[Robotgroup] CON Jobs :)

[Shane Geiger]

Did someone say "BotCon?"



> Ok, so the CONs we've attended thus far have been fun, attendees of said 
> CONs have been entertained and have greatly enjoyed our presence. It 
> seems that we are looking down the road and that CONs of various stripes 
> are interested in our presence... This I see as a good thing... :)
>
> However, (trying not to be a wet blanket here) :) I can't help but 
> wonder what benefit the CONs are deriving from our presence and whether 
> or not the robot group is reaping similar benefits. Does The Robot Group 
> benefit to the same extent as the event organizers? I tend to think that 
> (based on past events) we do not.
>
> IMHO, the balance seems to be distinctly leaning towards the CON 
> organizers. They get The Robot Group in all it's glory; engineers and 
> programmers, artists and technicians and a ton of interesting eye candy.
>
> Not to mention sometimes even event equipment i.e. projectors, PA 
> system, cords, cables and when needed troubleshooting expertise. Make no 
> mistake, The Robot Group is a draw and people will enjoy a show more if 
> we are there. They might even remember the event more clearly/fondly 
> because of it.
>
> When it comes to the group itself, providing such a service is not 
> without it's costs. I'm not talking about the cost of creating an item 
> like the Babbling Head or the Dungeon Keeper, I'm talking about direct 
> costs such as:
>
> - Gasoline for 5 (or more) vehicles
> - Tape
> - Staples
> - Business cards
> - Flyers
>
> And then there are indirect costs:
>
> - Repair/replacement of anything damaged/lost
>
> - MTBF of "one of a kind" devices (i.e. it will
>    only "work" so long before it requires
>    repair/replacement)
>
> - Time for "X" number of people on the
>    weekend that cannot be spent actually
>    building robots or projects.
>
> During the show I had to repair one thereping and I had a booth visitor 
> drop a large, heavy magnet directly on top of the Thereclock. Eggbot was 
> having trouble running on the laptop. Babbling head was without his 
> power supply (left behind, brought later).
>
> Having spare parts again is a indirect cost. Having tools available. All 
> the little things that need to be done in order to allow The Robot Group 
> to work it's magic.
>
> Now, start adding in the replacement costs if we really had a major problem:
>
> - an overnight robbery of the show floor left us with no robots
> - a fire destroys the robots
> - a car accident destroys robots
> - rain damages a robot
> - a robot is dropped or damaged being setup/torn down
> - a robot is damaged during loading unloading
>
> We have been *lucky* so far in that there haven't been any major 
> disasters during recent events. However, relying on luck is probably a 
> bad idea as I have come to understand that there is a finite amount of 
> it around. :)
>
> So, the question (which for some reason seems to be unpopular) seems to 
> me...
>
>    *** WHY don't we get PAID for doing these shows? ***
>
> We have much risk, the CON operator has much benefit and SELLS tickets...
>
> I mentioned in my first post, and I'm still mulling it over in my head.. 
> was the show a "success"..? How do we define success..? Can we be more 
> successful?
>
> For example, Apollocon was wanting to know if we could go to Houston. If 
> The Robot Group was collecting $500.00 per day of show, we could AFFORD 
> to drive to Houston! We could AFFORD to purchase event insurance of some 
> type. We could AFFORD to pay for repairs or upgrades of the devices. We 
> could afford to buy parts for interesting and new devices! We could 
> AFFORD to rebuild devices in need of repair!
>
> I think we're limiting our reach by NOT charging some type of fee for 
> appearance since by not charging we haven't the funds needed to pursue 
> reaching a larger audience to inspire. To grow the membership. To join 
> with us as a catalyst to make new and interesting things.
>
> Based on my observations (of myself and others in the group) we tend to 
> be blind to the value of our creations and ourselves. This really may 
> boil down to a deficit of self esteem! The things we can do as a group 
> are truly unique. I think it would be WORTH IT to pay for The Robot 
> Group come to an event. But thats just my $0.02... :)
>
> So... The question I put is two fold:
>
> 1) Why is it I perceive a general negativity when I bring up fees for 
> appearance?
>
> 2) And, if I've just got misconceptions, then how can we move from "free 
> appearances" to "paid appearances"?
>
> Comments?
>
> :)
>
> Vern
>
>   

-- 
Shane Geiger
IT Director
National Council on Economic Education
sgeiger at ncee.net  |  402-438-8958  |  http://www.ncee.net

Leading the Campaign for Economic and Financial Literacy