[Marketing] AAG 2009 Proposal

Committees Marketing
1

Marketing Committee,

I would like to propose that Osgeo commit to exhibiting at the Association of American Geographers meeting in late March, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The AAG annual meeting is the largest meeting of geographers in the United States and includes many international academics and government employees in geography. The last 2 conferences have had over 7000 attendees.

I've put together a preliminary budget proposal at
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009

At minimum we need to commit to $1000 to reserve the booth in the exhibit hall very soon, there are less than 8 spots left for non-profits with a deposit of $500 at booking.

I can guarantee 4 volunteers for the booth on top of the request to send at least one top Osgeo member(board?).

In conjunction with the exhibit I'm attempting to organize paper sessions around FOSS software which I will be proposing to the Edu and general lists shortly.

Thank you,
Alex Mandel (wildintellect)
Geography Graduate Group
University of California, Davis

2

This does look like an excellent opportunity for OSGeo and I'd love to see OSGeo present.

However, it does bring up a bigger question about whether OSGeo should fund local events.
If OSGeo funds events in the US, then should all 100+ other countries expect the same level of funding? Do we have budget to support this?

Here in Australia the OSGeo local chapter have been setting up conference stands, giving presentations and workshops and funding ourselves. Local industry has been coughing up for travel expenses fliers and registration fees and often OSGeo friendly delegates help man the stand. We often get free registration often based on us being Non-Profit and a highly desirable act.

We have some good presentations you are welcome to use at:
http://www.lisasoft.com/LISAsoft/Company/Presentations.html
Mark Leslie's summary of the Open Source Gespatial Stack
and my Business Case for using Open Source.

Alex Mandel wrote:

Marketing Committee,

I would like to propose that Osgeo commit to exhibiting at the Association of American Geographers meeting in late March, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The AAG annual meeting is the largest meeting of geographers in the United States and includes many international academics and government employees in geography. The last 2 conferences have had over 7000 attendees.

I've put together a preliminary budget proposal at
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009

At minimum we need to commit to $1000 to reserve the booth in the exhibit hall very soon, there are less than 8 spots left for non-profits with a deposit of $500 at booking.

I can guarantee 4 volunteers for the booth on top of the request to send at least one top Osgeo member(board?).

In conjunction with the exhibit I'm attempting to organize paper sessions around FOSS software which I will be proposing to the Edu and general lists shortly.

Thank you,
Alex Mandel (wildintellect)
Geography Graduate Group
University of California, Davis
_______________________________________________
Marketing mailing list
Marketing@lists.osgeo.org
http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing

--
Cameron Shorter
Geospatial Systems Architect
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254

Think Globally, Fix Locally
Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
http://www.lisasoft.com

3

I do think Osgeo should in some way attempt to fund publicity in any
place where adequate local support exists and an appropriate venue comes
up. To highlight the amount of support may vary from place to place
based on specifics.

We did a conference, the California Geographical Society on $300 for an
audience of 500. The AAG at $3000 for an audience of 7000+ is actually
quite a bit of a better deal people/$ ratio. I do see how we'd need some
consistent way to asses such events for funding and I only threw in
paying for a top Osgeo official to get there since I figured we could do
it cheap and that it would greatly benefit. It is possible to do all
volunteer if the materials are covered.

I would say that any conference the size of the AAG that deals closely
with Geography, GIS or something very similar should get something if
there are Osgeo friends planning to attend and willing to organize.
Maybe we have to start building a list to budget out better. These are
fairly annual events so we could get good estimate a year in advance.

Just a quick note, the IGU (International) conference is actually
smaller than the AAG, kinda surprised me, but I've heard the AAG is the
worlds largest in it's field.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/08/18/feature-02

Thanks for the input,
Alex

Cameron Shorter wrote:

This does look like an excellent opportunity for OSGeo and I'd love to
see OSGeo present.

However, it does bring up a bigger question about whether OSGeo should
fund local events.
If OSGeo funds events in the US, then should all 100+ other countries
expect the same level of funding? Do we have budget to support this?

Here in Australia the OSGeo local chapter have been setting up
conference stands, giving presentations and workshops and funding
ourselves. Local industry has been coughing up for travel expenses
fliers and registration fees and often OSGeo friendly delegates help man
the stand. We often get free registration often based on us being
Non-Profit and a highly desirable act.

