In this mailing:
Org List
Following up
Closing thoughts
What worked
Checking in
Attendance and activity reports
Verbosity
QR codes
Afternoons
Administrivia
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Org List:
This is the DLV 2015 Organizational Mailing List (dlvorg_at_geekbabe.com)
Replies to this message will be forwarded to the DLVORG list and not
the DLV-Announce or DLV-Discuss list.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Following up:
Please continue to discuss and summarize the event and the activities
which made it up. We'll plan on keeping the "old" ORG group intact
until the conversation dies down, at which time we'll bring in the
new 2015-2016 volunteers.
. . . . .
Total headcount as of this writing is stuck at 127. Still a bit low,
IMAO. Photo staging area links just went out, so hopefully some who
did not check in and did not get these will scream.
. . . . .
As a reminder, if you attended and have not taken the survey, please
surf here and do so:
http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/2015survey.html
If you wish to make additional comments, please re-visit the above URL,
skip all of the check boxes, and scroll directly to the comment section.
. . . . .
The response to the Call For Photos has been outstanding! Everyone who
attended should now have their link to the photo staging area. As of
Wednesday morning we're approaching 1400 photos with more in the queue!
Big thanks to those who submitted their photos! :) (Removal requests
have started flooding in.) :)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Closing thoughts:
Not all of this is directly related to the closing evening, but to
several related topics.
Cami writes:
Let me first comment on a personal note that I was not aware that some
organizers put in money at trevie. I had said I would do so as well so
if you think it's appropriate let me know what I can contribute.
On some other matters, I think going back to Bahama Breeze for the
closing dinner will get us the biggest attendance and get people to
stay.
I think it is easier to find somewhere else for Monday night. I agree
that check splitting is a real problem when you have larger groups, but,
as others have said, it's not easily solvable. It makes me want to
develop an app that one can access and figure out people's amounts.
. . . . . . . . . .
Katie writes:
Whilst I am still in a writing mode today.... I tend to agree with the
Just drinks and not a sit down meal as a plan for the Friday Closer.
(Obviously this being tied to staying with the 2015 plan using Breeze
Monday and Not for the closer).
I think it may be difficult to find somewhere which will cater to a
large group on one of Las Vegas bars and lounges busy nights of the week
though as on Friday nights the L/A crowd usually drift into town.
I Do like this idea though and my reasons are that New friendships
develop all week long and old ones are cemented so I think small
gatherings for dinner on Friday evening would be rather a nice
alternative for a prelude to our Closer event at whichever watering hole
or Oasis in the desert that we have pre set.
Unfortunately I had to leave on Friday this year (My fault entirely and
not anything to do with the DLV 2015 layout).
The dining out venues could be set with a small overflow factored in and
ride sharing to the final night activities would become automatic.
The downfalls would be that some may decide not to attend and that
Friday bar room availability could become a factor too, but If we could
work around this then it could become the new Norm for the closer.
I like B/Breeze for the opener on Monday and attendance does not worry
me. Also the wow factor is a bit misleading when we tally up the likes
and dislikes chart. Not everyone who does not have a great time can be
attributed to the hostess or the venue.
It may be someone who was sitting at their table which turned the off.
EG:-- A cigar smoker, or inappropriate dress or untimely and unladylike
loud and pungent farting etc. Seriously. This has happened! lol. I moved
out of the group photo @ Bahama Breeze last year because even though I
was laughing It was not all that pleasant!
I'd like to hear what others think about this?
. . . . . . . . . .
Delaney writes:
With respect to roll-off, I did hear a couple of comments relative to
the hotel rates on Friday. However, for those who wish to use the
Flamingo, Bev has pretty much solved that issue.
Otherwise, as Vegas has recovered from it's low tourism of 2012, I don't
see many likely bargain rates on Fri/Sat in 2016.
One thought might be to move DLV one day forward, with the slow start on
Saturday, opener on Sunday, close on Thursday, but that's a mixed bag.
