Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Thoughts on the Buddy Pass

You know, I was thinking. There were always people in the office that really would get a lot out of AU. Like when I was a reseller- the sales folks really could benefit from sitting in on a few classes to get a feel for the tech, and to see the exhibits. It was great brain food. There just never seemed to be the budget for it.

Or your friends right now that might be looking for work or looking to change careers. They probably wouldn't mind sharing your hotel room for the chance to learn something new- perhaps about AutoCAD, Map or maybe even some 3DS Max. Not to mention the thousands and thousands of exhibitors, instructors, support staff and attendees who just might have a job for them. Or a lead for a job for them.

What about the project managers? The owner? The non-engineering types in your office? Landscape architects, urban planners. Folks that might not have considered coming- until now when they can get in for (maybe) free or for $595.

USE YOUR BRAIN- think of ways to take advantage of this opportunity. We need more people to be sharper, have more skills, have more brainstorms, more big ideas. Autodesk University is a great way to get that excitement going.

http://au.autodesk.com/event/buddypass/

1 Comment:

Mark said...

The buddy pass is a great idea to increase attendance at AU. Unfortunately, in these tight economic times, not only the does the cost of admission to the event need to be considered, but the cost of getting there and the lost opportunity costs of being away from production.

Perhaps for future events, Autodesk can address this issue and at the same time put on a truly green event by offering "remote" passes, whereby users could attend live sessions remotely from their own computers. From a cost perspective, think how much time and money this will save attendees and their firms and organizations. And from a green perspective, its amazing. Having several thousand people drive and fly to to the middle of the desert, consume an untold volumes of water, air-conditioned air, and other resources unnecessarily is so anti-green it makes Autodesk's "green" initiative sound hypocritical.

Has anyone calculated the carbon footprint of an AU attendee, instructor or event staff?