[Robotgroup] CON Jobs :)

Mon Aug 14 16:53:19 PDT 2006

I wish I could have made it  to see a well attended event .It sounds like one of the better cons the group has been involved with .
  I agree with Vern on the idea the when you bring several truckloads of good robot stuff the extended expences can be much more than anyone can get their heads around .People use to give Dave and I a hard time for charging schools $200 a DAY which in reality was actualy a WEEK when you consider the prep and recovery .
  The cons DO provide a good oppertunity for retail sales .I sold a bunch of my metal slutwear at one of the cons several years back and the shades and robonecklesses would be something the group could mass produce for future events .I would have done it this year but my inventory is low and I spent most of the weekend trying to track down my baloster customer who is ducking out on a huge pay check :( 
  One thing I can add is that we get some ready to go projects and or displays for this kind of thing preloaded in a group trailer ,ya.. more expences but it may help streamline the operation .When I get moved that is one of plans to get back into being an active group member .
  The group is doing alot of good stuff these days and we could probably do a good RoboFest without the hassles of personal conflict we always had to deal with in the past .I imagine Sonia's job of orginizer of several of the fests would have been a million time smoother with this group than when a certain dissgruntled group member use to bring most meetings to a halt with personal attacks of who's projects suck and who's don't .
  This is a really good group of people ,just pace yourselves and don't let thing burn you out .
-brooks   

-----Original Message-----
>From: Vern Graner <vern at txis.com>
>Sent: Aug 14, 2006 4:59 PM
>To: Austin Robotgroup Mailing List <robotgroup at puremagic.com>
>Subject: [Robotgroup] CON Jobs :)
>
>
>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
>
>-- 
>Vern Graner CNE/CNA/SSE    | "If the network is down, then you're
>Senior Systems Engineer    | obviously incompetent so why are we
>Texas Information Services | paying you? Of course, if the network
>http://www.txis.com        | is up, then we obviously don't need
>Austin Office 512 328-8947 | you, so why are we paying you?" ©VLG
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