The benefit would be all of the "prime" days would avoid Friday and
Saturday, thereby possibly upping attendance at the closer. Those who
drive to DLV would likely benefit from the reduced hotel rate, those who
fly (myself included) will probably spend more, as Friday is often a
heavy travel day.
The other thing we can do is highlight to folks for whom last night cost
is an issue is to book their last night away from the strip - I
understand the reluctance to do so, and I'm generally unwilling to do so
myself, but they can save $50-100 that way.
. . . . . . . . . .
Gina writes:
Good summary on the Trevi Problem.
I tried to avoid mention of it.
I do want to say that there were several other attendees that expressed
an interest in assisting with the shortfall. That was very much
appreciated.
That was maybe the second time I've been able to attend the farewell
gathering, the first was at the old gay bar dive we used to hang out at
by the Liberace museum, and this one at Trevi. I know for me it used to
be really hard to stay through the Friday/Saturday time frame do to
having to sneak away from family, maybe others are in the same boat.
. . . . . . . . . .
Robyn (one of those with the "y") :) :) writes:
> Another lesson learned, positive, is that those who say that
> they will share in the financial bath will keep their word and
> follow through, without complaining, should a shortage occur
I am sorry we had a short fall but at a 245.00 bill which 50 was some
other girls food. The people at are table were Val, Denise [sic], Vera,
Linda, Edy attached pix. I feel I had my own short fall. Lesson learned
read the bill 2 to 4 times before signing, and collect the money up
front for the min.
(Attached photo is on line here:)
http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dlv2015/orgtemp/stage05/p3273214.jpg
. . . . . . . . . .
Annie responds:
Thanks for the comments, ladies.
A few comments on some of the talking points:
Scheduling:
"Sliding" the event's schedule one day of the week is kind of a novel
idea I admit. The issue I see is that those who want to participate
fully may get socked with the very expensive hotel rate for Saturday.
Granted, with the current Sunday-Friday span, those who wish to stay
over that Friday get equally socked.
Holding the major closing activities on Thursday may be viable, whether
or not the event ends on Thursday or Friday. It would let more people
participate in the ending evening without having the expense of a Friday
hotel night.
Average length of attendance at our event has been 5-dot-something days
for many years, very consistently. Not everyone attends the very same
5-dot-something days, however. People are arriving and leaving
continuously throughout the event.
Having one major gathering on the second day of our event and the other
on the next to last day should be able to capture more of the gang than
a gathering on the very last day.
. . . . .
Hotels:
I do agree that we will not see bargain hotel rates again in Las Vegas
until there is another economic event which reduces the overall demand
for Las Vegas hotel rooms.
Beverly did a great service to the group by making more affordable rates
available to those who wanted them. If this program can be expanded and
made more widely known, it could definitely help in making more
reasonable hotel rates available to our people!
. . . . .
Check splitting {sigh!}:
As for an app to help split up checks, I am all for the use of
technology whenever it can help, and if you (or anyone) wants to
write one, I'm all for it.
Now getting the people to use it is another thing! :) (See notes on
willingness below.)
And, which of the two competing platforms would this be written for? :)
Robyn, I hate to see anyone take a personal bath. I do thank you for
reporting this. I personally know everyone in that photo and I'm very
confident that nobody in that group would intentionally "short" another.
If you feel that you are owed $$$, let me know and I'll arrange to get
that group together via e-mail to work it out. I don't think anyone in
that group wishes to see someone take more than her fair share of the
load, or in this case the $$$$$.
I really don't know what the answer is regarding the check splitting.
I do not foresee any kind of a wide selection of restaurants which will
be willing to do separate checks for a group of 50 or more. Bahama
Breeze is the rare exception here and we do have complaints about the
speed of service there.
IMAO, our attendees have it much better than do those attendees at other
events.
At the major gatherings at most other events you are served a plate.
