360Flex – Volunteer to help out and get in free

February 4, 2010 By

We realize that the economy still a little suck-tastic. As you may know we try to keep our events as cost effective as possible, 40 sessions, Sunday hands on. Hotel block pricing to help lower the cost of staying near the event, etc.

Sometimes it’s not enough, we get that. Starting back in September at 360|iDev we experimented with having volunteers. We’ve had temps at past events (San Jose ’07 and Seattle) and while that works ok, we tried to reduce the need, because that helped keep our costs low. The USB Drive and AIR app surveys (Rock on Leif and RoundBox!!) removed our primary need for “worker bees”

BUT

We’ve realized, time and again that we still need manpower at certain points, and in fact we’re planning to increase our need (More on that later).

Registration is a bottleneck, whether it’s just Tom and I, or my wife Nicole, Nick, and anyone else who pities us in our time of greatest need.

SO…

We’d like to open the call for volunteers. Obviously locals are preferred but anyone is welcome to apply. It’s simple, we need about 8-10 volunteers. In exchange for a few hours a day of time, you get a free pass to the conference and when we don’t need you, you’re free to attend sessions etc. We can’t cover hotel/airfare etc. Just admission to the event.

If the price to get in the door is outside your budget for whatever reason, this might be the perfect opportunity for you.

Here’s what you need to do.

Email us at info (AT) 360flex (Dot) com

We need:

Your Name

Why you’d like to volunteer

Your background in Flex/Flash/AS

That’s about it :) You need to be able to commit to Sunday thru Wednesday and be at Ebay by 7:30am each day.

Our needs aren’t over the top or anything. We need help making the badge pickup/registration process faster. We hate having to delay the keynote in order to hand things out, etc.

We’re hoping to get some sort of basic videography set up for each room. As volunteer you’ll be in charge of starting and stopping the recording for that room, and telling the speaker when he/she has 10 and 5 minutes left. That’s it. After each session, you’ll have to bring the camera to us to offload the video, that’s it.

We’ve got a schedule worked out, so no will be working all day every day.

We’ll be making volunteer selections the week of February 15th. Spread the word, the submission window isn’t open long!

Filed Under: 360flex, Announcements, Business, Community, Reasons to Attend, San Jose Tagged With: , , , , , ,

360Flex – The Speakers – Ryan Stewart

February 4, 2010 By

I was up in Seattle doing some work in the first Starbucks ever. I had a tight deadline writing some copy for the J Peterman catalog.

I’m working on the quilted chambray nightshirts copy when who should strut through the door, but Ryan Freakin’ Stewart! (Ryan doesn’t walk, or run, or skip, he struts)

RFS: You John! Good to see you, what’re you doing here!?

Me: Hey man! Just doing a little side work. Trying to figure out how wrap up some copy, the catalog goes to press tomorrow.

You excited about 360|Flex? I’m really glad you’re sponsoring, it’s always awesome when folks in the community show their support, it means a lot!

RFS: “The only friend who hasn’t betrayed you. They only friend who won’t be dead by sunrise..” What’s this copy for?

But yeah, it’s great to be able to support you guys! I still remember the first 360|Flex in San Jose, that was bad ass!

Me: So what do you think people who attend your session will be most surprised by/about?

