[Coco] CoCo Fest video and chat

[Mark Marlette]

John,

Now this is the planning I like to hear! :)

Good luck and make it happen.

Mark

At 5/1/2006 07:13 PM, you wrote:

>   I would have been there this year as well as last year except 
> last year I was out of work and had to
>sell the house in WV and move to Dallas, TX. Finially got a new job 
>last fall after being out of work
>for 14 months, so do not have any vacation time until this Sept. and 
>if all goes well and there is a fest
>in 2007, I WILL be there. I have very much enjoyed all the fest I 
>have attendent over the years.
>
>John Donaldson
>
>
>Frank Pittel wrote:
>
>>On Mon, May 01, 2006 at 05:57:16PM -0500, Roger Taylor wrote:
>>
>>
>>>At 01:34 PM 5/1/2006, you wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>There are an endless number of excuses on why one could not make 
>>>>it. Some indicate money, schedule conflicts, etc. All valid at 
>>>>some point in time but after 25yrs, people that have never attend 
>>>>a fest, that means it is not a priority.
>>>>
>>>>The web cam is OK for people overseas or the ones that don't not 
>>>>attend every year. It seems there is emphasis put on this 
>>>>technology so that people don't have to attend. Believe me the 
>>>>web cam is nothing like being there.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Mark,
>>>
>>>Well, I won't flame you or anything, but there's a flip side to 
>>>the coin you tossed onto the table.  Here's my take:  First, I'll 
>>>comment about attending the fests and sitting at home watching, 
>>>then I'll comment on why the crowd may be reducing, or not.
>>>
>>>Some people simply cannot attend the fests.  Some people want to 
>>>go, but can't produce the money at one time or by saving during a 
>>>year, etc.  Some people have demanding jobs.  Some people spend 
>>>their vacation time from their jobs going to places that appeal to 
>>>the whole family.  Some people cannot justify going to a fest; some people can.
>>>
>>>You know as well as I that over the years it has become more of a 
>>>challenge even for the big names who have attended past fests, let 
>>>alone the small guys who dabble with the CoCo.  I'm sure that if a 
>>>fest came to their neighborhood or close enough for a simple drive 
>>>over and not a flight, things would change.
>>>
>>>My take on the webcam is that now we have a way to show something 
>>>to both those who cannot attend, and those who have wondered what 
>>>they are missing and can now see what they can look forward to 
>>>next year.  I saw comments in the chat room from people who saw 
>>>the crowd and said they were going to try to go next year.  So, a 
>>>webcam is not a reason to sit at home, but just a look into the 
>>>event for anybody interested in 1) going next year, 2) seeing 
>>>people they know but couldn't meet this year, 3) just plum 
>>>interested.  Everybody can sit and have their own reason for 
>>>watching, but I guarantee it's not just one, and all the reasons are positive.
>>>
>>>Ok, how much advertising is now going into getting the word out 
>>>about the CoCo Fest?  A simple message to the mailing list once or 
>>>twice is Not Enough.  This isn't going to help draw a significant 
>>>crowd that we're expecting.  To whomever is organizing the fests 
>>>each year, the work may not be enough in getting the word out with 
>>>details about what the visitor can expect.  In the past, I've 
>>>placed messages at the top of the front page of CoCo3.com and I 
>>>still plan to do this since that page alone gets hundreds of hits 
>>>a day and is seen by CoCo users from all over the world, even the 
>>>lost ones who didn't know we were still doing this stuff.  This is 
>>>a great place for notices like this because the Google ranking is 
>>>excellent and the site turns up high for most CoCo searches.
>>>
>>>Ok, that's free advertisement there, but what about efforts to do 
>>>more than just post a message to a web site or mailing 
>>>list.  Members of any club involved in organizing events like this 
>>>should all get together and help boost interest in different 
>>>ways.  It's sorta like how you buy stock in your own company you 
>>>work for.  It sucks to see that money going back to them from your 
>>>paychecks but obviously it's for investment reasons.  Invest more 
>>>time and money in getting the word out the right way for the CoCo 
>>>Fest, and I promise that more people will attend.  This year I've 
>>>heard very little about the upcoming fest and any searches on the 
>>>web usually turn up old notices about fests 3 or 4 years ago.
>>>
>>>There's also been suggestions to start holding festivals that 
>>>attract more than just CoCo users.  This would create some 
>>>competition and attract those who are into more than just the 
>>>CoCo.  There are many people our age or abouts who dabbled in it 
>>>all back in the 80's and would love to walk around a huge room 
>>>full of all of that stuff and see what's being done to keep those 
>>>computers alive, including the CoCo, ofcourse.
>>>
>>>I really think in order for the fest crowd to get bigger there has 
>>>to be more advertising and more computer models of interest.  That's my take.
>>>
>>
>>I agree that something needs to be done about the level of advertisment for
>>the fests. As mentioned earlier I first learned about the fest last year by
>>accident. I did a google search on the Coco and found your site. That was
>>where I saw your "ad" for the cocofest. So at least one person found the fest
>>from your site! :-)
>>
>>I think the date and timing of the fest should be well known to 
>>subscribers to
>>this list should be well known. I would be interested in knowing if anyone on
>>this list didn't know about the fest. What we need to do is find a 
>>way to reach
>>out to people who like myself used a coco and for any of a number 
>>of reasons stopped.
>>They won't hear about it from your web page because they don't know about it.
>>It would be nice if Radio Shack would be willing to put up fliers 
>>in their stores
>>for the fest. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting though. :-)
>>
>>I don't agree that the solution is to have more fests around the 
>>country. With the
>>fest in the Chicago area which is centrally<SP?> located and 
>>relatively easy to get
>>to drawing somewher in the area of 50 people. What expectation is 
>>there of getting even
>>that number in San Antonio or other city? I think we need to face 
>>the fact that the
>>number of people interested in going to a coco fest is shrinking 
>>rapidly and that
>>the remaining user base isn't large enough to support multiple events.
>>
>>Frank
>>
>
>
>
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