We have some good presentations you are welcome to use at:
http://www.lisasoft.com/LISAsoft/Company/Presentations.html
Mark Leslie's summary of the Open Source Gespatial Stack
and my Business Case for using Open Source.

Alex Mandel wrote:

Marketing Committee,

I would like to propose that Osgeo commit to exhibiting at the
Association of American Geographers meeting in late March, 2009 in Las
Vegas, Nevada. The AAG annual meeting is the largest meeting of
geographers in the United States and includes many international
academics and government employees in geography. The last 2
conferences have had over 7000 attendees.

I've put together a preliminary budget proposal at
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009

At minimum we need to commit to $1000 to reserve the booth in the
exhibit hall very soon, there are less than 8 spots left for
non-profits with a deposit of $500 at booking.

I can guarantee 4 volunteers for the booth on top of the request to
send at least one top Osgeo member(board?).

In conjunction with the exhibit I'm attempting to organize paper
sessions around FOSS software which I will be proposing to the Edu and
general lists shortly.

Thank you,
Alex Mandel (wildintellect)
Geography Graduate Group
University of California, Davis
_______________________________________________
Marketing mailing list
Marketing@lists.osgeo.org
http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing

4

Was there any resolution on this proposal at the conference. We need to move fast to at least get the deposit($500) for a booth down in the next 8 days.

I'd just like to reiterate that the AAG should not be considered a local event as it changes location every year (the US is quite large) and draws an international crowd.

Alternate funding suggestions are welcome, but we need to at least get the booth deposit down before the deadline to have something to work with.

Regardless we are moving ahead with organizing sessions, although the response on EDU and General list has been quite low compared to last year. Suggestions for where to send the Call for Papers?

Thanks,
Alex

Cameron Shorter wrote:

This does look like an excellent opportunity for OSGeo and I'd love to see OSGeo present.

However, it does bring up a bigger question about whether OSGeo should fund local events.
If OSGeo funds events in the US, then should all 100+ other countries expect the same level of funding? Do we have budget to support this?

Here in Australia the OSGeo local chapter have been setting up conference stands, giving presentations and workshops and funding ourselves. Local industry has been coughing up for travel expenses fliers and registration fees and often OSGeo friendly delegates help man the stand. We often get free registration often based on us being Non-Profit and a highly desirable act.

We have some good presentations you are welcome to use at:
http://www.lisasoft.com/LISAsoft/Company/Presentations.html
Mark Leslie's summary of the Open Source Gespatial Stack
and my Business Case for using Open Source.

Alex Mandel wrote:

Marketing Committee,

I would like to propose that Osgeo commit to exhibiting at the Association of American Geographers meeting in late March, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The AAG annual meeting is the largest meeting of geographers in the United States and includes many international academics and government employees in geography. The last 2 conferences have had over 7000 attendees.

I've put together a preliminary budget proposal at
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009

At minimum we need to commit to $1000 to reserve the booth in the exhibit hall very soon, there are less than 8 spots left for non-profits with a deposit of $500 at booking.

I can guarantee 4 volunteers for the booth on top of the request to send at least one top Osgeo member(board?).

In conjunction with the exhibit I'm attempting to organize paper sessions around FOSS software which I will be proposing to the Edu and general lists shortly.

Thank you,
Alex Mandel (wildintellect)
Geography Graduate Group
University of California, Davis
_______________________________________________
Marketing mailing list
Marketing@lists.osgeo.org
http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing

5

Alex,
I don't expect you will get a commitment from the Marketing Committee before Tyler returns (on Monday).

Even then, OSGeo's budget is small, ~ $3K per local chapter. And I'd argue that OSGeo doesn't have resources to fully fund participation at any event.

I suggest you approach local Open Source industry who will be at the conference. You may be able to share a booth with them.

Commercial Support for Open Source is key to the user value proposition, and without it Open Source uptake will be limited.

Alex Mandel wrote:

Was there any resolution on this proposal at the conference. We need to move fast to at least get the deposit($500) for a booth down in the next 8 days.

I'd just like to reiterate that the AAG should not be considered a local event as it changes location every year (the US is quite large) and draws an international crowd.

Alternate funding suggestions are welcome, but we need to at least get the booth deposit down before the deadline to have something to work with.

