After reading through the Linux World Conference/Expo discussion,
here are my thoughts on certain issues.
- Running around to get possible sponsors
This is definitely something we should do. I know Eugene will be there,
and I will most probably be there, and i think the two of us plus
one other would be enough to do something of this sort. It was mentioned
that vendors might be annoyed at people coming up and bugging them about
getting lots of freebies, but i think that all depends on timing. There
will be times when the booths are not as busy, and that would
be a good chance to talk to the vendors. Also, there will be opportunities
at the whatever after show gatherings are happening every night.
On the issue of making sure they send stuff out after LinuxExpo
a) we get business card from everyone who says yes and send them a thank
you letter to help remind them. If they don't follow through, that's
their loss of thousands of potential users. We already have a lot of
big names behind us, and I expect them to follow through on their
commitment.
b) See next topic
- Who ships stuff...
We had a discussion about this before, and our conclusion was that
even though we would become dependent on all the sponsors following
through, it would be best if sponsors shipped stuff to LUGs on their own.
The reason for this is funding, or lack thereof. If we were to
provide each LUG with a copy of RedHat, TurboLinux, various product
brochures, etc, it would get expensive quickly. Getting that
amount of money from a sponsor might require considerable
paperwork as whoever provided it might want us to be an
official non-profit so they can list the donation on their taxes.
If the above is a non-issue and someone is willing to help us without
all the paperwork, then I'm all for doing the shipping on our own as
the timing would be perfect. Since all of our sponsors will be at LWCE,
we could arrange with them beforehand to pick up their goods at the expo
Then spend a day or two sorting/packaging them and ship them right away.
I'm sure the sponsors would love this as they don't have to worry
about the logistics of shipping.
We can make this even easier if whoever is willing to help us is
a company located in Silicon Valley. If said company has a shipping
department, we could just drop off the completed packages at the
company, and let them handle it from there. That would mean
that no exchange of funds is made, which IMHO makes this much
easier for all involved.
Does the above seem plausible to anyone else?? Jim, you're the one
doing all the talking to the sponsors...can you bring the topic of
how companies want to ship stuff and/or whether they would be willing
to help pay for us to do the shipping?
- To booth or not to booth
We already asked for a booth, and Mike has gone through the trouble
of bringing it up with the board of directors, so let's just see
what happens. If we get one, wonderful! I see no reason to turn it
down. If we don't get one, the project will still survive.
Deepak
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ICQ: 17774863 | Linux Demo Day '99 | Live to Hack
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