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ONE BBSCON Briefs - by Clint Bradford
(C) Copyright 1993 ATD & Clint Bradford 
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     Table of Contents
     -----------------
  I. Overview of ONE BBSCON
 II. DAY ONE   - The Flight to Colorado
III. DAY TWO   - Setting Up the ASP Booth
 IV. DAY THREE - Vendor Booths Open
  V. DAY FOUR  - Breaking it All Down 
 VI. EPILOGUE 
VII. Notes


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  I. ONE BBSCON 1993 - An Overview
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With over 137 Educational Sessions and over 100 Vendor Exhibits,
ONE BBSCON is the largest gathering of Sysops and Telecommunications
Professionals the world has ever seen. Place these people in an
environmentally/esthetically pleasing locale such as Colorado
Springs - and you have the potential for one incredible week.

And it was.

I have been assigned to run the ASP Booth at ONE BBSCON. We went
first class with the Booth Choice: The Broadmoor Hotel's
International Center housed 81 10x10' Booths for Vendors. A 
dramatic 16,000 square-foot assemblage of telecommunications-
related vendor offerings. The adjacent Colorado Hall provided an
additional 5,000 square feet of 6x8' exhibits.

Seminars were broken down into "tracks" for attendees:
-How to Run a BBS for Profit
-Survey of BBS Software
-Internet
-Legal/Social Issues
-Technology
-Connectivity
-Applications
-Education & Government

And, of course, there were evening activities.

What follows are Random Notes taken during the course of my
experience at the Conference. Thanks for reading. As always,
I may be reached at ATTENTION to Details BBS at 909/681-6221,
or on CIS at 71160,2176.



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II. DAY ONE: The Flight to Colorado
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Arrived at Ontario International Airport an hour and a quarter
early, to check in my 270+ pounds of Leaflets, Brochures, 
Diskettes, and Prizes for the Association of Shareware 
Professionals (ASP) Booth. Checked in four boxes with the 
SkyCap. SkyCap gives me three Claim Checks. "But Sir, I have 
four items." 

"No problem, Mr. Bradford. Have a nice flight!" OK. We'll see.

Boarded my flight, and after a ten minute wait, we hear,
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. We're having 
trouble starting our Number Three Engine, so we're going to pull 
back to the Boarding Gate." Didn't think flying made me nervous.

Ten minutes later: "We think we isolated the problem - need to get a 
little more air to the #3 engine..." Huh? More air? Aren't the
engines OUTSIDE? 

"We have isolated the leaking valve and we're OK." 

"Isolated" it? Don't we NEED it? REPLACE IT, DARN IT. And make
sure no O-Rings are involved.

We take off. Very pleasant Flight Crew. Breakfast Flight. I do not
trust "Mixed Fruit Yogurt" at any altitude. 

Unexpected turbkjegeuw... jhueuyn... T-U-R-B-U-L-E-N-C-E. Yet it's 
perfectly clear outside. Weird - side-to-side movement, reminds me 
of our Landers (CA) earthquake last year. 

Made it to Denver no problem. Watched my bags being transferred
to my second plane. No problems. Well, until we board (deja vu).
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are experiencing an electrical problem.
Our technicians say they need about a half-hour to dig into it."

Arrived at Colorado Springs. Baggage OK. Arrived at the Hotel.
"Good afternoon, my name is Clint Bradford," I advise the
Registration Desk. Before inputting anything in her computer,
the Clerk blurted, "OH, YOU'RE MR. BRADFORD. We have 18 boxes
here for you." He he.

So, folks, all your materials are here. They get moved to the
site tomorrow at Noon our time. All is well and undamaged.

Tonight's event was a Smooze Party. Under the stars, classical
music played by a quartet of strings, lots of interaction.
Had a drink with Jack Rickard - and, to be honest with you,
being in a group of several hundred fellow telecomputerists
wasn't as bizarre as I thought it was going to be. 
 
