Rick Altman (pictured to the right) is a presentation consultant based out of Pleasanton, CA. Rick is well known as the host of the annual PowerPoint Live User Conference and has a strong sense of the needs of the presentation community. In this conversation, Rick discusses the PowerPoint Live in New Orleans that was held in October 2007.
Geetesh: Five PowerPoint Lives in as many years -- give us some retrospective thoughts.
Rick: I can speak on behalf of the entire team that we had a simply terrific time in New Orleans, and judging by the feedback that most patrons shared with us, so did they. The keynote addresses were perhaps the strongest we have had in our five-year history. Breakout seminars represented high-water marks, as well.
The Birds of a Feather discussion groups were well received, as was the Expo, which saw almost 20 vendors set up for an entire day. Even the fluff stuff, like the PPTLive Trivia Contest and the Killer Slides competition, were popular.
I was especially gratified to see how well the patrons mixed. Sometimes, conferences that have several years of history can spawn cliques of attendees, and that is their right. We can't legislate how they choose to interact. So it was particularly pleasing to see how well they met, mingled, bonded, and became friends.
And Bourbon Street was just downright insane...
Geetesh: You announced that the next PowerPoint Live will be held in San Diego in 2008 -- tell us more, and do you want to share some secrets?
Rick: September 21-24, and the secret stuff is so deeply classified and sensitive, that even I don't know what it is yet...
