|
|
| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 259 responses total. |
andyv
|
|
response 25 of 259:
| 
Dec 31 00:40 UTC 1994 |
Given the percentage of users who live outside the Ann Arbor area, it might
not be a good idea (I would love it, Gaylord isn't the boonies, it is
beautiful for things like this). Besides, the people who would be drifting
through and learning more about Grex will be much greater down state.
In Gaylord it would be close to a private party.
|
steve
|
|
response 26 of 259:
|
Dec 31 02:49 UTC 1994 |
Hmm. I'll admit that I'd hadn't thought of the convention not being
in Ann Arbor untill (? peacefrg?) mentioned it. Kinda AnnArborCentric
of me, I guess. And with the number of regular people on Grex from all
over, I think it's probably no more invonvient than anything else, unless
we're talking about a 90% locals only type of participatation.
If it was held on a weekend, then people could come in clumps sharing
car rides. Through the magic of computer conferencing, we can post who
is interested in going, who can drive and has a car and those who need
a ride. I think it could work.
We couldn't have personal tours of the hardware, but we really can't
do that anyway, with the dungeon being in a private house. But, staff
could make a video tape of it. I warn you however that looking at the
hardware will be boring. ;-)
When is a good time for this? If we held it in early May, it
would presumeably give student types a little more flexiability in
getting there.
|
peacefrg
|
|
response 27 of 259:
|
Dec 31 06:08 UTC 1994 |
Ann Arbor would be cool. But, the reason that I suggested it is that when
going to a convention, (as wolfmage said) The trip there is half the fun.
I don't think Ann Arbor is going to cut down expenses any. We were hoping
we could get the McKendree'ers up here and various other large out of
state groups of Grexers. Gaylord IS Beautiful and there is a lot to do.
Hotels are cheap, We have lots of campgrounds, and there's no better a
place to hold a convention then at a resort. And regarding the statement
of people drifting in and learning about Grex...Gaylord is one of
the biggest tourist areas in Norhtern Michigan. The majority of the population
during the summer are people from down state (Expecially during the golf or
ski seasons. And correct me if I'm wrong, but the amount of Ann Arbor members
and the amount of other michigan members are probably about equal.
And even if that's an incorrect assumption, 3 hours is not a long way.
You can make a one day trip of it. Plus, we can get with computer retailers
to help finance the convention by giving them a booth to sell equiptment,
software, new, and used. We can also ask for donations of computer equiptment
and software. Have Grex or just 'internet
Merchandise. (Cups, T-shirts, Hats) Get rid of the unsold stuff you've already
got left over from the sale last month. There's a lot of ways to get
this cheap and cost efficiant. Lets not get into the mindset that this
has to be expensive.
|
wolfmage
|
|
response 28 of 259:
|
Dec 31 08:01 UTC 1994 |
Gaylord was suggested for the following reasons:
#1 Gaylord is a community whose primary source of income is conventions and
tourism. Gaylord has the most readily available resources to make
planning and execution easier and least expensive.
#2 I offered to take the primary responsibility of organization. This was basee
on my established familiarity with the resources in Northern Michigan and my
current business ties to the resort community here.
#3 Given the 'fact' that most GREXERS live in Ann Arbor, why hasn't a major
convention already been planned and continued? I'm talking about holding
a convention and not a glorified GREX walk.
#4 Having more years of experience with conventions than I want to recall, my
experience has been that 'home town' conventions are always perceived as
being inferior, because of the fact that they're on 'your turf'.
#5 Inviting secondary merchants and service providers will be easier if the
convention site is on an established commercial property. We will most likely
need these services to offset the cost for attendees.
#6 My vision was of a whole experience for all, not simply a 'hang out with
my cyber-friends' thing. Walk through the Pigeon River Forest, Canoe the Au
Sable, play championship golf courses, shop in our boutiques and galleries,
go to Mackinac City or Mackinac Island, visit a casino. This relates directly
to #4 above.
#7 There are several privately owned lodges and B&Bs up here that would
charge little or nothing for lodging with proper notice during the
transitional season of April and May.
There it is. My basic rationale for having the gall to hold a GREX event
outside of Ann Arbor. If drive time is a big concern I have two words for
that...CAR and POOL.
|
carson
|
|
response 29 of 259:
|
Dec 31 08:17 UTC 1994 |
wolfmage, if Ann Arbor is our "turf", wouldn't that make Gaylord "your
turf?" would you at all be interested if Grex wanted to hold a
convention in its hometown? I guess when I say interested, I mean
planning and such.
|
wolfmage
|
|
response 30 of 259:
|
Dec 31 08:59 UTC 1994 |
Carson, when did you make this a 'yours, mine, ours' issue?
I'm relating my experience with about 200 conventions over the last 18 years.
If you want to flame at me and challenge my motives and intent, fine. But
do it via E-Mail. Don't detract from the point of this item, which is to
determine interest in a convention and solutions to making it happen.
|
carson
|
|
response 31 of 259:
|
Dec 31 10:01 UTC 1994 |
I've sent wolfmage mail re: the past couple of responses.
|
remmers
|
|
response 32 of 259:
|
Dec 31 13:47 UTC 1994 |
Grex has had annual "conventions" of sorts -- there's been an annual
"birthday party" for the last 3 years, held in July, on or near the
date when Grex first opened to the public. So far they've all been
informal picnics held in an Ann Arbor park.
In view of Grex's increasingly non-local character, I think that having
a Grex do in some far-flung locale is an idea that deserves some
thought. Maybe it could be the annual birthday party. One thing to
keep in mind in planning a location and activities, though, is that
because its open-access nature, the bulk of Grex's users are people
without much budget for travel, hotels, restaurant meals, etc. So
although a particular location may offer nice convention facilities,
I'm not sure how many Grexers could actually afford them.
|
andyv
|
|
response 33 of 259:
|
Dec 31 16:19 UTC 1994 |
I can't afford much, but if I have a place to pitch my tent, I'll be set.
