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TAM 9 Program

Though the planners ought to have indicated the change in schedule much earlier, I nevertheless welcome the evolving format and look forward to the evening keynotes.

They'll allow ordinarily intense mornings and afternoons to be a bit more relaxed.

(FWIW, I too have attended conferences with evening keynotes.)
 
Kil said:
"Deja Vu All Over Again" was funny when Yogi Berra said it, because it's outrageously redundant. But now the phrase seems to have become a part of the language. So much so that people seem to have forgotten that "Deja Vu" used to stand alone without need for Yogi's additional, ummm, Yogiism. And I'm no grammer or language nazi by a long shot. But hey!

Okay... Sigh... That's my rant and I'm over it I guess.
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Be sure to post this the next time its used as well. ;-)
 
My response to the whole TAM schedule thing is as follows:

1. the idea that evening keynotes is 'common' seems odd. I'm 44, I've been to conferences for software development, electronics, social change (John Kenneth Galbraith keynote), computers, publishing, healthcare, and medicine and I've never seen an evening keynote. That doesn't mean that an evening keynote is dead-wrong, it's just an odd justification. I know CFI does it so maybe that's where it comes from in this case.

2. I know that there were about 7 years of feedback from TAM goers that fairly consistently said "We want more free time to socialize." and "we want our evenings free". So clearly there is a move toward change and away from the past standards.

That said, I'm not willing to condemn it. Maybe it'll be fantastic. I do know that with two conferences in the hotel and 1500+ people all trying to get a meal in the hotel in the same 90 minute time window (since one really can't leave the hotel and just walk the strip) will probably make for some very busy restaurants.

The speaker lineup for TAM 9, however, is outstanding, and I for one am very excited about that aspect of it. With TAM becoming what it is I think we all knew it would have to change and this year will be a large step in the 'change' direction. That doesn't mean it will be a negative though.

I'm looking forward to just enjoying the show and hopefully there won't be anything negative to say about it. Lots of new people appear to be coming to TAM so their experience will be fresh and won't be compared to past experiences. Hopefully the growth of TAM won't destroy the aspects of TAM that are loved by JREF faithful. Those aspects include the feeling of openness and interaction between speakers and registrants, and the general feeling of 'teamwork' that usually pervades TAM with many volunteers helping out as well as being paying registrants.

I'm sure it'll be good.

Bart
 
Bartmon said:
2. I know that there were about 7 years of feedback from TAM goers that fairly consistently said "We want more free time to socialize." and "we want our evenings free". So clearly there is a move toward change and away from the past standards.
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I thought that's why people have taken to arriving early in the week; to do all that socializing. The beauty of TAM is that nobody's taking attendance; nobody has to be anywhere any time that they don't want to be.

About the "dinner on your own" approach in the schedule - maybe there will have to be a move towards catering the evening meals in the future to help avoid hassles with restaurants. I think I might see if the mexican restaurant takes reservations while I think about it...
 
Xinit,

I think for returning TAMers you are correct about them coming earlier. I know I do.
 
Bartmon said:
Xinit,

I think for returning TAMers you are correct about them coming earlier. I know I do.
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I settled into the Wed-Mon routine years ago.

So if any first timers are reading, and you haven't booked a flight yet, I highly recommend that schedule. You can get there Wed, renew old friendships, and meet new folks. Then on Sunday, instead of having to make a bee line for the airport, you can kick back, and relax. Compare notes, collect email addresses, etc.
 
Thanks for your reply, DJ. My main concern is being able to get dinner in time for the keynotes. Maybe I can leave early and beat the line.

It is a plus that the keynotes are being opened to the general public. Could make for some interesting comments from the audience.

DJGrothe said:
Howdy Forumites:

About the evening keynotes: one of our speakers specifically requested an evening keynote, and after thinking about it, we thought this would also be a great opportunity to offer an evening event that we could open up to the general public and reach a much wider audience than the small number who attend TAM (consequently, the evening keynotes this year have been scheduled for a larger space than the grand ballroom, since we would anticipate exceeding the 1500 spaces available in that space). In addition, there were other factors that led to our decision to have evening keynotes this year, including the fact that this year's program features a substantial increase in speakers over years past (with no increase in the regular registration rate, I might add). Additionally, about half of the attendees this year will never have been to a TAM before, so they may bristle less at any changes to the way TAMs have been programmed traditionally.

For what it is worth, I am happy to say that ticket sales for the evening shows this year have far exceeded evening show ticket sales of previous years, so it seems like folks are generally planning on enjoying the full day and evening programs we have in store for them at TAM Vegas 2011.

Nonetheless, because we have received two emails complaining about the evening keynotes, and due to the constructive feedback of this JREF forum thread, we are exploring moving them back to earlier in the day.

Keep an eye on www.amazingmeeting.com in the days ahead for any changes to the program.

D.J.

PS -- the concern about evening keynotes being atypical does not track with my experience. For instance, this year's CSICON in New Orleans has two evening keynotes, as has the majority of other major conferences with CSICOP, the Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry that I have been involved with planning over the last decade. This also holds for past Skeptic Society conferences, and their upcoming one in June. Socializing and spending time with friends is a vital aspect of TAM, and I have not found evening keynotes to limit such community at other conferences.

Looking forward to seeing you in Vegas in about five weeks!
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Yeah, dinner would seem to be a major issue here. I hope South Point is up to it!
 
Might be a good idea for people to book restaurant reservations now.

I know it's fancypants, but you can book a table at Michael's via OpenTable.
 
With Deli by the Del Mar, I'm OK with beer and sandwitch for a day or two. I assume there will be enough TimTams to go around, too.

H Mom
 
I wonder what the reaction would have been to an alternative to evening keynotes. To accommodate more speakers TAM could be partially split into tracks, having two separate rooms with different speakers/panels in them. In a way, this is already done with the Thursday workshops, but I'm not sure it would be very popular for the general meeting. It wouldn't have to be done for the entire weekend, perhaps a split Friday and/or Saturday afternoon session(s).
 
I'll just be happy if I can find someone willing to split the cab fare to Fatburger or In 'n Out...we don't get those in Canada :)
 
bumlet5 said:
I very much disagree.
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What's wrong with Steak 'N Shake? I've heard good things about it (though I've never been to one).

Of course, I also heard good things about In 'N Out - finally went to one in Long Beach, CA, and it was *ok*. :confused: That meal was anti-climactic.
 
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