NetHui 2012 registrations take off, and more
What an exciting start to the run-up to NetHui 2012. The refreshed website, again beautifully designed by Nelson firm Sunroom, launched on 14 March and has operated without a hitch. The first day saw 396 unique visitors, with 1179 over the first week.
A large group of sponsors are already on board, as can be seen in the sponsor bar to the right. These sponsorships and InternetNZ’s investment fund the bulk of the conference and allow us to keep the registration fee down to $40 including GST.
Speaking of which, registrations also opened on 14 March and reached over 200 over the first two weeks. For the first two days of the three day conference we are limiting the number of participants to 500 across four rooms. This is to make it easier for everyone to get an opportunity to be part of the discussions.
We’ve had some great comments on Twitter under the #Nethui hastag, which has been great to see. Mostly so far we’ve been letting people know about the conference and registrations. Facebook “likes” have been edging up too.
Are you wondering why the programme only shows broad streams but not the topics themselves? That’s on purpose! The programme detail will develop with input from intending participants, so that it is very current and aligned to what people want to discuss.
There have already been some useful posts to the NetHui Forum regarding topics. We’ve posted a starter list that we brainstormed within InternetNZ. You can develop these ideas in the Forum or propose your own as alternative. Most people registering have also opted into the NetHui mailing list, which will provide another and ongoing opportunity for discusson of topics.
Note that we’re looking for people to volunteer to facilitate sessions. We’ve been in touch with last year’s facilitators and a number have already offered. The Advisory Board has been reformed, with business, government and community leaders, as last year, with a couple of changes. They will help us ensure we’re reaching out to the widest possible community and provide a useful oversight on conference progress.
We’re currently approaching government Ministers to see who will attend and provide a keynote or panel appearance, and look forward to hearing from them. We’ll also be working on other panel and keynote slots over coming months.
On the Friday afternoon of NetHui there will be an unconference. Some people call these barcamps, but we’re not fussed what they’re called. The point is that topics for those dozen or more sessions are decided on the day. These sessions may well be utilised by people to get some action going on something they’ve heard about at NetHui, or to plug a gap that hasn’t been discussed at that point.
So, it’s all underway. If you haven’t registered yet, please do. If it’s full up by the time you get there, please go on the waiting list.
