moretimeoffguy

Which Mile and Point conference is best for a non-beginner and why?

If you'd never attended one of these before, could attend only one, and were somewhere between Above Beginner and Below Expert in Mile and Point ability, which would you attend and why?

Some factors for consideration might be:

* Content--I'd be looking for moderate to advanced content
* Cost
* Size

... and any other factors worth considering.

One thing I've noticed in attending professional technical conferences for a "huge" software vendor (in a very specialized market) that offers more than one conference per year--one large (with around 15,000 attendees) and one "small" (perhaps 2,000 attendees).

* The "large" conference is wonderful--huge variety of sessions, wide variety of attendees, and great opportunity for sampling content one might not have otherwise. However, the sessions didn't go into as much technical depth as I'd have liked. And for my tastes, too much "Show and Tell" content from users (vs. technical workshops from the vendors' employees)--who often have to put together a presentation as a requirement for attending (e.g. to justify to their employer). Anyone can attend from Managers to End Users to Developers, etc.

* The "small" conference is also wonderful, but an entirely different animal. More focused as it is dedicated to Developers. Better and longer access to vendor staff for technical questions, etc. More opportunities to get to meet Big Names in the field, to socialize, and make contacts (arguably one of the best reasons to attend a conference). And a general feeling that this is where Insiders go. And more sense of community due to the smaller scale. Of course, each year the "smaller" conference gets larger; and attendees around at the inception of the conference often complain about the increasing attendance numbers taking away from the intimacy of the thing.

Both the large and small conferences have value--you can get content in one that you can't in the other and vice-versa. There's no superset where you Get It All.

But if one's resources are limited--mine are--and you can choose only one to attend... well, one strategy, bypassing the Which is Best For Me question--is to stagger things--attend the Large conference one year, then the Small conference the next. Stakes are higher if one can't attend at least one conference annually.

So, what do folks recommend?

MODERATOR: If this isn't the appropriate section to post in, please relocate it. Not quite a Beginner's question. But would also like to source a wide variety of Mile and Point conference-attendee veterans (who may or may not be reading the Info Desk forum).

moretimeoffguy

Is there a better sub-forum to post this? Traffic seems very low here. And there's got to be interest / opinions on Miles and Points conferences.

Adam1222

I don't think a low amount of traffic early on a Sunday morning is indicative of much. But "external miles and points resources" under Travel has many threads on the subject.

moretimeoffguy

Thanks for the reference.

NewbieRunner

You might also find some comments on FT's Chicago Seminars in the CommunityBuzz forum.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...tion-open.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...14-2012-a.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...-sold-out.html
also
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...ou-attend.html

tcook052

External Miles & Points Resources forum also:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/exter...il-2014-a.html

jackal

Apologies for the delay, but I've gone ahead and moved this thread over to EP&MR.

jackal
Moderator, Information Desk

fti

Chicago Seminars and FTU are very similar, even with many of the same speakers. FTU had gotten 'too big' for their own liking and they have said that they will start smaller seminars in the future.

FTU changes locations each time, Chicago Seminars stays in the ORD area.

FTU tends to use more upscale hotels, Chicago Seminars uses a more-than-adequate Holiday Inn.

Chicago Seminars was the "original", with Gary Leff and Randy Peterson speaking at the first one. Since then, the FTU ones are spearheaded by Gary and others, and they don't speak at the Chicago Seminars anymore. Thus there is a slight breed of 'competition' but in reality they are both just meetings of avid frequent flyers.

moretimeoffguy

Thanks FTI. Competition is great as long as it doesn't turn truly adversarial. That's a Lose / Lose proposition in terms of potential generation of ill-will in our community.

What I might not care for is faux-petition--e.g. if the same folks operated the same ostensibly independent conferences.

sbm12

What if it is mostly the same presenters/topics?

jammanxc

Check out the Seattle Sessions by First2Board, a small frequent flyer conference aimed for the more advanced.

Last year, First2Board held the Charleston Sessions. Full review here - http://first2board.com/pointssummary...h-first2board/

If this is something you might be interested in, check out http://first2board.com/sessions/ to find out more info.

moretimeoffguy

Great question. I suppose it doesn't much matter in the end. What matters is interesting and relevant content being highly available, at a fair price, to those who want or need it.

moretimeoffguy

Thanks J for the Advanced Content conference ref. Sounds good.

When I've personally put together technical user conferences, I've found it's effective, and appreciated by attendees, to offer separate tracks. In the case of M&P, perhaps these conferences could offer two: an intro and an advanced.

With the whole event bracketed on the front end by a Keynote / Welcome session both tracks attend. Then they break out into separate track sessions. And come together at the end for a final, common session. Perhaps a few common panel sessions. Or a Roundtable Event with M&P Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) at specific tables, each with a sign about a specific topic, fielding questions targeted to that topic. A bit like Speed Dating for M&P "nerds." Hopefully this has been done in at least one of the conferences mentioned on this thread. If not, please consider it. Fun and effective.

Don't know how many people show up to these things. But I had a two-track system for an event I planned where there were around 120 or so total attendees. Went well and people seemed to appreciate the content being separated by experience level. Doesn't have to be a gigantic conference to segment content into tracks.

Just seemed to me to be an efficient use of event space that "met people" where they were at. If you wanted to attend with a less advanced friend or spouse, you could have them attend a few separate sessions for their skill / awareness level. Something for "everyone" so to say. Or at least a great approximation thereof. :-)

Best wishes to those putting these conferences together. I know from experience that it can be very hard work--especially if one's Name is on the line, and you're striving to give those who attend the best experience and value possible. With my own non M&P event (a technical User Group meeting), I wanted people to feel it was well worth their time, money, and effort they expended to get there.

Incidentally, I was able to make attendance free by lining up sponsors. The sponsors also paid for breakfast and lunch and provided door prizes. The event space was free, at a Public Library with fantastic multi-room space. And all labor was on a volunteer basis.

This full-day event was on a Friday and that helped in attracting attendees: get out of work a day early and have a great start to the weekend, only cost to employer was salary paid for that day. And I'd also created a detailed survey well in advance of the conference, soliciting ideas for content, getting potential presenters to pitch me, etc. Seemed to be well matched to local interest. In the end I was very happy with my event planning methodology. Exhausting but satisfying. :-)

Hmmm, lots of work. But perhaps we could do one of these in the RDU / RTP area...

If anyone organizing an M&P conference finds some of these ideas useful, please consider Comping me a Registration. That is, if you aren't able to find sponsors to make attendance free.

oliver2002

Another nice one is the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...20-2014-a.html

It doesn't have to be a conference each time... just rent a meeting room and sit together.@:-)

moretimeoffguy

Indeed. Thanks Oliver. :-)