(I glance over and notice Starbucks has started selling what looks like the tops of muffins. How incredibly genius!)
RFS: How well PHP and Adobe’s services interact and how straightforward it is to add a touch of real-time to a Flex application.
Me: Yeah I’ve noticed the real push Adobe is doing into the PHP world. Great job opening that door.
(Ryan notices the muffin tops too, looks at me, gets up and gets in line. There’s always a line at this starbucks, you’d think it was famous or something)
(I go back to work wrapping up my copy for the quilted chambray nightshirts. When did a Kenny Rogers Roasters open on Pike Place?)
(Ryan comes back)
Me: What session are you most excited about, besides your own of course.
RFS: (inbetween bites of his chocolate chocolate chip muffin top) I’m going to come across as a suckup probably, but I have to say my boss, Kevin Hoyt’s session: Flex + Phidgets == Beer. He’s been doing some cool things with hardware and the Flash Platform and it opens up a huge new area for Flash developers to delve in to.
Me: I just can’t wait to have my beer poured by a Flex App! Flex and Hardware is awesome, and not often enough talked about… except of course at 360|Flex. Between, Kevin and Justin Mclean we’ve got Flex and Hardware awesomeness locked up!
What are you most looking forward to at 360|Flex San Jose?
(I get up and change my seat. That red glow from the Kenny Rogers Roaster across Pike is blinding me!!)
RFS: Seeing everyone again. This is far and away the best Flex conference in the world and it brings together the best of our community. Catching up with old friends and making new ones again is always the best part.
Me: Totally agree! About the ‘best conference’ part and the catching up with friends! I can’t wait to see everyone myself! These random meetings are awesome! But I want to see everyone in the same place at the same time!
(A customer walks in, I think he might be wearing a European carry-all)
What would you tell someone that was on the fence about attending 360|Flex, to convince them to come?
RFS: That there is something for everyone. If you’re a new Flex developer it’s a great way to get up to speed. If you’re a veteran then you’ll see people you know and you’ll be able to see what the most cutting edge minds in Flex are doing. If you’re a Flash designer or ColdFusion developer you’ll see how your tools and technologies can interact with the Flex Framework and the developer community.
(I nod.)
Hey, is that guy wearing a purse?
Me: No, I think it’s a European carry-all… no, maybe it is a purse.
(We finish our drinks, and get up to leave)
Hey wanna grab lunch? Isn’t there a pakistani place up the street?
RFS: No, it closed down a few weeks ago.
Me: bummer, was really craving authentic Pakistani food. Oh by the way, Who do you think would win in a fight, Lion Voltron or Vehicle Voltron?
(Ryan types something into his laptop, reads a bit, and turns it around, it’s the wikipedia page
RFS: From the Wikipedia entry: The series, which aired in syndication from September 10, 1984 to November 18, 1985, was originally titledVoltron: Defender of the Universe. So I was 3 years old when it went off TV. But I know who Voltron is sort of. I always liked the green one. What does that mean?
(I shake my head)
Me: It means you’re a freakin kid! I can’t believe how old I feel!!! Serenity now!!! Serenity now!!!
Want to hang out with Ryan and make fun of him for being too young, or commisserate with him in not knowing who Voltron is? Register now for “far and away the best Flex conference in the world”









Filed Under: 360flex, Community, Ryan Stewart, San Jose, Sessions, The Speakers Tagged With: , , , , ,

360Flex: Fond memories of past shows

February 3, 2010 By

As a business person, you hope your product makes a difference. As an event organizer specifically, you hope that all the behind the scenes work and effort pay off in unexpected ways for your attendees. Thankfully, here at 360|Flex HQ, we get to see these results firsthand rather than just hoping.

Three people we have served have taken the time to write up a blog post on their first 360|Flex. These are attendees turned speakers, a path which seems common at our shows. This is because of the type of show we try to put on. John and I grew with each show, so it only made sense that attendees did as well. We didn’t think we could do a conference, but we did. Now, attendees don’t think they can become speakers but they do. 360|Flex has always been and will always be about growth. Growth, not just in Flex skills (because those do grow at the shows), but of also personal growth. Again though, you don’t have to believe us. You can go read these posts yourselves.

The three created this time around are:
Dan Florio, aka Polygeek
Doug McCune
Randy Troppmann

(If you have your own “First 360|Flex” story to tell, write it up and drop us a comment. We’ll add you to the list.)

The point of this post though is to show you one thing: The show is not about 360|Conferences at all really. It’s about the community that comes together to create a magic like no other. Again, don’t take our word for it. Read the accounts. Then, if you’ve never been or haven’t been back in awhile, head on over to the registration page and join us. Without you there, the magic just won’t be the same.

