FALL Conference
October 25th - 2008
Seville Condominiums Recreation Center
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Seville Condominiums Recreation Center
2640 Seville Blvd.
Clearwater, FL 33764
The hotel and Saturday's venue are across the street (Route 19) from each other:
Communication, Collaboration, & Convergence
The Florida Association of Computer User Groups (FACUG) and the Tampa Bay Computer Society (TBCS) will be hosting our Fall Conference, Friday & Saturday, October 24th & 25th. New trends in technology are re-shaping the computing landscape faster than most of us would ever have considered possible just a couple of years ago. Our club is having trouble attracting audiences for basic Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint seminars, and I suspect that everyone is having trouble getting speakers and vendors to your meetings. I believe that Computer User Groups will become irrelevant unless we adapt to the changes that are taking place.
The theme of our Fall Conference is "Communication, Collaboration, & Convergence". These are three major trends that are changing our world overnight. We want to help you retain your current membership as well as attract new users who are struggling to adapt to these technologies. I assure you that lots of people are aware of these changes, and they are realizing that they are ill-equipped to comprehend what's taking place. There is enormous opportunity available for those who can show them the way.
Several of our speakers for this event will be showcasing web 2.0 technologies, convergence will be addressed, and various forms of communicating remotely will be demoed (including one seminar that will detail the equipment necessary to video your meetings and stream them to the Internet for free). This is all in addition to roundtables to help you address user group issues in a variety of ways. Finally, Microsoft is also going to make an appearance by one of the most knowledgeable Vista users available. All of the above and we're going to feed you a continental breakfast and lunch also!
Let me sweeten the pot: I've put together a package for FACUG attendees, their friends, and their user groups that is totally free! Training will be delivered via the Internet over a period of several weeks. Instructions for access will be revealed at the conference.
Here are the subjects we'll be training on:
1. Vista From the Ground Up - basic Vista
2. 7 Web 2.0 Technologies - viewers are invited to join in the fun for this one
3. Mind Mapping - almost everyone has to write something sometimes. Mind Mapping is one of the easiest and best methods of getting it down on paper. A quick perusal of the Internet finds that Mind Mapping courses run $800 for a 4-hour training. We are going to teach a 2-hour session that will show how to both apply Mind Mapping principles as well as demo a free Web 2.0 Mind Mapping tool.
Finally, while the conference takes place on Saturday, for those who are coming to our area on Friday night, you are invited to join us for dinner at Capogna's Dugout from 5 to 6:30 pm, followed by an informal networking soirée at the nearby TBCS Resource Center from 6:30 'til ... whenever. Attendance is not required at either, but you are invited if you would like to join us.
..............Dave Dockery
Friday Evening
Dinner - Capogna's Dugout
Social Friday Evening
TBCS Resource Center (In the Clearwater Professional Plaza)
Photos ...Hewie Poplock
The Fall Conference
Registration is open to all Computer User Group members, whether or not their group is a FACUG member. PC Groups, MAC Groups & all others are invited.
Venue
Roundtable Discussions, Door Prize Drawings and a featured speaker at the luncheon.
Sponsors please contact: fallconference@facug.org