The GTD Community seems to be buzzing quite a bit about the GTD Global Summit.  I can relate – I’ve been excited about the forthcoming event from back when my dear friend Marc Orchant first started talking about it last fall.  While it’s a little bit bittersweet to see it coming to fruition without having Marc be a part of things, it is nevertheless exciting and from my perspective contributing to the success of the event is one way I can pay homage to my departed friend.

Since I’ve been involved in various aspects of the Summit for a while now I wanted to mention a few things and also ask some questions of GTDtimes readers.  Here goes:

For the Media:

First, if you are accredited press and you want to attend the GTD Global Summit as a member of the media I strongly suggest that you get your ducks lined up and get an early start on applying for a credential.  Free slots for members of the media are going to be fairly limited due to the pretty restricted number of conference particpants and also due to the size of the venue.  If you are not a legitimate media professional – and by that I mean someone that earns all or most of their living producing written materials for regularly published and highly regarded publications or whom produces video or audio material that is widely circulated via the Internet or network television then please refrain from applying for a press credential.

As a member of the working press myself I can tell you that it is becoming more and more competitive to get press credentials to the major events each year and it is a real injustice when people that write for recreation but don’t earn their living writing manage to get press passes for high demand events at the expense of someone that really needs to be at the event in order to fulfill his or her own publication’s need to cover the event.

It adds insult to injury when people attending an event on a media credential don’t even provide legitimate coverage of the event.  Not only are you taking the opportunity to attend away from someone that really needed to be there, but you are also taking advantage of the event promoter.  Keep in mind that the reason promoters give out media credentials is for the exposure that this nets. It’s this trade-off that makes the system work so as a favor to all the journalists out there that work through the night so that you’ve got interesting content to read in the morning, only apply if you’re a pro and only then if you’re really going to cover the event as a working journalist.

That said, the best way to get a media credential for the GTD Global Summit will be to monitor the site as well as to continue checking here.  As soon as the page goes up that has a questionnaire for folks that want a press pass I’ll be making an announcement here.  Filling out this questionnaire completely and doing so sooner rather than later is your surest way to get yourself in the door as press.

Be prepared to prove that you write where you claim to write.  If you’re on assignment from a publication for which you don’t typically work (and thus you don’t have prior bylines from this publication nor a business card from the company that publishes it, you’ll need a letter from the managing editor confirming that you’ve got an assignment to cover the event.  Get that to us sooner rather than later.  If you wait too long you may have waited yourself right out of a job.

If you have questions about press credentials post them here in the comments.  That way they can act as an FAQ so that others that might have similar questions won’t have to ask again.

Planning on Attending?

If you’re planning on attending the Summit, let me echo my suggestion made above to the press.  Register early.  Not only will you save a bunch of money by doing so, but you’ll assure yourself a slot. With only 500 attendees this event is certain to sell out quickly and you don’t want to go to register only to end up wait-listed.  No one likes to hear “I told you so” so please, trust me on this.  Registrations got off to a brisk start yesterday – we were actually a little surprised between how fast some people decided to attend and the fact that we’ve already had media requests from as far away as Estonia.

Now with the Questions:

As you might imagine, David and his team have been planning long and hard to make sure this event is great success and much of what is on the agenda has already been determined, however, one thing that had been expressed to me was how much value David and the other folks involved in planning the event place upon feedback from the GTD Community.  Bearing in mind the fact that we’ve been lucky to have such an awesome group of folks that are kind enough to read GTDtimes, we wanted to get some thoughts from you on what you’d like to see or do during the GTD Global Summit.

To that end, I am soliciting your ideas, suggestions, recommendations, thoughts, cautionary tales and must not forgets.  What do YOU want to see included in the Summit?  Do you want software demonstrations like they do at DEMO?  An emphasis on hands on GTD implementation?  Incredible and inspiring talks? Lots of networking time?  What sorts of things do you feel will help you get the most value out of this event?  What sort of things do you think will make the event more enjoyable?  Unforgettable? A “must attend” in the future?

Please be brave and give us your suggestions in the comments.  We truly want to know what you want and we promise to take all serious suggestions seriously.  If for some reason you are not comfortable making a suggestion in the public forum, feel free to email me directly: editor at GTDtimes dot com, and I’ll make sure your suggestion gets into the hands of the right people.

And Finally:

Last thing; as things develop and announcements about the event are made I’ll be posting updates here at GTDtimes.  So if you’re keen to keep tabs on what’s happening with the GTD Global Summit be sure to add this site to your RSS Reader so you don’t miss important announcements.

Tags: Oliver Starr - former Editor of GTD Times //
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