Filed Under: 360flex, Community, Reasons to Attend, San Jose, why Tagged With: , , ,

360Flex – Speaker Chat Kevin Schmidt

February 2, 2010 By

Kevin has been a speaker at several 360|Flex events, he’s a great guy! Scary tall, and sometimes packing heat ;) but an awesome guy :)

Join us this wednesday for the next in our speaker chat series. Kevin will be talking about his session at 360|Flex San Jose, as well as anything else you’d like to hear about. He’s been doing Flex and CF before that for a long time now, and has struck out on his own as an Indie developer/consultant.

The chat starts at 12:00 MST on Feb 3rd. Don’t miss it. Bookmark this link.

If you haven’t gotten your room at the Marriott yet, you should get on that. Space is filling up, and the price for downtown San Jose is tough to beat.

And if for some reason you haven’t registered for 360|Flex yet, you should also get on that. Use this link to register. It’ll help Kevin in our contest for speakers to get an upgraded suite at the hotel!

Don’t miss 360|Flex, it’s everything you’ve heard, and more :)

Filed Under: 360flex, Community, Hotel, Reasons to Attend, San Jose, Schedule, Sessions Tagged With: , , , , , ,

360flex – Why you should be staying at the Marriott

February 2, 2010 By

If you haven’t heard, we have an official hotel. That’s right, boys and girls. There’s a spot where all the party people are going to staying under one roof. It’s the spot where you can stumble or crawl to your bed after an all-night rager of drinking, coding or perhaps a bit of both.

Why an official hotel that’s not connected to the conference center? For one, the conference center is on eBay’s HQ. They are trying to run a business, not make your beds or pick up your mess. Aside from that obvious reason, we want to keep having fun after we leave eBay. We’re still gonna party at Ebay after the last sessions; However, instead of taking the post functs to someone’s room, we want to take the party to downtown San Jose!

One thing that’s always nice at a conference is bumping into the “superstars”. While it happens a lot at the conference, it’s tough to pull someone aside to buy ‘em a drink to say thanks for contributing to the community. While we (the organizers) may not be the superstars you’re looking for, we will be at the hotel with all the speakers (who are the superstars). If you’re flying all the way to the show to meet and learn from these people, why would you bother staying anywhere else? Yes, it would be silly, especially after you read up on the deal we have for you!

We have a room block of Sunday night thru Tuesday night. We lined up an amazing rate of $99, for you all because we love you so. :) You don’t think we love you? How about this? In addition to the low rate of $99 for a Mariott (read: Not Sleazy 8 or Motel 6, or the Holiday Inn down the street, close but gross), we’ve also negotiated free wi-fi access for everyone’s guest rooms. That alone will save you some additional coin.

Assuming you’re arriving Saturday to take advantage of our awesome Sunday Hands-On training, and staying until Wednesday to make sure you don’t miss the final 4 sessions, which will rock and be worth your staying ’til the end we promise! You’re still only paying about $125 a night when you average the prices. Compared to other hotels in the area, that’s a damn good deal. Saturday night and Wednesday night are a bit beefier on the price because the majority of people just stay Sunday to Wednesday, so that’s what our block is for.

I’m sure you have all been to conferences where there’s the, “Which hotel are you at dialogue?” Then there’s time and effort spent on who will go where and when to meetup, etc. Make it easier on yourselves and sure to be newfound friends. Just stay at the Mariott so you’re all in the same place and will be easy to find each other. We’ll be there, the speakers will be there, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t be.

You can book online, easy peasy :) Just click here. Check out the Hotel and Travel tab for information on the hotel and getting around San Jose

While you’re booking your room, you have registered for the conference right? We have so much awesome lined up it’s hard to contain ourselves when talking about it :) Register now!

Filed Under: 360flex, Announcements, Community, Hotel, Reasons to Attend, San Jose, why Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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