With my bike and my tent in a place like Gaylord I can have a great time
on pennies :-) There are quite a few Grexers who like biking. We could
have a bike tour.
|
remmers
|
|
response 34 of 259:
|
Dec 31 16:46 UTC 1994 |
That thought reminds me of the "M-Net Bicycle Touring Society" of old...
I guess I'm questioning how important it is that the locale have good
convention facilities. Good camping facilities and a place to meet
would seem to suffice.
Given current Grex demographics, I could see a case being made for
a Grex convention in Lebanon, Illinois... :)
|
danr
|
|
response 35 of 259:
|
Dec 31 17:46 UTC 1994 |
re #33: Biking/camping sounds great! I'll travel up to Gaylord
for this!
|
peacefrg
|
|
response 36 of 259:
|
Dec 31 19:02 UTC 1994 |
There's great biking in Gaylord. Beautiful scenery.
|
other
|
|
response 37 of 259:
|
Dec 31 19:42 UTC 1994 |
How's the biking in Lebanon? Or do we need the motorbikes for that?
|
steve
|
|
response 38 of 259:
|
Dec 31 21:46 UTC 1994 |
John makes a good point. Turn this into something for Grex's birthday,
which is July 18th. Thats a Tuesday unforunately, but we might try for
the weekend of the 14-16th?
|
chi1taxi
|
|
response 39 of 259:
|
Jan 1 00:14 UTC 1995 |
I object to turning a Grex convention into some commercial b.s. with booths
from businesses. If that's what it takes to make it financially feasible,
it's not worth it.
|
otterwmn
|
|
response 40 of 259:
|
Jan 1 23:36 UTC 1995 |
ref: the last few entries......
The real issue, then, is whether we want to make this an actual convention, or
more of a party/'company picnic'.
I can relate to the concerns over travel and $$. But the Gaylord area offers
both standard lodging and beautiful camping. Is there another such area,
perhaps in a more central location? No matter where we do this, lots of people
will have to travel. Personally, we travel several hours by car for some very
small cons. It really depends on how interested/committed you are.
p.s. Summer is the busy season for our business, and we are booked nearly every
weekend; Spring is much better.
|
steve
|
|
response 41 of 259:
|
Jan 1 23:43 UTC 1995 |
I think this is a convention in the SF-convention sort of sense.
So I think it might look a lot more like a 48 hour party than anything
else.
Is there time enough to consider something like this in the spring?
|
dairyman
|
|
response 42 of 259:
|
Jan 2 04:44 UTC 1995 |
I live only ten miles from Gaylord. I also work in Gaylord. If you think
about it, Gaylord is pretty centrally located (remember we have this thing up
north called the upper peninsula) and is definately a great place
|
wolfmage
|
|
response 43 of 259:
|
Jan 2 04:45 UTC 1995 |
Apparently, the statement of "Let's start with a few general ideas." has
missed the point. With a few exceptions this has turned into a "Let's
critique any idea thrown out and not offer an alternative."
Forget Gaylord, Forget a 'real ' convention, forget travel, forget money
forget egos, forget opinion and let's get some ideas.
|
wolfmage
|
|
response 44 of 259:
|
Jan 2 04:48 UTC 1995 |
You slipped in ahead of me Diaryman. But your central point is good.
|
dairyman
|
|
response 45 of 259:
|
Jan 2 04:58 UTC 1995 |
getting bussiness' support isn't such a bad idea. If it is held at a resort you
get bussiness'(like computer companies) to rent booth space and you stick them
in a room where people have the option of whether or not they want to go in.
If people pre-
|
dairyman
|
|
response 46 of 259:
|
Jan 2 05:03 UTC 1995 |
register a lot of neat things can be done for a minimal fee. Now I am going to
use Gaylord as an EXAMPLE. If people had pre-registered arrangements could be
made with local bussinesses where people who pre-register and pay a small extra
fee, get to use
|
dairyman
|
|
response 47 of 259:
|
Jan 2 05:11 UTC 1995 |
the services for free. (why does this thing linit me to three 1/2 lines?)
i.e. People with buttons would get in to Call of the Wild (a wildlife museum)
for free, get half to 75 percent off of a round of golf, free mini-golf, etc.
or possibly discounts at area merchants. some of this could be free for
listing the bussiness as a sponser. just a few suggestions. If it were to be
held in the gaylord area I would be willing to help organize it
|
steve
|
|
response 48 of 259:
|
Jan 2 05:19 UTC 1995 |
Andrew, PicoSpan does't do word wrap for you. This means that *you*
have to hit the return key when you get to the end of the screen. After
your 3 1/2 lines, you hit the magic limit of 255 characters and you can't
enter any more.
I don't think that this first event should be thought of as anything that
would have more than one to two dozen people attending it. So think smallish
for the first one (or three).
Computer companies would not be interesting any anything like this;
we're simply too small to attrach any attention from them. There is also
the question of whether a Grex convention would want to have business
attend. I don't think so, myself.
|
wolfmage
|
|
response 49 of 259:
|
Jan 2 06:23 UTC 1995 |
Steve, maybe we could post something to see how many *would* attend. I'd
like to think more than a few dozen. The only benefit to having businesses
attend was to offset GREX's expense and maybe get some door prize donations,
but you're right, if only a few dozen people are there it's not worth their
time. By business, I'm referring to retailers locally (NOT Microsoft et al.)
Most properties in Gaylord (AS AN EXAMPLE) accomodate groups as small as 30
and as large as 1,000. Thanks for the input.
Thanks also to Dairyman for the input, that's what we want in this item is idea
making.
|