[Personal aside to Pattie: Yes, there was a Mac User here. Had 
a drink with Bill Gram-Reefer, who writes for a few publications.] 

[Personal aside to Bob: Yes, Greg Ryan, author of RyBBS and VP of 
Exec-PC, arrived in good shape.] 

[Personal aside to Integrated Solutions: Yes, Troy & Jim are fine.]

I think that's all who've paid for their mention tonight. 



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III. DAY TWO: Setting Up the ASP Booth
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoyed breakfast with a fascinating gentleman who currently
works for the GSA in their CASU Program. He reports to the
Director of the OMB - and is mere steps away from the Executive
Branch of our government. 

CASU? "Cooperative Administrative Support Units" - attempting
to consolidate overlapping administrative services, and
telecomputing workcenters. He's here absorbing all he can
regarding BBS software/implementations. Forty-one years
with the government. Incredible stories. [Oh, and Greg Ryan,
VP of Exec-PC, was with us. (Exec-PC Plug #2).]

Skipping the Opening Ceremonies a 9am this morning while
arranging transportation of our 20+ cartons to the Broadmoor
site. Also placing finishing touches on a couple administration
items. Not to mention loading the Red Lion Shuttle Van with
my 270 pounds of stuff, PLUS the 18 boxes that were
downstairs in Receiving.

[Side Note to Jan - I don't have any ASP Compendiums!]

A little hitch in the schedule. Was told that Exhibitors
could begin moving in at Noon. Nope. Got there with a
completely full shuttle van of wares, and was told I
couldn't move in until 4pm. Had to leave the stuff on a loading 
dock, about 250 feet from the actual booth. So, I missed
the Opening Ceremonies and Reader's Choice Awards while
"mother hen-ning" our materials for the Booth. 

So - I started moving our stuff in at 3:45pm, and just got back
to the Hotel Room at 8:50pm. A lot of effort for one person,
ladies and gentlemen. Couldn't touch the hand trucks that were
lying about - Freeman Decorating was running the show. After lifting,
for the third time today, about five boxes, I talked to Steve - the 
head of Freeman Decorating. How much could his services be "bought" 
for? $32.00 was his sympathetic reply, after viewing the pallet-full
I was hand-carrying in. 

No lengthy decision-making process here, folks. Freeman got my 
$32.00. [ASP Cash Request Number 1.] 

Couldn't attend the Dvorak Awards Presentation - had to get our
booth set up by 8pm. 

The ASP Booth looks great, folks! I will give you a rundown 
on all the materials we have - but it is great.

[Side Note to the ASP BOD - ONE PERSON cannot do this by
him/herself. Next year, have the ONE BBSCON Coordinator MAKE
Authors send their wares TO THE SITE - no matter the cost.
Or make sure you fly a team out here. A team of three
would be ideal. SORE MUSCLE MODE = OFF.]

The Boardwatch Top 100 Awards were handed out today. I forget 
the top ten, except for EXEC-PC got #2. [Hey, if YOU could 
get a free meal just by typing "EXEC-PC," wouldn't you?]

Hayes Microcomputer Products' President Dennis Hayes
is demonstrating their V.FAST Class (V.FC) 28.8kBPS
modem technology. Same Sysop price on the Optima 14.4/
14,4FAX as we know - $179.00. But they dropped their
price on the Pocket Edition for Sysops. True, the
ITU (CCITT) standard might not become effective
until the end of '94 - but by working with Rockwell in
the chip development, you STILL cannot make a mistake by
purchasing a Hayes product.

That's it. Tomorrow, 7am, breakfast. 9-6pm, the Vendor
Booths are open! ASP is well-represented. We will need to
acquire a second table next year (still single Booth, but
more tabletop space IS mandatory.)

P.S. - NO ONE told me how weird the booth was! A true chinese
puzzle torture piece. THANK GOODNESS there was an Instruction
Manual. It looks SHARP for a bunch of Pixie Sticks!

P.P.S - Fred Hill brought the Computer setup over this
morning. All is perfect.