Regardless we are moving ahead with organizing sessions, although the response on EDU and General list has been quite low compared to last year. Suggestions for where to send the Call for Papers?

Thanks,
Alex

Cameron Shorter wrote:

This does look like an excellent opportunity for OSGeo and I'd love to see OSGeo present.

However, it does bring up a bigger question about whether OSGeo should fund local events.
If OSGeo funds events in the US, then should all 100+ other countries expect the same level of funding? Do we have budget to support this?

Here in Australia the OSGeo local chapter have been setting up conference stands, giving presentations and workshops and funding ourselves. Local industry has been coughing up for travel expenses fliers and registration fees and often OSGeo friendly delegates help man the stand. We often get free registration often based on us being Non-Profit and a highly desirable act.

We have some good presentations you are welcome to use at:
http://www.lisasoft.com/LISAsoft/Company/Presentations.html
Mark Leslie's summary of the Open Source Gespatial Stack
and my Business Case for using Open Source.

Alex Mandel wrote:

Marketing Committee,

I would like to propose that Osgeo commit to exhibiting at the Association of American Geographers meeting in late March, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The AAG annual meeting is the largest meeting of geographers in the United States and includes many international academics and government employees in geography. The last 2 conferences have had over 7000 attendees.

I've put together a preliminary budget proposal at
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009

At minimum we need to commit to $1000 to reserve the booth in the exhibit hall very soon, there are less than 8 spots left for non-profits with a deposit of $500 at booking.

I can guarantee 4 volunteers for the booth on top of the request to send at least one top Osgeo member(board?).

In conjunction with the exhibit I'm attempting to organize paper sessions around FOSS software which I will be proposing to the Edu and general lists shortly.

Thank you,
Alex Mandel (wildintellect)
Geography Graduate Group
University of California, Davis
_______________________________________________
Marketing mailing list
Marketing@lists.osgeo.org
http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing

_______________________________________________
Marketing mailing list
Marketing@lists.osgeo.org
http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing

--
Cameron Shorter
Geospatial Systems Architect
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254

Think Globally, Fix Locally
Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
http://www.lisasoft.com

6

Cameron Shorter wrote:

Alex,
I don't expect you will get a commitment from the Marketing Committee before Tyler returns (on Monday).

Even then, OSGeo's budget is small, ~ $3K per local chapter. And I'd argue that OSGeo doesn't have resources to fully fund participation at any event.

Folks,

I would like to stress that OSGeo does not have a "per chapter"
marketting budget. The budget is applied strategically by the
committee - not on a basis of chapter-equality.

I suggest you approach local Open Source industry who will be at the conference. You may be able to share a booth with them.

This is certainly a good idea. And I agree that it will be hard to get
any action from the committee before Tyler's return.

Best regards,
--
---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------
I set the clouds in motion - turn up | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam@pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush | Geospatial Programmer for Rent

7

I support the proposed approach and discussed it today with Alex in more detail:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
At the end of the day it's whether or not we want to have a booth - that will cost $1,000. The other costs are very flexible and alternatives will be sought to cover them.

$1,000 is, relatively speaking, great value for money and virtually supports local chapters around North America and, apparently, internationally too. We've lamented not having a booth at AAG for several years now. I see it as a strategic outreach that crosses disciplines, focuses on potential users and has a large number of interested attendees.

Time is running out and we need to make a $500 deposit ASAP, before they close us out of having a booth. Since the event isn't until next year, that gives us lots of time to work on further sponsorships or partnerships to help fund the remaining $500 of the booth.

Also, even though it's always a good strategy to reduce our costs or cost-share for these kinds of events - these are some of the things our foundation sponsors sponsor us to do. So finding OSGeo sponsors helps to make these events more sustainable in the future.

Tyler

On 8-Oct-08, at 12:48 AM, Cameron Shorter wrote:

Alex,
I don't expect you will get a commitment from the Marketing Committee before Tyler returns (on Monday).

Even then, OSGeo's budget is small, ~ $3K per local chapter. And I'd argue that OSGeo doesn't have resources to fully fund participation at any event.

I suggest you approach local Open Source industry who will be at the conference. You may be able to share a booth with them.

Commercial Support for Open Source is key to the user value proposition, and without it Open Source uptake will be limited.