You're lucky if you get a choice of salad dressing. Your only real
choice is that you can decide to eat it or not eat it. Of course you
pay for the meal whether or not you want it.
Same goes for most other (non-TG) dining groups in Las Vegas.
Our volunteers have been very good at negotiating terms that are quite
unusual for larger groups. Those of us who have been around a decade or
more can easily recall the complaints we received with the limited
"party menus" at such places as Hard Rock and Carluccio's.
I see two solutions to the check issue:
1. Find more venues willing to do separate checks for large groups.
2. Concentrate more on smaller group dining.
Both options will require more volunteer effort. :)
. . . . . . . . . .
Beverly responds:
As to regards of moving our closing activity back to Bahama Breeze on
Friday night, this will not work because Bahama Breeze holds their own
activity in the area we use then. Friday nights they have a cocktail
party on the patio and gazebo area from 6:00 till 9:00. Until that
changes in the future that area is not available to us.
I hope that clears up some of the discussion about Friday nights at BB.
. . . . . . . . . .
JoAnn responds:
JoAnn's Thoughts--
Agree with the many feed backs and Beverly's comments. .... However,
this requires more attendees seeing themselves as "contributors".... we
need---
(1) Programming which offers diversity (not just afternoon vendors);
(2) New fun events to replace the "O! Hum!;
(3) More attendees who see themselves as volunteers and provide incentives;
(4) More events having two(2) co-chairs so we minimize a Coordinator's
feeling loneliness about the events success.
How do we do the above?
That should be a topic I would like to lead for 2 to 3 weeks before we
start the lodging discussions, event coordinators recruitment, or 2016
date selection.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
What worked:
Annie writes:
Here is my summary of what did and did not work, regarding the
activities of our most recent event.
Additional critical examinations of our activities are most welcome.
Here are some of mine, on the activities I attended, both those I
sponsored and those put on by others.
Saturday, March 21:
Not on schedule, Pre-DLV, Satay:
We had a small but enjoyable group at Satay, more or less in line with
what we've been seeing from 2011 forward. I would say 10-12 or so total,
some of which wandered in just as the group was scattering.
Satay is a nice place, and it's certainly one that's been tested with
our group over the years.
I'm beginning to conclude that numbers between 10 and the teens are the
"new normal" for this type of affair.
Conclusion: Worked, but I still would like to see more participation.
. . . . .
+Sunday, March 22:
One very obvious missing activity on Sunday was attendance of services
at MCC. This had been a recurring activity for over 10 years, IIRC.
I heard no complaints about it being absent from our schedule this
year.
Another missing activity on Sunday was Lunch With. This was removed from
the Sunday schedule due to anticipated low demand and shortage of
volunteer capacity. More on that below.
+ 6:00pm: Denny's Happy Hour (Denny's Neonopolis) - ms
+ 7:00pm: Denny's Dining Option (Denny's Neonopolis) - ms
The dining at Denny's went quite well for the second year in a row.
Although Denny's certainly can't be thought of as a "destination", this
particular one is unique in that it has a full bar and a laid-back vibe
that's conducive to the whole East Fremont scene. The bar is also
quieter and more easy-going than many of the other places in the area.
Conclusion: Worked! Quite well.
+ 8:30pm: Fremont Street Experience (Fremont Street Experience)
I personally casin-surfed and people-watched solo during this timeslot.
I saw a few of our people out and about, but not many. There was only
one group of our people that I came upon, and they appeared to be
attracting very little if any attention from the civilians.
Conclusion: Worked.
+ 10:00pm: "Softer" Common Gathering (Denny's Neonopolis) - ms
Much lower turnout than I had hoped for, but still a nice relaxing
ending for the evening downtown. Nothing really exciting, just a low-key
gathering for a few (more) drinks. One of our people did order food
during the gathering.
Conclusion: Worked.
. . . . .
+Monday, March 23:
+ 8:00am: Katie's Koffee Korner (Club Cappuccino - Flamingo)
This is the only session of KKK that I attended. I always try to make
one of these each year to support the concept and those who are putting
it on. Even with the adjustment to 8:00am it's still too early for my
DLV sleep and wake cycle.
