Hi all, At NZNOG09 in January we are intending on trying something a little new - having a "Vendor Reception" on the Wednesday evening. This is to give vendors the chance to meet people with glossy pieces of paper handy, and also to encourage the social aspect of the conference and networking with industry peers. The format of this is roughly: - Vendors/someone wanting to sell something sets up some sort of stand, table, demo, whatever[1] around a room/pool. - Vendor swag encouraged[2]. - Open bar, possibly dinner depending on numbers and budget. - Informal. We may do a bit at some point early in the evening where vendors can stand up and read out a short[3] personals ad - we'll decide how that goes closer to the time based on how many people are interested in participating and exhibiting, and other arbitrary criteria we have yet to invent. This will be open to sponsors automagically. Non-sponsors can participate, and would be asked to contribute to offset the cost of drinks and food for the evening. Please contact me on nznog(a)daork.net if you're interested in exhibiting. Cheers! -- Nathan Ward [1] Jonny "Mr Marketing" Martin suggests a bar leaner with a bottle of some premium liquor. [2] Those FX coffee mugs from 2002 or whenever it was were great, I still use mine but I feel it's time for a change. Hint hint. [3] "Short": adjective. An arbitrary period of time in minutes counted on one hand.