Tyler Mitchell
Executive Director
Open Source Geospatial Foundation
tmitchell@osgeo.org
P: +1-250-277-1621
M: +1-250-303-1831

8

Committee members, please share you comments or concerns ASAP on this:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
The main issue being the $1,000 booth charge. The rest is flexible. If there are no huge objections, then I will book the booth with a $500 deposit since there are only 4 booth spots left and deadline is in a day or so.

Tyler

On 14-Oct-08, at 1:18 PM, Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:

I support the proposed approach and discussed it today with Alex in more detail:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
At the end of the day it's whether or not we want to have a booth - that will cost $1,000. The other costs are very flexible and alternatives will be sought to cover them.

$1,000 is, relatively speaking, great value for money and virtually supports local chapters around North America and, apparently, internationally too. We've lamented not having a booth at AAG for several years now. I see it as a strategic outreach that crosses disciplines, focuses on potential users and has a large number of interested attendees.

Time is running out and we need to make a $500 deposit ASAP, before they close us out of having a booth. Since the event isn't until next year, that gives us lots of time to work on further sponsorships or partnerships to help fund the remaining $500 of the booth.

Also, even though it's always a good strategy to reduce our costs or cost-share for these kinds of events - these are some of the things our foundation sponsors sponsor us to do. So finding OSGeo sponsors helps to make these events more sustainable in the future.

Tyler

On 8-Oct-08, at 12:48 AM, Cameron Shorter wrote:

Alex,
I don't expect you will get a commitment from the Marketing Committee before Tyler returns (on Monday).

Even then, OSGeo's budget is small, ~ $3K per local chapter. And I'd argue that OSGeo doesn't have resources to fully fund participation at any event.

I suggest you approach local Open Source industry who will be at the conference. You may be able to share a booth with them.

Commercial Support for Open Source is key to the user value proposition, and without it Open Source uptake will be limited.

Tyler Mitchell
Executive Director
Open Source Geospatial Foundation
tmitchell@osgeo.org
P: +1-250-277-1621
M: +1-250-303-1831

9

+1

-mpg

-----Original Message-----
From: marketing-bounces@lists.osgeo.org
[mailto:marketing-bounces@lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Tyler Mitchell
(OSGeo)
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 1:23 PM
To: OSGeo Marketing
Subject: [Marketing] Motion: AAG 2009 Proposal

Committee members, please share you comments or concerns ASAP on this:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
The main issue being the $1,000 booth charge. The rest is flexible.
If there are no huge objections, then I will book the booth with a
$500 deposit since there are only 4 booth spots left and deadline is
in a day or so.

Tyler

On 14-Oct-08, at 1:18 PM, Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:

I support the proposed approach and discussed it today with Alex in
more detail:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
At the end of the day it's whether or not we want to have a booth -
that will cost $1,000. The other costs are very flexible and
alternatives will be sought to cover them.

$1,000 is, relatively speaking, great value for money and virtually
supports local chapters around North America and, apparently,
internationally too. We've lamented not having a booth at AAG for
several years now. I see it as a strategic outreach that crosses
disciplines, focuses on potential users and has a large number of
interested attendees.

Time is running out and we need to make a $500 deposit ASAP, before
they close us out of having a booth. Since the event isn't until
next year, that gives us lots of time to work on further
sponsorships or partnerships to help fund the remaining $500 of the
booth.

Also, even though it's always a good strategy to reduce our costs
or cost-share for these kinds of events - these are some of the
things our foundation sponsors sponsor us to do. So finding OSGeo
sponsors helps to make these events more sustainable in the future.

Tyler

On 8-Oct-08, at 12:48 AM, Cameron Shorter wrote:

Alex,
I don't expect you will get a commitment from the Marketing
Committee before Tyler returns (on Monday).

Even then, OSGeo's budget is small, ~ $3K per local chapter. And
I'd argue that OSGeo doesn't have resources to fully fund
participation at any event.

I suggest you approach local Open Source industry who will be at
the conference. You may be able to share a booth with them.

Commercial Support for Open Source is key to the user value
proposition, and without it Open Source uptake will be limited.

Tyler Mitchell
Executive Director
Open Source Geospatial Foundation
tmitchell@osgeo.org
P: +1-250-277-1621
M: +1-250-303-1831

_______________________________________________
Marketing mailing list
Marketing@lists.osgeo.org
http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing

10

Oops, wasn't really worded as a motion, but please still give a comment or a vote of support/objection.