This particular one was well-attended.
Conclusion: Worked.
+ 1:30pm: Creative Wigs Seminar (Spotlight Lounge) - sv
This was an expanded re-run of a well-rated similar activity of 2014 and
it came off very well. It's laid-back and relaxing, no high-pressure
sales. The team, anchored by Wendy (Wendi?) had a basic "program" in
mind but steered their presentation in the directions indicated by the
audience.
The venue (Spotlight), IMAO, is very good for this type of thing! It's a
win-win. Spotlight gets the bar business on an otherwise slow afternoon
and we get a place to do our thing! :)
Conclusion: Worked!
+ 5:00pm: New Attendee Orientation (Bahama Breeze) - mv
I tried to stay out of the way on this one. We had a turnout of 20-some
for the second year in a row. No "controversial" topics such as
restrooms were discussed this year, that I heard, anyway. :)
Conclusion: I have to say it worked, although I was kind of listening in
from the periphery.
+ 6:00pm: Happy Hour (Bahama Breeze) - ms
+ 7:00pm: Get Acquainted Dinner (Bahama Breeze) - ms
+ 8:30pm: Welcome Celebration (Bahama Breeze) - ms
This usually works well, but this year there were a few issues. The most
obvious was lack of staff at the bar in the Gazebo Room.
I offered to buy a drink for someone who I had not seen for a year and
the time it took to get that round of drinks was annoyingly long plus it
took several "prods" to the staff to actually get the drinks to appear!
When I took a "bio break", I noticed a group of our people sitting at
the main bar. I asked why they were not in the room with the gang and
they said it was because there was no drink service in there.
There was confusion WRT the musician. The side-effect of this was that
we did not have a working microphone. The staff was unable to set one up
to work with the main sound system. Beverly and I found a powered
speaker in the stage area, and the staff found a mike, but this was
really quite underpowered for the room and those off to the sides could
not hear the announcements.
Conclusion: Worked, with issues.
+ 9:00pm: Official Group Photo (Bahama Breeze) - ms
Herding cats! There's always a lot of hesitancy and grumbling when we
announce that we are posing for a group photo, but the truth is that the
group photos are some of the most "hit on" on our follow-up pages! This
one came off quite well even though it was difficult to announce.
Conclusion: Worked.
+ 10:00pm: Dancing at Paris (Paris - Cabaret Lounge) - ms
IIRC we had close to 30 on Monday, meaning a significant number of our
people followed us from Bahama Breeze to Paris. This was the second year
that we had Dancing At Paris as a recurring evening activity.
Conclusion: Worked.
. . . . .
+Tuesday, March 24:
+ 10:30am: Social at The Center (The Center) - sv
Smaller low-key gathering. Enjoyable and relaxing. LOL, I wish I would
have known that they had chicken there, I would have skipped breakfast!
Conclusion: Worked.
+ 5:00pm: Afternoon Social (Chayo at the Linq) - ms
I was the only one present on Tuesday. Somewhat discouraging. See below.
There were a number of other various goings-on on Tuesday, so this was
not the only recurring activity which reported a lower turnout for
Tuesday.
Conclusion: Did not work, for Tuesday that is.
+ 6:00pm: Ruths Chris Happy Hour (Ruth's Chris - Harrahs) - ms
+ 7:00pm: Ruths Chris dining option (Ruth's Chris - Harrahs) - ms
Not cheap, but very good! Pig-out of the week! :) :)
Beverly's strategy was similar to the one I use when I host(ess) things
such as this, and that is to break the group up into normal-size tables.
This worked very well.
Conclusion: Worked.
+ 10:15pm: Dancing at Paris (Paris - Cabaret Lounge) - ms
Smaller crowd than on Monday, but still enjoyable.
Conclusion: Worked.
. . . . .
