Hello fellow listers! I have a question, perhaps an unofficial opinion survey....
Nutshell question - Should a User Conference be one BIG event, or a bunch of small, regional events with the same agenda and sessions? Since MI hasn't announced yet when/where MapWorld 2004 will be, there is some speculation about what's going on behind the scenes. Since 9/11, many companies are no longer doing huge User Conferences, and are instead doing small regional conferences. They claim that there's a problem with people not having the money all of a sudden to travel. I hate the idea of smaller conferences, because there's no way that each conference will be identical, since not all sponsors will be at each of them. Questions in the breakout sessions will be different. In a smaller forum, you have a better chance of sitting near someone you already sat next to, but one of the reason for these User Conferences is to meet as many other users as you can, to experience all of the different applications out there. No matter where they have a conference, people are going to have to travel. Granted, some people will live close enough to stay at home, but like I mentioned previously, a User Conference is supposed to give you an excuse to socialize with other users. Additionally, if you're close to home/work, it gives your boss a way to pull you back into the office to help fix things or do extra work. It's not as easy to concentrate on the conference if you're in familiar surroundings. I truly hope that MapWorld will still be one event, so we can all meet and discuss in person, instead of missing out on so many experiences. Other thoughts?? Eric DeVries, SSgt, USAF NCOIC Visualized Intelligence HQ Air Force Office of Special Investigations (240) 857-0827 / DSN 857-0827 "Why can't they buy just one airplane and take turns flying it?" -- President Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) --------------------------------------------------------------------- List hosting provided by Directions Magazine | www.directionsmag.com | To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message number: 7365