On 14-Oct-08, at 1:23 PM, Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:

Committee members, please share you comments or concerns ASAP on this:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
The main issue being the $1,000 booth charge. The rest is flexible. If there are no huge objections, then I will book the booth with a $500 deposit since there are only 4 booth spots left and deadline is in a day or so.

Tyler

On 14-Oct-08, at 1:18 PM, Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:

I support the proposed approach and discussed it today with Alex in more detail:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
At the end of the day it's whether or not we want to have a booth - that will cost $1,000. The other costs are very flexible and alternatives will be sought to cover them.

$1,000 is, relatively speaking, great value for money and virtually supports local chapters around North America and, apparently, internationally too. We've lamented not having a booth at AAG for several years now. I see it as a strategic outreach that crosses disciplines, focuses on potential users and has a large number of interested attendees.

Time is running out and we need to make a $500 deposit ASAP, before they close us out of having a booth. Since the event isn't until next year, that gives us lots of time to work on further sponsorships or partnerships to help fund the remaining $500 of the booth.

Also, even though it's always a good strategy to reduce our costs or cost-share for these kinds of events - these are some of the things our foundation sponsors sponsor us to do. So finding OSGeo sponsors helps to make these events more sustainable in the future.

Tyler

On 8-Oct-08, at 12:48 AM, Cameron Shorter wrote:

Alex,
I don't expect you will get a commitment from the Marketing Committee before Tyler returns (on Monday).

Even then, OSGeo's budget is small, ~ $3K per local chapter. And I'd argue that OSGeo doesn't have resources to fully fund participation at any event.

I suggest you approach local Open Source industry who will be at the conference. You may be able to share a booth with them.

Commercial Support for Open Source is key to the user value proposition, and without it Open Source uptake will be limited.

Tyler Mitchell
Executive Director
Open Source Geospatial Foundation
tmitchell@osgeo.org
P: +1-250-277-1621
M: +1-250-303-1831

Tyler Mitchell
Executive Director
Open Source Geospatial Foundation
tmitchell@osgeo.org
P: +1-250-277-1621
M: +1-250-303-1831

11

Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:

Committee members, please share you comments or concerns ASAP on this:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
The main issue being the $1,000 booth charge. The rest is flexible. If there are no huge objections, then I will book the booth with a $500 deposit since there are only 4 booth spots left and deadline is in a day or so.

Tyler,

Given the willingness of volunteers to man the booth, I think it looks like
a good value, at least to try for one year. While support from specific
sponsors might be nice, I don't think we should get hung up on that. Lets
just go ahead. (IMHO)

Best regards,
--
---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------
I set the clouds in motion - turn up | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam@pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush | Geospatial Programmer for Rent

12

On Tue, 2008-10-14 at 13:23 -0700, Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:

Committee members, please share you comments or concerns ASAP on this:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
The main issue being the $1,000 booth charge. The rest is flexible.
If there are no huge objections, then I will book the booth with a
$500 deposit since there are only 4 booth spots left and deadline is
in a day or so.

Tyler

+1 given the level of volunteer involvement there seems to be for this.

Notes: It's always nice to try and get local sponsors (commercial
outfits friendly to FOSS) to pay for booths where possible, but looks
like this is not an option for this time around.

Sometimes it helps to plead poor non profit and get a free booth, but I
see from irc that we're already getting the non profit price.

Sharing a booth with Autodesk: If Autodesk (or any other friendly
outfit) have a booth at an event, I don't see there is a problem if they
let us take up a corner where we wouldn't otherwise have space. I don't
consider that a conflict of interest wrt FOSS v proprietary. It is
healthy to see that proprietary outfits can support and start to play in
the FOSS sandpit. Autodesk here in AU have lent us booth space before
and it has gone off well.

