Jeff has good thoughts

[Francine]

That's actually where Brian and I first began. For myself, I have to
have a paid event, because it's the only fundraiser for OTEF. I'm
starting with a location for OTEF, As a result, I am going to Desert
Willow on Friday to look at it as a venue for a conference on November
18. That's the week we always aim for -- the week before Thanksgiving.
I also aim for the middle of the week. Some people come from out of
town, but only the speakers typically. To get people from out of town,
you would have to move closer to the weekend, I think. And our
audience IS a little different, because we have mainstream businesses
and investors as well as geeks. I try to give value to people who are
running or starting businesses, mostly connected with tech.I try to
blend rich and poor, older and younger. It's not easy:-)

I'm also going to see if I can partner with ASU's Journo school
because they have Dan Gillmor's Digital Media Entrepreneurship program
there, and it's a natural fit. I'm having coffee with the Dean on
Monday.

You are right about Podcamp. After Podcamp, I wouldn't want to go to
the Entrepreneurship Conference the next day. We have to blend them or
not.





--

[Jeff Moriarty]

There is clearly a lot we can do to start connecting, or at least aligning, all the great stuff going on in the Valley. Maybe we should get together for a few hours and brainstorm through it. What ideas do we like, not like, what are our objectives, our audience, and see what we come up with.  Nail that down before we start working on the scheduling, sponsorship, and venue for the Geek Week. (Francine, I get that you've got to move ahead on your own event, which is why we should try to meet soon if we can).

Jeff.