggest partners around, Bill won't let me disclose the names, yet, else I'd publish it. At our last meeting, we had a very lively discussion going for about a half hour before a certain individual showed up and decided he needed to hog the limelight. We won't let that occur again. This meeting is for the members of the group and since Sage has not sponsored, in anyway shape or form not one nickel dime or dust-bunny, neither the last meeting nor this one, they're not getting free face time. On the web attendee side - I'll have the invites out today or Monday. I'm working out the dollars and logistics for live phone for the event, but the costs (between .06 and .12 a minute for each attendee) may force me again to use something else. I want everyone to know something that the setup. The web cam will be capturing not just the panel but also the overhead screen connected to my laptop for the WebEx side too - I wanted all those in the room and all of those on the web to feel like it were one meeting not two. So, as I don't require any validation of your name when you sign into the web meeting, you are free to expose or not expose your presence. Just wanted you to know. Looking forward to it...if you want to email your intent to attend the web meeting portion, use spealinkedgroup@chismet.com to email me. Thanks.

@MoiraGoggin - will you be able to provide a summary of the meeting when it's all done? I would be interested in a recap.

@PeterWolf I'm sure there will be some kind of summary or recap.

@MoiraGoggin - I see that Bill has postponed the meeting. Any other information as to when it has been changed too?

No @DianeRuth we don't have another time planned. We originally selected this date, 10.11.12 (only a number nerd would like it) as it was long enough after Summit but not too far after that we could discuss any issues that arose during Summit or year end. The web attendee RSVP count was 33, which is quite good, the last meeting in March was 47 with many others joining in as the meeting progressed. Unfortunately, the in person RSVPs this time were less than 20, with about half that number being event sponsors. In a room capable of holding well over 100, we just didn't have enough in person attendees to justify the cost of room rental and food. I'd actually like to see a web only event, with the panalists braodcast via webcam (such as I did for the March meeting), but many of the sponsors and event planners prefer an audience to address and network with before and after the event, and since the sponsors foot the bill, I can see their point.

@MoiraGoggin I wonder if a Google Hangout might work for something like this. I'd think you may want to test a few to see how the format works.

Thanks for the idea @WayneSchulz - I'll check that out. Oh, and you should know Wayne, your list of questions/ideas was on part of the agenda for this meeting. I hope we can incorporate it for the next one.

There's supposed to be a way to have 10 participants who can talk but more than can just view. That might save a lot of time and expense. The hangouts may also be able to be automatically recorded on YouTube. The biggest issue I think is that you have very little control over moderating the speakers (switching between screen views) and it's somewhat awkward to arrange the hangouts and get people to the right place to view them.

Having participated in the planning for this event, I am perplexed by the lack of response locally, although this unfortunately seems to be the norm lately. Has this been the experience with user meetings and other events across the country? One of the downfalls I felt of the announcements for this event was the lack of a concise agenda that compelled people to attend. We had some good ideas a week ago, but these were not communicated to the group and that was too late. I suggested that we need to connect with the local group members more, perhaps through on-line meetings, in order to make them feel as if there was a local group that had a purpose. We are now considering alternatives.

10.11.12 10+11+12 = 33 33 Web RSVPs

Robert, I've never thought of you as a number nerd.

I'm just a nerd.

We're not worthy!