Regards,
Tim

On 14-Oct-08, at 1:18 PM, Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:

> I support the proposed approach and discussed it today with Alex in
> more detail:
> http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
> At the end of the day it's whether or not we want to have a booth -
> that will cost $1,000. The other costs are very flexible and
> alternatives will be sought to cover them.
>
> $1,000 is, relatively speaking, great value for money and virtually
> supports local chapters around North America and, apparently,
> internationally too. We've lamented not having a booth at AAG for
> several years now. I see it as a strategic outreach that crosses
> disciplines, focuses on potential users and has a large number of
> interested attendees.
>
> Time is running out and we need to make a $500 deposit ASAP, before
> they close us out of having a booth. Since the event isn't until
> next year, that gives us lots of time to work on further
> sponsorships or partnerships to help fund the remaining $500 of the
> booth.
>
> Also, even though it's always a good strategy to reduce our costs
> or cost-share for these kinds of events - these are some of the
> things our foundation sponsors sponsor us to do. So finding OSGeo
> sponsors helps to make these events more sustainable in the future.
>
> Tyler
>
> On 8-Oct-08, at 12:48 AM, Cameron Shorter wrote:
>
>> Alex,
>> I don't expect you will get a commitment from the Marketing
>> Committee before Tyler returns (on Monday).
>>
>> Even then, OSGeo's budget is small, ~ $3K per local chapter. And
>> I'd argue that OSGeo doesn't have resources to fully fund
>> participation at any event.
>>
>> I suggest you approach local Open Source industry who will be at
>> the conference. You may be able to share a booth with them.
>>
>> Commercial Support for Open Source is key to the user value
>> proposition, and without it Open Source uptake will be limited.
>
> Tyler Mitchell
> Executive Director
> Open Source Geospatial Foundation
> tmitchell@osgeo.org
> P: +1-250-277-1621
> M: +1-250-303-1831
_______________________________________________
Marketing mailing list
Marketing@lists.osgeo.org
http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing

--
Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you recognize a mistake
when you make it again.

13

+1 from me this time around, but in future I'll likely vote against without matching local sponsorship. I still think we should approach Autodesk and ask for a co-contribution.

Tim Bowden wrote:

On Tue, 2008-10-14 at 13:23 -0700, Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:
  

Committee members, please share you comments or concerns ASAP on this:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
The main issue being the $1,000 booth charge. The rest is flexible. If there are no huge objections, then I will book the booth with a $500 deposit since there are only 4 booth spots left and deadline is in a day or so.

Tyler

+1 given the level of volunteer involvement there seems to be for this.

Notes: It's always nice to try and get local sponsors (commercial
outfits friendly to FOSS) to pay for booths where possible, but looks
like this is not an option for this time around.

Sometimes it helps to plead poor non profit and get a free booth, but I
see from irc that we're already getting the non profit price.

Sharing a booth with Autodesk: If Autodesk (or any other friendly
outfit) have a booth at an event, I don't see there is a problem if they
let us take up a corner where we wouldn't otherwise have space. I don't
consider that a conflict of interest wrt FOSS v proprietary. It is
healthy to see that proprietary outfits can support and start to play in
the FOSS sandpit. Autodesk here in AU have lent us booth space before
and it has gone off well.

Regards,
Tim

On 14-Oct-08, at 1:18 PM, Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:

I support the proposed approach and discussed it today with Alex in more detail:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/AAG_2009
At the end of the day it's whether or not we want to have a booth - that will cost $1,000. The other costs are very flexible and alternatives will be sought to cover them.

$1,000 is, relatively speaking, great value for money and virtually supports local chapters around North America and, apparently, internationally too. We've lamented not having a booth at AAG for several years now. I see it as a strategic outreach that crosses disciplines, focuses on potential users and has a large number of interested attendees.

Time is running out and we need to make a $500 deposit ASAP, before they close us out of having a booth. Since the event isn't until next year, that gives us lots of time to work on further sponsorships or partnerships to help fund the remaining $500 of the booth.

Also, even though it's always a good strategy to reduce our costs or cost-share for these kinds of events - these are some of the things our foundation sponsors sponsor us to do. So finding OSGeo sponsors helps to make these events more sustainable in the future.

Tyler

On 8-Oct-08, at 12:48 AM, Cameron Shorter wrote:

Alex,
I don't expect you will get a commitment from the Marketing Committee before Tyler returns (on Monday).

Even then, OSGeo's budget is small, ~ $3K per local chapter. And I'd argue that OSGeo doesn't have resources to fully fund participation at any event.

I suggest you approach local Open Source industry who will be at the conference. You may be able to share a booth with them.

Commercial Support for Open Source is key to the user value proposition, and without it Open Source uptake will be limited.
        

