by Owen Wengerd
Attendance at Autodesk University 2012 was up a bit after a few down years. My impression is that Autodesk invested more marketing muscle this year in an effort to attract new attendees. The anecdotal evidence I have seen and heard suggests that a significantly higher percentage of attendees were first-timers this year than in past years. Add that all up, and I think you're happy if you're the AU organizers, but you worry about whether you can get those new attendees back next year.
My last-minute request for a press badge was denied by Autodesk PR, so I learned that I'm not a real reporter. I did manage to get on the guest list for the Media and Blogger Reception, though, so I actually got the free beer and awesome view without having to sit through a single boring press conference. #WINNING
The official word is that there are "more exhibitors than ever before", but I'm skeptical of that claim. There were more large booths, and maybe more floor space total, but I don't think there were more individual exhibitors. If I was a real reporter, I would contact Autodesk to get verification. Since I'm not a real reporter, I'll stick with my intuition.
Speaking of exhibitors, I'd like to give a shout out to Chris Vought of Flatter Files (http://www.flatterfiles.com/). Small companies like this one generally don't get much attention, but I was very impressed with Chris and his concept. The Flatter Files software is a bit like AutoCAD WS on steroids. It supports many more file types, uses PDF as an intermediate format, and is designed for both mobile and desktop clients.
Elsewhere, I learned that architecture trumps the laws of physics. At least, that's one possible explanation for the following sentence describing the dome structures atop the California Academy of Sciences (from a plaque displayed as part of the exhibit): "The tops of the domes take advantage of higher wind pressures to exhaust internal heat buildup."
Unfortunately I missed the Thursday night social event, but I heard it was one of the best ever. It sounds trite, but the social events are every bit as valuable at AU as the classes. You may justify the expense of AU to your boss by highlighting the classes and training you'll receive, but the true value of AU is in the networking and connections you make with other attendees and Autodesk representatives, often long after the last class of the day. I already knew that, so technically I didn't learn it at this AU, but it is still as true as it ever was.
[Owen Wengerd writes about AutoCAD programming at his blog, Outside the Box. More about Mr Wengerd at http://otb.manusoft.com/about ]
Attendance at Autodesk University 2012 was up a bit after a few down years. My impression is that Autodesk invested more marketing muscle this year in an effort to attract new attendees. The anecdotal evidence I have seen and heard suggests that a significantly higher percentage of attendees were first-timers this year than in past years. Add that all up, and I think you're happy if you're the AU organizers, but you worry about whether you can get those new attendees back next year.
My last-minute request for a press badge was denied by Autodesk PR, so I learned that I'm not a real reporter. I did manage to get on the guest list for the Media and Blogger Reception, though, so I actually got the free beer and awesome view without having to sit through a single boring press conference. #WINNING
The official word is that there are "more exhibitors than ever before", but I'm skeptical of that claim. There were more large booths, and maybe more floor space total, but I don't think there were more individual exhibitors. If I was a real reporter, I would contact Autodesk to get verification. Since I'm not a real reporter, I'll stick with my intuition.
Speaking of exhibitors, I'd like to give a shout out to Chris Vought of Flatter Files (http://www.flatterfiles.com/). Small companies like this one generally don't get much attention, but I was very impressed with Chris and his concept. The Flatter Files software is a bit like AutoCAD WS on steroids. It supports many more file types, uses PDF as an intermediate format, and is designed for both mobile and desktop clients.
Elsewhere, I learned that architecture trumps the laws of physics. At least, that's one possible explanation for the following sentence describing the dome structures atop the California Academy of Sciences (from a plaque displayed as part of the exhibit): "The tops of the domes take advantage of higher wind pressures to exhaust internal heat buildup."
Unfortunately I missed the Thursday night social event, but I heard it was one of the best ever. It sounds trite, but the social events are every bit as valuable at AU as the classes. You may justify the expense of AU to your boss by highlighting the classes and training you'll receive, but the true value of AU is in the networking and connections you make with other attendees and Autodesk representatives, often long after the last class of the day. I already knew that, so technically I didn't learn it at this AU, but it is still as true as it ever was.
[Owen Wengerd writes about AutoCAD programming at his blog, Outside the Box. More about Mr Wengerd at http://otb.manusoft.com/about ]
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