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I
just got an update on the
new MERGE!
Conference coming to Orlando
October 14-18, 2017 from
Jothan Frakes, who co-founded
the event with Ray Dillman Neu.
They've made a lot of progress since
my last
show update six weeks
ago. MERGE! will incorporate much more
than Domains with Legal,
Branding, Development, User
Experience, Investment, Appraisal,
Startups, Technology, Design,
Security and other disciplines all
added to the mix.
The
first bit of news to pass along is
that ticket prices for the event at
the Marriott World Center
will be increasing on August 1,
so if you want to attend the
innovative event it would be a good
idea
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to take
advantage of the current $499 base
rate before it expires. You can
register here.
This
week the unveiling of a WHIR
networking event at MERGE!
has created a lot of excitement in
the cloud, CMS, and hosting worlds. TheWHIR
has an event tomorrow (Thursday,
July 27) in Toronto and
upcoming events in Denver and
Vancouver as well,
culminating in the Orlando MERGE!.
Frakes noted, "TheWHIR has a
fantastic track record in building
the value of in-person interactions
and their events facilitate
community by providing a fun and
comfortable environment to meet,
mingle and do business
face-to-face."
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MERGE!
Co-Founders Jothan Frakes (left)
and Ray Dillman Neu. |
Frakes
said the conference's multi-track
format has also
undergone a lot more
evolution that is detailed
on their new website at MERGESHOW.COM.
The many tracks available in
what is actually a multi-show
event for the price of
one ticket, are designed to
encourage cross-networking
among the various groups of
attendees so you can accelerate
your connections into
those areas to develop leads
and make the right
connections.
The
CMS Summit event at
MERGE! is adding an
impressive roster of
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speakers
from Joomla, Drupal,
Concrete 5, Automattic,
Magento and more.
Meanwhile with Bitcoin,
Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies
currently all the rage,
the BlockChain Roadshow
at MERGE! will be part of a
focus on Blockchain
technology and
innovation in next big
things. |
Frakes
and Neu are also placing a lot of
weight on Inclusion and Diversity
- topics Frakes said, "are
super important yet unfortunately
draw smaller crowds because of the
inconvenient topics." Frakes
continued, "We embrace all cultures,
orientations, preferences, and
genders, and that's important, but
we don't want to waive a flag about
that, but rather quietly operate in
the spirit of being inclusive
about our participants, because that
should be the new normal."
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"I
feel it is good to focus on
the show, and not manipulate
people with the many
do-gooder things we're
accomplishing along the way,
like the IAEF.org
support or the efforts for
balance of panels. We have a
code of conduct for the show
that follows leading
practice, and we want all to
know they are of course welcome
at our event.
Reinforcing that welcoming
attitude and focusing on
what the topics are and
having leading experts share
their wisdom and experience
is important. Let's
make it commercially
attractive to be inclusive
and make that the new
normal." |
Image
from Bigstock |
"By
it's design, MERGE! is intended to
be diverse in content, and
highlight the benefits of embracing
concepts and disciplines beyond a
narrow, industry-specific focus.
We highlight that the essential
growth that companies look to in the
balance of the year and into 2018 is
likely to be found in the areas that
your business might organically
expand into," Frakes said.
There will be tracks about community
relations, attracting and keeping
the right talent, and other
classical Diversity/Inclusion topics
within the schedule, as well as a
number of internationalization
and universal acceptance
topics. The focus there will be on
highlighting the commercial markets,
which will attract larger crowds by
inspiring growth and opportunity.
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Image
from Bigstock |
The
addition of a Latin-Hispanic-Spanish
focused sub-event called
'Confluir' is also a
new development, on that
will provide exceptional
speakers and connections
with successful Hispanic
business owners, engagement
with the Spanish speaking
market, and interaction with
regional opportunities in
the Latin Americas. Alfredo
Pinochet, Jochen
Kieler and George
Verdugo will be part of
this, as well as regional ccTLDs
and successful cloud hosting
and other businesses from
the region.
In another highlight, Allegravita's
China Bootcamp will
feature Simon Cousins,
a familiar face to many
conference goers and a
frequent contributor of
photos and updates from
various conferences
throughout Asia, who will
share crucial wisdom on
embracing the markets and
opportunity in the global
economy.
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MERGE!
is less that three months away but
Frakes and Neu plan to add still more
sessions and tracks to the agenda
before show time. The roster of
moderators and speakers has expanded
considerably since our last update
with the addition of David Sams,
Larry Fischer, Andee Hill,
Bill Sweetman and Derek
Newman. With more to come will
update you periodically as the big
event in Orlando continues to draw
closer.
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