Starting tomorrow, the largest technology convention ever to see Baltimore City will commence at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). With the help of over 100 volunteers, TEDx (acronym for technology, entertainment and design) MidAtlantic will attract over 500 Baltimoreans and 20 A-, B-, and C-list speakers from around Baltimore and the nation.
Baltimore’s budding technology, arts and entrepreneurial movers and shakers are forever opportunists, to say the least. Due to the industrious nature of these fine people, many similar conferences and networking events have been organized around the city to help unite the contemporary group. Events such as Ignite Baltimore and WordCamp Baltimore both offered platforms for Baltimore arts and technology folks to network and participate in group discussions to share ideas, though neither of these is near the magnitude of the TEDx MidAtlantic convention taking place tomorrow.
According to the TEDxMidatlantic website, TED conferences bring together the world’s leading thinkers and doers for a series of discussions, presentations and performances. The conference is meant to celebrate the convergence of Technology, Entertainment, and Design.
TEDxMidAtlantic has over 1,000 followers on Twitter accompanied by a hefty fan base on Facebook. The conference was advertised opulently on both social media websites, which is in large part why they had to turn away over 250 people from the event’s registration and are no longer accepting applications for more attendants.
While the event itself is history in the making for Baltimore’s techie/arts community, there is something to be said about the fact that so many of this “community’s” members were turned away. As Baltimore’s social media community alone grows bigger by the day, why would the coordinators of this event not prepare for the overflow of interest?
Social media is a powerful tool, reaching out to thousands, if not millions of people in seconds with one click of a button, but did TEDx bite off more than they could chew?
If you were one of the hundreds turned away to this techie shindig, you can tune into the live stream tomorrow starting at 8:30 a.m. sharp. It’s almost like seeing it in real life.
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Comments
The event is free, but sponsor dollars are used to pay for it. There aren't unlimited dollars lying around these days, so they have to limit the number of attendees.
You say above that "As Baltimore’s social media community alone grows bigger by the day, why would the coordinators of this event not prepare for the overflow of interest?" Well, I think that the live stream does exactly that. What would you have them do for next time? The venue is already stuffed to capacity. Having a virtual presence (and one that will be around long after the live event is over) is the only cost effective way to go.
Scott,
My only suggestion would be to cater to the LARGE community that it is...get a bigger venue. ; - )
B
Hi! I'm the Marketing Committee Chair for TEDxMidAtlantic. I thought I'd drop in to clarify some things.
We chose MICA's Falvey Hall for a couple of reasons. First, we wanted a venue we KNEW we could fill. No one wants a half-empty venue for this type of event. Second, we wanted a place where people could really rub elbows. With standing room only, we will definitely have that. Finally, we specifically wanted people who are actively making a difference in the world. It's not just a feel-good event, it's about making connections and spreading powerful ideas that actually make a difference, about putting people together who can actually take what they learn and implement it in their community.
This year is the first time we've done this. There's no question that next year will be bigger. MUCH BIGGER. And as pumped as we are for the first TEDxMidAtlantic, we're already thinking about the next one and how we're going to make that even more awesome than the first.
Daniel,
I have no doubt that this event will be a huge success and accomplish many of the goals you've set for it. Additionally, I'm sure you're already gearing up for next year's event, which I think we both know will be monumental.
I am merely thinking of those who couldn't be included this year due to the event's limitations (every event has them, unfortunately!). Thank you for reading my post and commenting; the feedback is much appreciated.
Looking forward to 2010!
B
I think you got this story 180 degrees wrong. I led the venue committee that secured MICA. The REAL story is that a large, visionary institution like MICA who had had no prior dealings with us immediately saw the value of what we were doing and agreed to partner with us on the event, offering us a generous deal on renting the space and contributing invaluable technical assistance and advice. They did this all on a handshake after one meeting with Dave Troy and I (and because we had a nice introduction made for us by the GBCA)
Back in July and August, we had a pretty difficult time convincing sponsors and venues that TEDx was going to be a big deal and they would want to get on board. So there's no way we could have secured a larger venue (with attendant higher costs) given the timeframe that we had. As others have commented, I'm not sure we want to have a much larger venue, because the point of the event is to create an opportunity for good conversation.
-Mike Subelsky
Wow this story really brought out the fireworks! I just read about the tech convention and was interested in it. Unfortunately I was too late to attend or to volunteer. It sounded like an interesting meeting of developers and companies.
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