360|Flex 2012 – Trying something new – Speaker Labs

November 2, 2011 By

We tried this at another event and it was popular, but it wasn’t well executed :) As we like to do, we’re improving on the next iteration.

So here’s the deal. We all know that at the end of a session there’s questions. Sometimes there’s 2 and they’re answered before the session ends. Sometimes there’s 15 or the speaker goes until time is up. Our speakers don’t hide in green rooms, and would rather sit with you over a beer anyhow, but to help make getting questions answered we’re doing what we call speaker labs.

How do they work?

The old way was a separate room off to the side of the conference where speakers were scheduled to basically hang out and answer questions, etc. For those that found the room it was great. Many got one-on-one help from industry experts, and loved it. But like I said, it was hard to find.

This time we’re making it easier. Basically in one room each time slot there will be a lab, the speakers from the previous time slot will all have a table. As soon as their session is over they’ll go to the LAB room for extended Q&A and discussion.

This means attendees can choose, attend the next session or get a question answered or more direct help. That’s a downside for sure. But we think it balances out in that we do try to get 100% of the sessions recorded, and posted so you might miss a session live, but could go back and watch the recording.

The other downside is that it reduces the total number of sessions we can offer. I hemmed and hawed on this aspect, since I think part of what makes 360|Flex so awesome is that we pack so much information into the conference. BUT I think (and you can correct me on this) what really makes 360|Flex awesome isn’t only volume of sessions, but depth of knowledge and I think while trading off a few sessions to have labs, we’re opening the door for a lot more knowledge transfer and education.

I think this will add a new aspect to 360|Flex for both attendees and speakers and really add to the value of the conference.

I think it ends up being a win win from that stand point. So we’re going to give it a try. I’m working on the schedule now, the Call For Papers closes in about 2 weeks, but I’m starting to look at sessions and plan things.

 

Can’t wait to reveal the line up. I think you’ll like it! You have bought your ticket right?

Filed Under: 360flex, Announcements, Business, Community, Hands-On, Reasons to Attend, Sessions Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

360Flex 2012 – Paid Pre Conference training?

November 1, 2011 By

When Tom and I started the conference one of the things we hated was how other events charge for pre-conference training. Just adding to the price of conferences.

I was talking to Sim the other day and we were talking about the Sunday training and my philosophy that it shouldn’t add to the price of the conference because we want to keep it affordable for those without expense accounts or companies that will pay their way. But then I got to thinking. There’s no reason to not offer both.

There’s plenty of room for Flex 101, intro to AIR for android, etc. but what if we offered something more in-depth, with more prepared materials, etc. Basically regular training you’d get elsewhere. For a small fee. You could still attend the free hands-on sessions, but could also opt in to pay for the paid training.

I’m thinking two paid training sessions, plus 3-4 of our standard hands-n sessions that are included in the registration price.
This type of hybrid pre-conference option opens some interesting doors for the conference. Obviously we’d get a little bump in income which helps keep us going (we’d of course split with the instructor of those courses or something) but it also keeps true to our initial thinking that pre-conference training shouldn’t be an added expense.

What do you think? Would you be interested in paying say $100-$200 for an 8 hour training course on something that you were interested in or needed to learn?

 

Filed Under: 360flex, Announcements, Business, Hands-On, Reasons to Attend, Sessions, Training Tagged With: , , , , , ,

360Flex – We’re Bringing Training Back

October 21, 2011 By

Now that I’ve got that song stuck in your head…

 

Some of you will remember this, many won’t. We once offered a two day hands on training course at the Ebay Campus. We had 4 instructors, and the entire weekend was hands on with frameworks.

Well we’re getting back into training. NOT just frameworks. That’s where you come in. If there was a 2 day hands on, meals included training in Denver sometime around January would you come? What would you like that training to be? Should be focus on more 101 intro level stuff, or see if we can’t raise the training bar and really go nuts? Maybe we do something mobile with Adobe’s shiny new Phonegap platform?

Your ticket to this training would also apply in part to a ticket to 360|Flex, because we’re cool like that.

What would you like to see offered?

Filed Under: 360flex, Announcements, Business, Community, Hands-On, Reasons to Attend, Training Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

360Flex – Denver folks, join us at Rocky Mountain Adobe Camp! Sept. 1

August 2, 2011 By

feeling the pains of  360|Flex withdrawal? we know how that goes! If you’re in or around the Denver area though, you’re in luck, there’s a fix :)

My friends at the Rocky Mountain Adobe User Group are hosting their second Adobe Camp here in Denver. You should come! I went to the first one and it was awesome. Come to think of it, I’ll be around this one too!

Date: Thursday, September 1 from 9am to 9pm

Price: $30 until this Thursday

Discount: Save $5 with code “360rocks” Register here.

Rocky Mountain Adobe Camp is back And bringing you a day chock-full-of design goodness with Adobe’s Creative Suite. Purchase your tickets by this Thursday (August 4) to get Early Bird Pricing, and save an additional $5 with the discount code “rmaug”. That’s a full day of Adobe Evangelists, hands-on-training and cutting edge sessions for just $25.

 

  • Three hours of Hands-On Photoshop with a Top-Five rated Adobe Photoshop Instructor
  • Three hours of tips and tricks in Adobe CS 5.5 with four members of the Adobe Creative Suite Evangelism team.
  • Sessions on mobile, video, and best practices from top real-world designers and developers.
  • Networking opportunities with leaders in the Adobe design and development commnuity.
  • Opportunities to win prizes from Lynda.com, Adobe Press, Wiley, Peachpit, and other sponsors.

 

And your registration includes lunch!

 

Don’t miss out! (Plus you can come check out the future home of Adobe camps and possibly some 360|Flexpress training coming soon :) (Hint. the next block over)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: 360flex, Announcements, Community, Hands-On Tagged With: , , , , ,

360Flex 2011 – win a Viewsonic gTablet

April 6, 2011 By

Building kick ass Air for Android stuff but can’t quite afford a Motorola Xoom to test it on? Well don’t worry,

1. the Xoom doesn’t run Flash (thanks to Jesse and Brian. My bad it runs a beta of 10.2 and apparently not that well. it IS still retardedly expensive)

2. the Viewsonic gTablet does :) and you can win one at 360|Flex 2011

The gTab is also a mean powerhouse of a machine, that will (officially or not) support honeycomb. Just look at the specs. It’s also completely unlocked and rooted, so you can load whatever you like on it!

So how can you win this bad boy? Easy. Just show up.

 

We’ve teased a few photos, and I’ll let the cat out of the bag just for this. Every attendee get’s a cute little android figure :)

They’re green and cute and all that :)

14 people will randomly get an artsier version of Andy…

We ordered a few of these little guys too, there’s 12 different designs. We’re going to put a note in one of them letting that person know that they’ve won the gTab. Andy’s will be placed in goodie bags before the conference and no one but me will know which box has the winning note. To be extra sure it’s not easy to tell for our (above suspicion) volunteer bag stuffers. All 14 artsy Andys will be opened so that the winner won’t stick out and be obvious.

Every attendee get’s a bag, and every attendee will get an Andy, but only one will also get the gTab.

 

See you next week! Oh and it’s not too late to register, but it’s almost too late. Only about 10 tickets left! Register now!

 

 

Filed Under: 360flex, Announcements, Contests, Reasons to Attend Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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