[Coco] CoCo Fest video and chat

[Roger Taylor]

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.