Tyler Mitchell
Executive Director
Open Source Geospatial Foundation
tmitchell@osgeo.org
P: +1-250-277-1621
M: +1-250-303-1831
      

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Cameron Shorter
Geospatial Systems Architect
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
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Think Globally, Fix Locally
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14

On 14-Oct-08, at 7:21 PM, Cameron Shorter wrote:

+1 from me this time around, but in future I'll likely vote against without matching local sponsorship. I still think we should approach Autodesk and ask for a co-contribution.

It's the tight pre-planning timeline of this one that's made it feel a bit rushed, but I think there is still some good time to rustle up further contributions - just note that the price for commercial booth is 2x as much as non-profit. Alex updated me earlier and expects to get some funds from his university to help fund flyers and DVDs - so some things are already starting to move.

Costs aside, it's the volunteer commitments that always worry me, so it's good to see things on that front are also moving. Alex helped run an event earlier in the year that turn out well too.

15

Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:

On 14-Oct-08, at 7:21 PM, Cameron Shorter wrote:

+1 from me this time around, but in future I'll likely vote against
without matching local sponsorship. I still think we should approach
Autodesk and ask for a co-contribution.

It's the tight pre-planning timeline of this one that's made it feel a
bit rushed, but I think there is still some good time to rustle up
further contributions - just note that the price for commercial booth is
2x as much as non-profit. Alex updated me earlier and expects to get
some funds from his university to help fund flyers and DVDs - so some
things are already starting to move.

Costs aside, it's the volunteer commitments that always worry me, so
it's good to see things on that front are also moving. Alex helped run
an event earlier in the year that turn out well too.

Tyler,

Just wanted to toss in my recommendation for booths. I think 1st #620,
2nd #521 with the 3rd option being #421.
Those choices will put us at the other end of the same isle that ESRI is
on and near some likely friends: Nasa (Worldwind), USGS, Census(Free
Data), and FGDC(They run Plone for their website).

Map can be seen at
http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/2009/docs/AAG%202009%20Exhibit%20Hall%20Floor%20Plan.pdf

Thanks,
Alex

16

I agree with the initial proposal, but disagree with the second part of
this. OSGeo needs to be weaning itself from Autodesk funding rather
than relying more heavily on it. We all know that OSGeo is not
controlled by Autodesk, but that perception is still out there to some
extent.

I don't mind the "friends" association, and really appreciate the time
and effort that ADSK staff put into OSGeo, but I don't like the
perceived "child of" association much. It reduces our ability to
forward our agenda as long as we're seen (by some) as a clever game
piece under ADSK's control.

Jason

-----Original Message-----
From: Cameron Shorter
Subject: Re: [Marketing] Motion: AAG 2009 Proposal

+1 from me this time around, but in future I'll likely vote against
without matching local sponsorship. I still think we should approach
Autodesk and ask for a co-contribution.

17

Sent in the application and left a voice message. Hopefully we'll get it at the 501(c)3 rate, otherwise the cost will double.

Thanks for keeping us hopping on it Alex,
Tyler

On 15-Oct-08, at 4:11 AM, Alex Mandel wrote:

Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:

On 14-Oct-08, at 7:21 PM, Cameron Shorter wrote:

+1 from me this time around, but in future I'll likely vote against
without matching local sponsorship. I still think we should approach
Autodesk and ask for a co-contribution.

It's the tight pre-planning timeline of this one that's made it feel a
bit rushed, but I think there is still some good time to rustle up
further contributions - just note that the price for commercial booth is
2x as much as non-profit. Alex updated me earlier and expects to get
some funds from his university to help fund flyers and DVDs - so some
things are already starting to move.

Costs aside, it's the volunteer commitments that always worry me, so
it's good to see things on that front are also moving. Alex helped run
an event earlier in the year that turn out well too.

Tyler,

Just wanted to toss in my recommendation for booths. I think 1st #620,
2nd #521 with the 3rd option being #421.
Those choices will put us at the other end of the same isle that ESRI is
on and near some likely friends: Nasa (Worldwind), USGS, Census(Free
Data), and FGDC(They run Plone for their website).

Map can be seen at
http://www.aag.org/annualmeetings/2009/docs/AAG%202009%20Exhibit%20Hall%20Floor%20Plan.pdf

Thanks,
Alex

Tyler Mitchell
Executive Director
Open Source Geospatial Foundation
tmitchell@osgeo.org
P: +1-250-277-1621
M: +1-250-303-1831