Scene around the 'Net

Well, the event is over and I’ve taken a few days off to rest (read: get caught up with everything I’ve had to let slide in the previous weeks). Let me take a moment to once thank everyone who attended! I hope you had a great time, and that TEDxRochester was at least SOME of what you’d hoped it would be. I know that, aside from the technical problems with the projector and the logistical issues with food during the break (notes already taken for next year), that I felt it went so much better than I expected. I was overjoyed at our speakers and the quality and breadth of our talks and performances and cannot wait until next year when we intend to have even more!

And, yes, the plan IS for there to be a next year!

Since we live in a wonderfully connected, digital age, it’s fairly easy to see how things progressed with a simple Googling for our event. I thought I’d share some of the ones I found so that those who weren’t there would get a good feel for what they missed. Hopefully it’ll entice them to make sure they get a ticket for TxR10!

It’s easiest to start with the local news coverage. We managed to make page one of the Business section in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle! Stuart had interviewed Gary & I a couple of days before the event and was sure to come the day of to follow up and get time with a couple of the speakers. Aside from Luis Martinez being the face of TEDxRochester, I thought it was great! Just kidding, this event was all about the speakers, and Luis’ talk was one of my faves.

Our local news station did a brief piece featuring yours truly. There was about five minutes of material in the interview, but I’m a terrible public speaker so that five seconds is most likely the best. I’ve joined my employer’s Toastmasters club to work on that…

The real fun, though, is seeing what the attendees thought. Twitter yielded the best results. LankySam, for example seemed to love the talks. Thanks for coming, Sam!

dmourey had good things to say, especially seemed to like Luis Martinez’ talk. Can’t say I blame you, I found it moving myself.

Michael Dumont gave us a mention on the way in. Hope you had a good time! Let us know if you didn’t!

Susan Beebe got some retweets in. Had a good time talking to her, and found out I’ve worked closely with her husband. It’s a small, connected community we’ve got around here.

I found a couple of blog posts like the one here at Paul Tomblin’s site. Sorry, Paul, aside from the stinky-breathed woman, we’re going to make sure the issues you faced will not be repeated. But, I’m glad that the issues you did face were minor on the whole. Thanks for the kind words!

The University of Rochester put up some copy about Todd Krauss’ talk. Todd was the first confirmed speaker we had, and as a science geek I was stoked to have him. And, his talk did NOT disappoint! The Retired Chemists of Rochester have asked me to join them for Todd’s next talk, and I’m looking forward to it.

Larry Moss has a wonderful blog entry about his time there. Larry was kind of a last minute addition along with Luis, and I’m so glad we were able to get them into the program. Larry’s work is just fantastic and requires a level of skill I honestly can’t even comprehend. I was even more amazed at what he’s done with that talent to bring communities together, and he’s already talking to other speakers and attendees to combine with what they do to make something even bigger. That’s really what TED is all about!

And, our photographer has already started posting pics at his Flickr site. Jeff does some quality work, and we were fortunate to find him. He complemented Hanlon Photographic’s videography nicely!

There were the occasional posts like this one from Liz Reay from folks who had tickets but just weren’t able to make it. I understand your disappointment. My old friend from high school was supposed to drive up from Philly to attend, but caught the flu on Friday. But, drop me a line when you have a chance and I’ll make sure you get a ticket next year. Not just because you missed it, but because you introduced a life-long Lovecraft fan to Lil Cthulhu!

So, where’s that leave us? Well, it leaves us with the only negative review I could find. I’m sorry to say that Chris Horn did not have a good time. It’s to be expected, we can’t please everyone. At the end he apologized for being so negative, but that’s not really necessary. If you didn’t enjoy it, you didn’t enjoy it. We can take the good with the bad, and will use the bad as a learning opportunity for ourselves. I hope that you’ll give us another shot in 2010.

On the other hand, his tweets lead me to my favorite quote about the day from Nambu:

“I would have thought #TEDxRochester would be free of visible underpants, I was wrong.”

Nambu, I didn’t get to see rehearsals as I was in charge of the lobby setup. I was just as surprised. Not as much, I think, as my mother who was sitting in the front row…

All in all, based on the folks I’ve talked with in person and via various social networks, the overall impression was extremely positive. I’m gratified that the event went off without any major glitches and was well received. Thank you again to everyone for coming!