+Wednesday, March 25:
LOL, hard to believe that the first thing I did with the group on
Wednesday was KOH! :)
+ 8:00pm: DLV Fantasy Ball (Kings Of Hustler) - sv
This was a much smaller crowd than I was expecting! It did work rather
well but again the crowd seemed to scatter to the winds once the
entertainment portion of the evening wound down. I bummed a ride back
when I could, so I admit I was one of those scattering.
I am concerned that the lower door count will discourage the management
and staff from doing something like this again.
Conclusion: Worked, with concerns.
+ 10:00pm: Dancing at Paris (Paris - Cabaret Lounge) - ms
Again, a smaller crowd. I did notice several in the audience who were
also present over at KOH and wandered over to Paris.
Conclusion: Worked.
. . . . .
+Thursday, March 26:
+ 12:00n: Lunch With Ginger (Flamingo Buffet) - ms
Good turnout. This particular session worked very well.
Conclusion: Worked.
+ 1:30pm: Pinball Museum (Pinball Hall Of Fame) - ms
The Pinball Hall Of Fame was one of the high points of DLV this year! I
enjoyed this immensely. We had a great turnout as well. The gang did not
even seem to be noticed among the crowd there.
Conclusion: Worked!
+ 5:00pm: Afternoon Social (Chayo at the Linq) - ms
Much better turnout than on Tuesday. The 2-fers will give you an early
evening buzz! :)
Conclusion: Worked.
+ 7:00pm: Audrey Lounge Tour (Begin at Venetian) - ms
The Audrey Tour was one of the most enjoyable evenings all week.
The main disappointment was, unknown to us, the Wax Museum was "bought
out" for a private function that evening, so that part of the program
was significantly abbreviated using an external display.
Conclusion: Worked.
+ 10:00pm: Dancing at Paris (Paris - Cabaret Lounge) - ms
The Audrey Tour terminated at the Cabaret Lounge. The DLV gang was lower
in number than on Monday but still obviously present.
Conclusion: Worked.
. . . . .
+Friday, March 27:
+ 12:00n: Lunch With Ginger (Fashion Show Mall Food Court) - ms
We had a reasonably good turnout for this. The surprising thing is that
the Fragrance Seminar reported a very poor showing, and I had assumed
that many of those present for LWG would wander down to this.
Conclusion: Worked.
+ 5:00pm: Afternoon Social (Chayo at the Linq) - ms
Again, a much better turnout than on Tuesday!
Conclusion: Worked.
+ 6:00pm: Happy Hour (Trevi - Caesars) - ms
+ 7:00pm: Farewell Dinner (Trevi - Caesars) - ms
+ 8:00pm: Farewell Celebration (Trevi - Caesars) - ms
The turnout for this was lower than the machine predicted, even though
the "roll-off" of Friday was counted for in the prediction. This gave us
a more difficult time in "cracking the nut" of the guaranteed minimum,
which we failed to do, as noted elsewhere.
There was also a lot of griping about splitting of checks, which again
is discussed in depth elsewhere.
I was under the impression that there was to be a bar upstairs, which I
believe would have helped with our shortage.
The food was good, however, and the company most enjoyable.
Conclusion: Worked, with issues, some very significant.
+ 9:30pm: Official Group Photo (Trevi - Caesars) - ms
We decided not to do this. Main reason was that quite a few took off
right after they finished dinner. :(
+ 10:00pm: Dancing at Paris (Paris - Cabaret Lounge) - ms
Very good showing on our final evening. The daily DAP is a clear winner
in our line-up of recurring activities.
. . . . . . . . .
Overall conclusions:
Overall the weekend worked well. Most of the activities I attended were
well-attended and enjoyable.
Again, overall, the schedule was rich and well-rounded with very few
truly weak spots.
. . . . .
General concerns:
1. Volunteer capacity!
This is my personal number one concern going forward!