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IV. DAY THREE: Vendor Booth Open!
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7am Breakfast - nothing extraordinary. Arrived at the ASP Booth at
8:30. The place is abuzz with tie-straightening, last second prep,
et al. The TRUE calm before the storm.

The Vendor Booths were open from 9am to 6pm. The time went by
quickly. Had relief for 30-45 minutes by another ASP Member who
volunteered his services for the past couple of months. By manning
the Booth until all attendees were gone, I messed the second
Dvorak Awards Session at 6pm. 

But the response to our message was well-received. Talked to many
extremely interesting people. Without our Compendium to offer, I
kept a list of folks who needed a Master Catalogue. (Spent the
late hours copying diskettes in the Hotel - made up 100 copies
of our Catalogue to give to appropriate people. Sure glad I
brought my laptop!) 

Lance Rose and I discussed life, liberties, competition, and
human nature for darn near 1/2 an hour. A meaningful dialogue.
Left the ASP Booth for a couple minutes, escorting him to the
PC Info Group's Booth, and having him autograph a copy of his
book for me.

I had attendees drop their business cards in our "FREE DRAWING"
box. Alternatively, I supplied small forms for them to fill out. 
I gave away a prize an hour. . .well, actually more than that.
Response to my request of ASP Authors for Prizes was fair, but
didn't adequately fill all my intended "slots." I added several
copies of my own Sysop-oriented products to make up for gaps.
No one was disappointed!

A dBase-compatible file of the ASP Booth Attendees will be made
available as soon as it is compiled.

I missed the 8pm Shuttle back to my Hotel. Next shuttle was at
9pm. Exhausted yet exhilarated, I had the Bellhop call a cab.
[ASP Cash Request #2 - $7.50]

Didn't realize that there were so many muscles in the back of
my legs. . .geeze was I sore from moving in the booth and 
standing all day. I chose to stay at the Hotel and copy
our Master ASP Catalog onto 100 floppies instead of schmoozing
on the hill.


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V. DAY FOUR: Breaking It All Down
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Same 7am Breakfast. Arrived at the Site by 8:30. I advised the
dear gentleman who was so anxious to assist the ASP with the booth
that he would be manning it from 9am to 11am today. There was no
discussion. I was going to attend at least ONE Seminar of the
100+ that was happening. Jay wanted to attend the same session.
Unfortunate.

Dennis Hauser gave an informative talk on targeting a mailing
list for your BBS - and marketing/advertising pieces. Got a plug
for a great program - BBS Welcome - on tape for all to hear.
BBS Welcome, written by ASP Sysop John Hrusovszky, is a custom-
made EXEcutable that allows your Users (and potential Users) to
experience an on-line session on your BBS. . .OFFLINE! John
takes your Screen Shots, Bulletins, et al, and creates an
incredible marketing/advertising program for you. Look for
BBSW-103.ZIP on better BBSs near you! 

The Vendor Exhibits closed officially at 6pm. Most hung around
until 6:30. Had time to run back to the hotel, shower, and
shuttle back for an Invited-Guest-Only Bar-B-Que (well, only
if the Invited Guest forked over $50.00 to attend. Which 400+
of us did).

Cash bar - I thought I was at LA Int'l Airport: $4.25 for a 
plastic glass of wine. Jack Rickard told me that the reason for
the "cash bar" was that if HE paid for the alcohol, and we
fell out of a shuttle bus, we'd sue him. If WE bought it our-
selves, his liability was lessened. Well, I was on Diet Coke
myself, but many a disgruntled alcohol fan was heard, while
gulping $4.75 cans of Heineken.

Sysop Tony Davis was hanging around, looking for sympathy. His
Oklahoma Information Exchange was raided by the Vice Squad of
the OK City Police Department recently. Local media obtained
the video that the cops took of the raid, adding an ethereal
air to the bust. All three local TV stations played the tape.
When asked if he knew his state's obscenity laws, Tony said
that he did. When asked if he knew that the distribution of
pornography was illegal in his state, Tony replied that he
knew so, but "I've been doing it for a long time." Ignorance
of the law is no excuse, dude. Facing a potential $100 Million
in fines and over 100,000 years in jail, there was little
sympathy for the situation.

