NYC co-Host Topbossman and I were discussing the idea of a national meet n greet. In the last few years, the AVN Awards Meet n Greet mixer in Las Vegas has been about as close as we've gotten to a national mix.
The idea of hosting a meet n greet event on the same night on both coasts, and use some sort of closed webcam to interact between the two came up, and I offered to put up the idea for discussion.
Then it occurred to me that with the levels of technology available, video conferencing would be the easy part!
So here we are again... comic book charicature Doc Gonzo trying to come up with one more looney toon hare-brained idea for a theme party On a national scale via the use of teleconferencing.
Security isn't really that much of an issue since we already screen everybody coming to the individual events. right? Of course right! Logistics are a breeze. Anybody got a good laptop? We only need one per location.
I know there are a number of capable and experienced meet n greet gurus out there. I've watched some of you announce, plan and accomplish many wonderful events. Assuming the response is encouraging, which cities would want to participate?
But let's not get ahead of ourselves... first things first.
I am especially interested in opinions from the East Coast. Our M&G's tend to be a little more less visible then those on the West Coast.
I don't allow cameras or photos for privacy reasons at my Mixers, but would a lap top linked to another M&G tucked away in a corner be objectionable? It would have to be partitioned so that only those who want to participate can.
A few things to consider are: how will the video stream be protected from outsiders (and possibly be recorded), and what is the likelihood of party-goers using the equipment to interact with the other coast.
You'd probably want to used specialized software to make sure the stream is encrypted. Hobbyists and providers may not feel at ease having their identity possibly captured on video.
Also, unless you have some interactive games with the other sites, I think party-goers would be more interested in pressing the flesh with what's local at the party.
While the idea sounds cool, I don't see the value or benefit. It'll feel like a Real World confessional. Plus, regardless of the security measures taken, I see very few people willing to participate. A number of us value our privacy and the footage winding up in the wrong hands would be devastating.
I would guess the hint of a web cam or video feed would scare many people from attending. I know I wouldn't attend a MnG if this was going on. I'll stick to the one on one interaction of a traditional MnG.
I don't see the benefit to it. Would the west and east coast providers parade before the camera. The event would lack the ability to talk to the providers to see if some connection exists and the providers would not be able to speak to the clients to determine whether or not we were someone they'd see.
There are always so many people to talk to over that's its often hard (if not impossible) to get a chance to speak to everyone. A national gathering over just one night would be great but would 3-4 hours allow anyone to meet as many people as they might like? What if you chose a handful of cities known for throwing the most successful Meet & Greets and ask them to host a party on different evenings or events?
Maybe you host an arrival/cocktail party on a Wednesday, do an early Happy Hour event Thursday, break for "dinner" and then have an all night affair/blow out event Thursday night?? LOT's of hangovers and maybe even a good time for a mimosa brunch Friday before we all head back to wherever we came from.
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