Conjunctured's TEDxATX Rejection Party
Dusty Reagan, of Conjunctured, registered to attend TedxAustin. He was rejected. Upon hearing from so many other people who were rejected, he decided to throw a party for himself and all the other rejects.
Conjunctured's TEDxATX Rejection Party
Saturday, February 20, 2010 from 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM (CT)
Austin, TX
I, on the other hand, wasn't rejected. I didn't sign up for TedxAustin. I looked at the website, and didn't recognize any of the organizers. I saw that they wanted $50 for tickets, but they weren't announcing any of the speakers
From their website:
By now you're probably wondering who is speaking at TEDxAustin: Play Big. After all, most conferences give that information pretty early on, right? To help make the rational choice of who's worth hearing?
Well, where's the fun in that?
We're inviting you to play big. To go into the delivery room without knowing boy or girl. To imagine what's in the gift-wrapped box. To enter the theater with the buzz that tells you something big is about to happen. To trust the good waiting right over the crest of that hill.
I wouldn't have a problem dropping $50 for a surprise event if the invitation came from Brian Eno, or any of these guys; but for an event with no track record... Play Big? bold isn't the word that comes to mind.
So where will I be on February 20th? Most likely hanging out with the rejects. Unlike TEDxAustin, Conjunctured is a known entity with a track record of hosting/facilitating good things in the tech community -- and look at the attendee list
The Conjunctured's TEDxATX Rejection Party is free. Although Dusty is simply doing this because he thought it would be a fun thing to do, I suggested that he pick up a couple of sponsors for the food and beverages.
If you don't yet know the conjunctured folks, what better way to introduce yourself than as a sponsor. For details: contact dusty@conjunctured.com.
Comments
TEDx Austin
I decided not to apply. Maybe the invitation hit me on a bad night, I don't know. But I scanned the form and thought "shit, I'm not up for proving I'm cool enough to attend."
Plus, what if I didn't make the cut?
I understand the desire to have a smart, engaged audience. An event like this won't succeed if attendence gets overwhelmed with people wanting nothing more than to gather business cards for their mailing lists.
And really, I don't have a better solution. I'd like to think that the nature of the event inherently draws a crowd in sync with their values, but I know better than that.
Still, the application was *so* off-putting, I just decided to blow it off. There's got to be a better way.
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