Conference Format

From FirebrandWiki

The general format of this conference is rather unique. We are calling it a 'hybrid conference'. It is a combination of a traditional conference setting, and an 'unconference' setting.

In December of 2007, we sent a questionnaire out to approximately 350 individuals about what types of things you all would like to see. We received about 50 responses to this questionnaire, and we heard pretty loudly what you were looking for.

In general the responses told us that:

1. You want to meet us and others in our Community

2. You want to learn more about our software and services and where they are headed in the future.

3. You want to improve your business.

What we came up with as response is this:

1. a 2 1/2-day format that gives ample time to meet people from Firebrand and other companies participating in the conference. Special Workshop sessions, for a fee, will be help the afternoon of Monday October 6, prior to the start of the community conference. The Community Conference will be held all day Tuesday and until 3:30 Wednesday to facilitate travel.

2. a well defined agenda on the first day aimed at tackling issues that are common to all of us.

3. a more loosely defined agenda on the second day that will be predominantly determined on that very morning. This is also known as an Unconference format. The purpose of this is so that, if we missed anything that was important, we could set up a time and place to get it covered.

On the main stage of the Firehouse Theatre, we will have several high level panel discussions related to areas such as challenges and opportunities in publishing. While at the same time back in the office, we will have sessions running that delve more into the details of our software, services and technologies.

This hybrid conference/unconference gives us a stronger opportunity to insure that you derive the maximum value for taking the time to join us.