This year we had a few normally very active volunteers who were not with
us and this did make a difference! We hit our "voluntary volunteer
saturation point" earlier in the cycle than we have in recent years.
This means that a few sessions of recurring activities had to be
dropped, mainly for lack of volunteers, and some of us who had vowed to
set limits on the number of activities we did had to jump in and cover
some sessions for which no volunteer had agreed to take.
. . . . .
2. Turnout.
Two areas of concern, individual activity turnout, and turnout for the
event as a whole.
Overall turnout at the event was down. If there were any significant "at
fault" reasons for this, we certainly would have caught wind. I think
the lower turnout has to do with several factors, among which are the
overall demand for TG events (decreasing as TG becomes more visible and
accepted in the mainstream) and increased costs (hotel, air, food, etc.)
which will most certainly be with us until another significant economic
downturn occurs.
Some turnout numbers for individual activities, particularly some which
have previously been very popular, were disappointingly low.
Some of these had specific reasons, such as Lunch With Ginger on
Tuesday, which had a number of compating activities in the same
timeslot.
Shooting, Art Tour, Pole Dance Instruction, and High Tea all had
turnouts much lower than I would have expected, given the popularity
of these in prior years.
The Fragrance Seminar was the major surprise. We had planned the LWG on
Friday to lead into this, and I was confident that several at lunch, as
well as others, would wander down there.
Comments on any of this?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Checking in:
Katie writes:
I Agree with Vera.
I had never given any thought to how many or even Who attended an event
I was hostessing or assisting to coordinate but it makes perfect sense
that Next year I will use the notepad I carry and jot down the names of
those who show up for KKK each day.
This obviously is not a difficult one to do for an insignificant event
which has only a few attendees like KKK but likely would be a bit more
arduous for one such as The Opener with 150 or so there.I will
definitely consider doing this next year though, Mainly because even
though I may have liked someone in particular, I still forget some names
a few weeks after DLV is over.
This is rather disappointing but can be an easy fix if I use my true and
tested method of Jotting down a name with the dress alongside it. (Katie
remembers people easier that way!) *lol*.. especially when I am in
larger groups. Good plan Vera!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Attendance and activity reports:
Cami writes:
Let me give you some numbers for attendance at my hosted events. Bacio
dining was 16, Raiding the rock vault was 23 and dinner at the Palms was
8. We also had about 14 at the pinball museum.
In thinking about next year I would definitely do the dinner and show
again. It was a pain to organize and collect money but well worth it.
. . . . . . . . . .
Delaney writes:
> Delaney, how underdressed were these individuals? Were they indeed
> not dressed appropriately for the venue, or were they just less
> dressy than the other DLV attendees?
T shirt and jeans.
Fine for for BB or PF Chang's, not so much so for venues where the wait
staff wears tuxs.
. . . . . . . . . .
Annie responds:
Hey, everybody, I swear, this was not me at Pamplemousse! I did Ruth's
Chris that night.
"Nice casual to dressy" was what was specified in the dress notes on the
final schedule for Pamplemousse, and perhaps that was subject to some
very broad interpretation.
The activity sign-up page did not have any dress notes, neither did
the Activity Highlight posted in the Discussion Forum.
You, as the activity Coordinator, can most definitely set limits, on all
ends of the spectrum, as to what is and is not appropriate dress at your
activities. What we can do looking forward is, for venues which are
nicer and at which dressing up a bit is expected, is to clearly note on
such things as the schedule and the sign-up screen "business casual" or
"business dress" at minimum, similar to what we've been doing for
several years for the High Tea ("daytime dressy").
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Verbosity:
Dionne writes:
> I fielded a rather vocal complaint from one new attendee regarding
> the length of and the verbosity of our mailings.
