InsideRIA – Cancelled

Posted on | August 3, 2009 | 5 Comments

Below is the email (most of it) that we sent to speakers this morning.
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We’ve never had to write one of these before, so please excuse if it comes off a little rough.
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As many of you know, this summer 360|Conferences teamed up with O’Reilly to put on two shows together: InsideMobile and InsideRIA. The thinking behind the shows was this: 360|Conferences would create a killer program for each show, comprised of awesome speakers like yourself. We’d also bring the vibe that attendees love so much. O’Reilly, with it’s bigger reach, would nail down the big sponsors and boost attendee numbers.
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For InsideMobile, 360|Conferences lived up to its part with attendees, speakers and even some sponsors loving the event. Unfortunately, O’Reilly was unable to come through with the sponsorships or attendee numbers we had all hoped for. Due to that we had to take a long, hard look at InsideRIA and decide if the results were going to be any better. Results that would work for the 360|Conferences cost structure, but definitely not the O’Reilly cost structure.
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Sadly, after much discussion between us and O’Reilly, InsideRIA has been cancelled in its present form. O’Reilly has decided to pursue an online option for the event, vs. an in person event.
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This is a definite bummer for 360|Conferences. Those of you that know us know we strive to make our events the most awesome events they can be, so canceling is a big deal.
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If you’ve already booked travel and such, please let us know. We’ll do what we can to make things right with you. We can’t guarantee a full refund in cold hard cash, but for those of you that know us, know we want to do right by our speakers, so we’ll do all that’s in our power/budget. The least we can do is offer you a free pass to the next 360|Conferences event of your choice (360|iDev, RIAdventure or 360|Flex).
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Also, please consider submitting your topic at the next 360|Flex, or 360|MAX if you’re planning to attend Adobe MAX. We’ll give you higher priority in selection.
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For those of you that wonder what this means for 360|Conferences, the truth is not much. We took a little risk, but we didn’t bet the farm. Therefore, it’s a stumble that we now have to get up and brush ourselves off. Oddly enough, we also gained some new insights into our company during this period that have strengthened our resolve that we’re doing the right thing.
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As always, feel free to send any questions, comments, complaints our way. We can’t guarantee we have all the answers, but we’ll try our best to get you some answer.
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Thanks,

Tom and John

By far the hardest email we’ve ever written or sent. Turning potential speakers down pales in comparison to the suckiness of writing and sending that. It’s a hard pill to swallow to admit we can’t pull off every miracle, and this pill involved too many people to gamble.

We’re truly sorry. If you’re registered as an attendee, you’ll be receiving a refund in the next day or two, rest assured.

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