The most satisfying, personal moments were spent at the Bar-B-
Que. No - the food was not all that tremendous. (And what Jack
is doing with all the money collect is beyond me.) But I sat with
three extraordinary people here.

Please meet Scott and Karen McKown. A pleasant couple in their,
oh, say, mid-forties. They have adult children. They live in 
California's Mill Valley. They rode AMTRAK out here - and are 
taking it back home (now that's either true LOVE, or true 
MASOCHISM). After talking with them for an hour, it is obviously
the former.

Scott and Karen are absorbing information to take back to
California to set up their first BBS. A Mac BBS. Karen's a
throwback to the 60s politically. She would get along with my
older brother, who is still working on George McGovern's 
presidential election campaign. But she is not politically
naive - she is extremely humanitarian and real in her
love of people. Scott and Karen are both heavily involved in
local and State-wide issues. Their BBS is being created to
disseminate information to the public on issues of all
sorts. Their dedication and love of each other and of their
fellow citizenry is obvious - and their BBS will go anywhere
they decide they want it to.

A generation apart, 17-year-old Jason Rupp has flown from
his home in New York to attend the Conference. A late
Registrant, he had to fork out $325.00 just to walk in the
Door. His grandfather lives in Denver (70 miles away from
Colorado Springs), and they both drove up to be here.

Jason came here with a Plan. After reading about last year's
ONE BBSCON, he know that some pretty good prices were to be
had for software and hardware. He is attending the "Fame" School
for Performing Artists, and he wants to set up a BBS directed
to teenagers in his area. A chat board - with a difference.
This 17-year-old has a marketing plan and advertising all laid
out for this venture. I cannot think of too many individuals at
ANY age with the same initial work completed at this point in
their Sysop careers.

Jason has filled out every FREE CONTEST DRAWING form in the house.
Many Vendors here are holding drawings. It would be great to win
a serial card, or software, or a modem. . .anything to help out
with the initial costs of starting up a BBS. 

It is five minutes before the Vendor Exhibits close. Jason has
arranged that his grandfather write the check for his cash
expenditures here at the show. Grandfather has pulled out his 
checkbook to enable Jason's purchase of BBS software. When his
name is called out over the PA system, he is floored. He just
won! The GRAND PRIZE of the Show.

PCBoard BBS Software. USRobotics Dual Standard Modem. A Pass to
the Bar-B-Que. Lifetime Subscription to Boardwatch Magazine.
And more items.

Well, suffice it to say that he "covered" his expenses arriving
here and registering.

So, here I am, discussing, with two separate generations, starting
your own BBS. And we are one. All desiring to share information
with all others. And we all will be successful.

The Karma is with us.

I hate to - but I must leave. I have our Booth to break down. And
I have to finish before midnight. The four of us embrace - honest
intentions are voiced to keep in touch (I am faxing this to Karen,
Jason will be receiving a couple of my offerings for his BBS.)

Diet Coke, the view of the valley, and these three people have made
me as high as could ever want to be at this event. I will cherish
the moment for quite a while.

The Broadmoor Hotel Shuttle Bus bring me back to our Booth - and
reality. After swearing to myself that I was not going to take 
anything home with me, I carefully package up a few remaining
diskettes and flyers, and prepare them to take home. The Shuttles
are not able to handle excess baggage - so, when I finish breaking
down the Booth at 11pm, I call a cab to carry our CPU, 17" Monitor,
two boxes containing the Booth Display, and three boxes of miscel-
laneous objects/papers. I am the last Vendor to leave. All that is
left are fork-lift crates from the "major" vendors, and the
Freeman Decorating workers.

This cabbie gets a proportionally-larger tip. [ASP Cash Request
#3 - $10.00.]