As someone who's default writing style is verbose mode, I can relate to
this one. The suggestion I received was to use the newspaper headline
format writing style, such as; BIG NEWS TITLE Important Info Less
Important info here misc. info details & contact info
{Inverted pyramid structure Main article: Inverted pyramid Journalists
usually describe the organization or structure of a news story as an
inverted pyramid. The essential and most interesting elements of a story
are put at the beginning, with supporting information following in order
of diminishing importance. This structure enables readers to stop
reading at any point and still come away with the essence of a story. It
allows people to explore a topic to only the depth that their curiosity
takes them, and without the imposition of details or nuances that they
could consider irrelevant, but still making that information available
to more interested readers. The inverted pyramid structure also enables
articles to be trimmed to any arbitrary length during layout, to fit in
the space available. }
. . . . . . . . . .
Annie responds:
This is more or less what's been done for many years now. Item titles go
up front, with newer and more important items first. Those who indeed
read thoroughly can safely stop when they start hitting items they have
encountered before.
One off-line comment about the verbosity had to do with simply exceeding
the individual attention span of the reader.
We'll have some idea on exactly how significant this issue is as soon as
the survey numbers are in.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
QR codes:
Dionne writes:
> one experimental "feature" we tried this year, the QR codes
I'm pleasantly surprised by the initial acceptance and usage of this
feature.
I suggested it as a virtual check-in table and glad it gained some
traction.
This makes me wonder if it could be extended to reduce the workload on
the paper badges or help track activities.
> it is very easy to see how many used them by examining the server
One of the main advantages of using QR code is the automatic tracking.
I'm guessing the hits to the QR codes were simply stored and not
analyzed {except by Annie}.
I am willing to investigate how QR codes could be used for next year, if
this team thinks it would be helpful. There are many QR code analytic
packages available that are worth testing out, as well.
Questions to ponder:
What Use Case would be helpful for next year?
Would each event hostess have a QR code specific to their event?
For example:
> We could indeed provide the Coordinators with paper copies
> of the roster for them to check off and turn in.
-This could be replaced with QR codes given to the Hostess. The attendee
just scans this event-specific code when they arrive.
Could it work as a Game for the attendees? Are they open to making
selections after they land on the site URL?
Also, Thanks to Dennis, Vera & all who helped out the badges. I clipped
my badge to my purse all week. It was easy to carry around and display.
. . . . . . . . . .
Annie responds:
I am all for the appropriate application of technology, particularly in
cases where convenience can be increased and workload can be reduced.
I want to be sure, however, that any "whizbang" we introduce is indeed
effective and also that the effort we put into deploying technology does
not distract from our primary mission of planning activities.
A few comments on some of your talking points:
> This makes me wonder if it could be extended to reduce the
> workload on the paper badges or
Name tags are still up in the air. I'm hearing a consensus that tags are
good, but the effort to produce them is significant and fatiguing,
particularly when a meaningful number of them go unclaimed and end up
being discarded. I speak from experience on that.
Likewise it's still up in the air WRT whether we do QR codes on the tags
again. IMAO the response level was encouraging, but it is extra effort
to print them.
> help track activities.
There are a few things we need to keep in mind when deploying anything
along this line. The important thing is that not everyone has a device
that is capable of using QR codes and of those who do, a good number do
not have it set up properly, and/or don't know or don't care how to do
it.
There are some significant human-factor limits, some with very low
thresholds, regarding what our people, both volunteers and rank and
file, are willing to do. Willingness to wear a name tag is just one
example. Willingness to print out a schedule is another.
While it may sound like a cool idea to track attendance at an activity
by either having everyone scan a displayed QR, or having the Coordinator
scan everyone's name tag, I question how many would be willing and able
to do this.
There are some jobs for which a low-tech solution, such as a pencil and
paper, would be the correct tool for the job. I have a feeling that the
job of tracking attendance at individual activities is one of these. :)
> One of the main advantages of using QR code is the automatic tracking.
One thing I want to avoid is giving the impression to the attendees that
they are being "tracked" more than is necessary. I fielded one concern
about this (can the "pylons" at store entrances detect the QR codes on
the name tags?) and although technically naive, it was a concern.
