A word about WiFi

After 2 weeks of absorbing BlogHer feedback I think I can safely say there was one piece of constructive feedback that rose above the rest: the WiFi sucked. Not that I've ever been to a blogging, or any other kind of, conference where the internet access situation was well in hand. And I think most of you would say the same. Why do I think so? Because the WiFi problem was mentioned with and almost readable long-suffering sigh, rather than a howl of shocked indignation.

Anyway, we figured out what the problem was, and if you ever expect to find yourself planning an event, you might want to read what the problem was...so you can avoid it...and you might also want to hear how in every other possible way the Network Meeting Center went out of their way to make BlogHer successful.

First: why the problems?

We did ultimately figure out why the WiFi was such a problem. It has to do with distance limitations and traffic patterns. The Network Meeting Center knew we would have 300 people. But they did not know, because they did not ask, and we did not even think to tell them that all 300 people would always be either a) together in the largest meeting room on one side of the building or b) dispersed amongst the 5 meeting rooms that were all situated on the other side of the building.

Hence they provisioned their wireless routers to support 300 people spread across the entire building evenly. So, the big room was really only provisioned for about 150 people, and so were the 5 smaller meeting rooms. And the log-in problems ensued.

Now: the effusive praise for David Van Etten and all the other folks at the Network Meeting Center

Imagine if you will: three chicks walk in and want to rent out half your meeting space. They're not connected to a "company." The date is less than 4 months away. They want to split the deposit on two personal credit cards.

Well, the NMC had no problem with any of that. Every step of the way they executed and delivered exactly as promised...and sometimes delivered above and beyond the call of duty.

It wasn't a charitable act, of course. I've never written a bigger check (other than my house down payment) than the one I wrote to them post-conference. But it's worth pointing out in this day and age when companies so rarely deliver on their promises.

It's kind of sad that, as David himself pointed out, we have very likely outgrown the Network Meeting Center after one try. But if we can provide a glowing reference for any other group...large or small...we're happy to do so.

Comments

[Donna]

Having done event planning, I can tell you without reservation that inevitably, it's the technical stuff that ends up making you crazy. I actually thought that for a first conference, with only four months to plan, that is went really smoothly. And while the wifi was a problem, that didn't exactly surprise me. And now that you have an idea of what to expect, I have a feeling it won't be a problem at all in '06.