IBU

Consol

Munich Chambers Of Commerce - Some Expensive Talks

Some, (not all) Chambers Of Commerce
charge expensive fees to attend Evening Lectures bundled with surplus Socials, despite:

• Speakers usually promote their company, government, etc.
  - They should bait their own hooks !
• Vernisages in Art galleries in Munich do Not charge for their advertising evenings.
• Viewers don't pay to watch adverts on TV.

Why pay to attend a lecture with Suits, rather than a free lecture or stammtisch with professional technical industry associates ?

• Professional associations in Computer industry offer many evening lectures Free
  • http://www.berklix.org/techtalk/
  • http://www.guug.de/lokal/muenchen/
  • http://www.berklix.com/free/talk/
  & technical stammtisches too, where one can meet professional associates - All Free.
• With only so many hours available to attend events, & a lot of events per month, why pay for expensive events ?

Business Model Of Some Chambers Unattractive

• Bill companies annual membership.
• Subsidise drinking & eating of employees of member companies.
• Deny free access to associated business lectures.
• Pay PR/ad agencies &/or restaurant staff for hot air &/or alcohol etc ;-).
• It was greedy bankers & similar etc who triggered the 2008 financial melt down, big investors have been jailed for fraud, & a US lawyer at 13 May 2009 jailed for massive fraud, etc.
• Yet business Suits charge fees to pre lubricate their events. - Why ? Are their lectures less interesting/ substanial, than those of other professionals ? Where audiences willingly adjourn after, to nearest nominated bar/ restaurant & Pay direct for what they consume ?
• Those that most enjoy subsidised social bloat might rank with advertising account executives & telephone sanitisers, etc (welcome on the first of the 3 rocket of the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy ;-) )

What To Do ? One could tell Chambers Of Commerce:

• Unbundle the business lecture from the Bloat !
  
• Free access to the lecture.
• Optional charge to enter reception room fater, Or
  Cash Bar, just like a British Pub
  People also get more chance to make contacts, circulating to & from the bar, than standing like dummies at small round tables, with no reason to talk to adjacent unknown tables.
• In an era of financial stringency, business needs easier access to business lectures, without wasting time & money on payment & registration forms.
• The bloated Reception/Social: The cocktail circuit Suits & Dresses alcohol & nibbles, (possible smoking if they can get away with it by calling it a private event), jewellery, perfume, high heels, & abundance of PR & marketing droids, vacuous social chat, is redundant & optional, No need to bill as Essential !
• Publish talks after as .pdf, like conference proceedings; ( Or don't business speakers actually have anything Worth noting ? ;-) Technical speakers usually Do have notes worth publishing. )

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