I know that one other event uses bar codes to verify paid attendance,
and thus everyone will "card in" to every session, meal, etc. The logs
of this contain a LOT of information regarding one's time and place and
quite honestly, I don't see a need to collect this amount of data.
> Could it work as a Game for the attendees? Are they open to making
> selections after they land on the site URL?
We could probably do some kind of incentive to encourage those who are
able to use QR codes to do so. Perhaps something like a randomly
appearing free drink coupon or something like that. :)
> Also, Thanks to Dennis, Vera & all who helped out the badges.
This is something I definitely want to echo! I, both personally and
behalf of the group, appreciate the efforts! I hope they will continue
with this practice as it's worked very well the past three years.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Afternoons:
Katie writes:
Hi.
I had a terrific time at DlV 2015. but looking back on this years event
I noticed that we had quite a full schedule of Vendors in action during
DLV 2015, Particularly in the afternoons! Monday From 1PM till' 4PM.
Tuesday from 1 till' 4. again. Wednesday from 10AM to 12, Thursday from
2 till' 5PM and Friday 2 till' 5PM again. This is a total of 14 hours of
vendors and lessons.
I do not attend vendors sessions when I am at DLV as they do not
interest me at all as an activity on a once a year vacation opportunity
but I am a little concerned about the lack of daytime activities slots
which Vendors have taken up in recent years. I am guessing that this has
a lot to do with the Earlier time of year we now use for our event! When
we used early May we had the Lake Mead Boat tour in much better weather
of course and hiking too and and the horse ranch outing to fill in the
afternoons and late mornings with. Also we did shopping and sight seeing
trips more often in previous years
. . . . . . . . . .
Annie responds:
You are correct in two observations, that we've had more commercial
activities in recent years, and that we've had fewer things such as side
trips in recent years.
I don't however, think that the commercial activities are "pushing out"
other things, nor do I think the slipping of the event earlier into the
year and the associated weather is a significant factor.
The only reason why we've lacked in such things as side trips and
shopping trips lately is that the volunteers have not been planning
them. Those who see these activities as a priority do need to make
some plans and get them on the schedule.
. . . . . . . . . .
Beverly responds:
I know some people don't like the vendors having so much time at DLV and
would like to see more outdoor activities to fill in the daytime hours.
The problem is the lack of volunteers willing to take on the time and
responsibility to plan those outings.
It takes people to step up and plan those activities. Some take little
work (Shiloh Horse Rescue Ranch, Red Rock hiking) while some take more
work and time, perhaps even financial risks (Lake Mead Boat trip, golf
outing, skydiving). It just takes the right people willing to take them
on.
And let's face it, many of our gals like to visit vendors during their
week. I visited a spa one afternoon because I wanted to treat myself to
some pampering. For many this is the only opportunity to do such things
because we are away from home.
I am not against the vendors having a part in DLV. But if I am not
interested in a certain activity I won't go and will find something else
to fill that time. I like the idea of having a variety of activities and
choices during DLV so there is something for everyone. And is spending
an afternoon going to a mall shopping that much different then going to
a vendor who is supporting DLV?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Administrivia:
This is the Diva Las Vegas 2015 organizational list.
One address for all items regarding this list, additions, removals,
changes, submissions, questions, etc.:
dlvorg_at_geekbabe.com <--- NOTE: all lower case
Diva Las Vegas 2015
Sunday, March 22 - Friday, March 27
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Archives of this list appear on the web at:
http://www.geekbabe.com/annie/org15arc/
To unsubscribe: Simply reply to this message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE
in either the Subject: field or the first line of an OTHERWISE BLANK
message body. The word "unsubscribe" (case is insignificant) should be
the only item in the subject field or the first line of the message,
justified to the left.
To send material to this list: Send submission as regular e-mail to
the address: dlvorg_at_geekbabe.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Received on Wed Apr 22 2015 - 06:57:15 CDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.2.0 : Wed Jun 03 2015 - 07:09:18 CDT