Want to know how exhausted I am? I fall asleep during Sharon
Stone's performance in "Sliver" on Pay Video TV.


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VI. EPILOGUE
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You heard it before: the ASP was well-represented this week. 

*Mandatory Plug Time: Hayes OPTIMA Modems, Mustang Int'l, Integrated 
*Solutions, Rosemary West UNIQUE Software, ASP BBS Exec-PC's VP - 
*Greg Ryan, and John Hrusovzsky's BBS WELCOME Program.]


Personal Letter to the ASP Board of Directors:


  Dear BOD,

  Do this right next year, and send 2 or 3 representatives. 

  A one-man show is difficult. Asking for volunteers was fruitless.
  Well, I guess I should be grateful for 45 minutes of assistance
  on Friday, and 3 hours today. But please consider budgeting
  for more appropriate representation. No other of the 75 Vendors
  in the Main (i.e., large, expensive) Room had less than 2
  workers. . .and most of the smaller 8x8' tables in the Small
  Room had at least 2 workers. We need to "professionalize"
  our representation at this important event.

  ALSO - with the networking transmission capabilities out there,
  and the advent of an ASP CD, looks like we need to re-think
  our Sysop Membership guidelines. Floppy mailings are soon to
  be meaningless on most systems - we need the "basic" level of
  Sysops, who can acquire ASP items "on their own" via several
  available methods. Then we need a level that is sent (monthly?
  quarterly?) ASP CDs - and include them in their annual fee.

  We need to realize that telling Sysops that a benefit of 
  ASP Membership is a floppy mailing is like slapping them.


  ---Sincerely,
     Clint


What the heck is this SHAREWARE+ nonsense? I apologize if
you discussed this here after SSS and I missed it. Shareware
via MultiLevel Marketing scheme? On the outside appearance,
it's a crock. Do you all have their app to see what they're
doing?


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VII. EndNotes
----------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Several Shareware distribution methods are "out there" - needing 
   to be tapped. The prevailing attitude of the ASP has been, as 
   voiced by a few that I spoke with, non-committal, "stand-offish,"
   or non-responsive towards viable alternatives. Whether entirely
   accurate or not - this reputation must be eliminated. We must not 
   falter in our mission. We are the "Jay Leno" of the Shareware 
   market: we're in the driver's seat. And if we intend to maintain
   our Number One Ranking in the industry, we must NOT relax 
   for a moment.

2. The Red Lion is a Class Organization. At ALL Levels of Job
   Description. They WILL be receiving appropriate written recognition
   from me for their efforts.

3. Looks like buttonFile will get the nod for the inputting of data
   from my Booth Attendees. Will post here as a dBase-compatible
   file for you in a few days.

4. Rosemary West - your Flyer that I made for you created a lot of
   interest. I hope it generates some Registrations. You're a
   valued confidante. 

5. It was embarrassing for me to cancel an Agreement with a Computer
   Rental firm that I had set up - after being advised to go ahead
   and do so. Colorado's own Fred Hill DID come through for us, and
   saved us a couple hundred bucks. But it would have been nice to
   NOT be responsible for transporting the system myself to the site,
   and returning it to my hotel room after the exhibit. Liability
   for loss/theft/damage would be on the ASP's shoulders.

   Speaking of theft, we DID loose a Logitech BUS Mouse while I was
   at the Bar-B-Que Saturday night. When Fred picked up the CPU
   Sunday morning, I couldn't locate it in my room. Thinking it
   was buried in my myriad of boxes, I told him I would ship it
   to him when I got home. I don't have it. It "disappeared" from 
   the floor between 6:30pm and 8:30pm. [ASP Cash Request #4.]
   Just the mouse - no BUS Card necessary.
   
   Fred also took the two cumbersome Display Cases for me. I addressed
   'em - but you can't reach UPS on Sundays. Many thanks, Fred, and
   thanks to your attractive family for their attitude that Sunday
   morning at the "back door" of my Hotel.


   


