DSrupted Is Next Week, And Strangely In Control

September 11, 2014 by Dave Haynes

Doing mixers for as many as 400 people invariably taught me a few things about organization and sweating the little details, and as a result, I’m pretty calm about where planning sits for next week’s DSrupted conference in Toronto.

Big, bad windy and wet weather blew through town last night so I plopped all the name badges, name labels and lanyards on our big old farm table and got all the attendee badges together. AV is sorted – including two giant 90-inch displays flanking the speakers. There are directional signs and media sorted. Flights and hotel arranged. Food ordered. Fabulous parting gifts in hand or on the way, including 10 Chromeboxes, 6 FitBits, an LG TV and an Oculus Rift VR headset.

Presentation overviews have been discussed, and as I have stressed a few times, no one at this event paid to get in front of people and sell their pots and pans. There will be some product talk – as with our HTML5 guy Paul Vincent – but that’s to explain what the tech does.

A box of Chromeboxes, from Google and Rise Vision

In short, I’ve still got several days and already feeling in control.

I know: Famous … Last … Words.

There’s a very diverse crowd – from software start-ups to retail design people to very large corporations. Based on what’s been talked about, overlap between speakers should be minimal.

One somewhat last minute addition is a video team that will capture the energy of the day and we’ll put out a five-minute highlights piece in the days after the event. I’ve been asked about streaming the event, but that has not been arranged. First, it is easier suggested than done. Second, streaming for free makes little business sense for a conference organizer, and making it pay-based adds even more complication.

I’ve heard from lotsa people who expressed their intention to come to DSrupted, who’ve not yet registered. If you can’t make it after all, that’s no biggie. Just be aware it is NOT too late to register. While food is ordered, I can order more. I just can’t order less at this point.

One other note: remember the DSF has a networking event the night before in downtown Toronto. Even if you can’t make DSrupted, mixers are always good for meeting people in the business and catching up with industry friends.

See you next week.