Go to CES for free…

Time to get to work on that 150-word essay! Robert, since I will not win, how about making a blog entry on tips for writing a justification for my employer sending me--er, I mean for our employers sending us? As many things as you've been to, surely you've written a successful justification or two in your lifetime and have some thoughts. If you can think of some way an enterprise could benefit from sending a tech-loving technician who supports PCs, laptops, PDAs (and PDA phones), I'd love to plagiarize--I mean I'd love to pick up some pointers from you!

Don't think I'm not already scouring Google for tips.

I'm getting desperate. I'm seriously considering taking the money I've saved for a UMPC and just getting the free exhibit pass (is that actually possible, or am I lacking some info?), but I really want to do the thing right!

You think I'm getting too uppity for a support tech? Should I just crawl back into my place under the desk? Or is it reasonable for even a lowly (but good) tech to have these dreams?

I could not catch up on the details on time. Was working on http://www.360Nigeria.com thankfully i have finished. Bloggers need more support than they are presently getting. It is very important.

Yes, all good points but I'm suffering in silence.

I've got chronic tinea. And it's itchy! It started in my toes, but didn't waste any time making its way to my crotch.

Bugger, sometimes it's tough being a Kiwi!

WEll, no matter who you pick, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it. I think more organizations should sponsor bloggers. It's expensive getting to these conferences, and sponsorship (especially that which comes with no approval strings) means your product stands a better chance of getting some great press (hell-sight better than a spam press release like we get all the darn time).

Kudos to NetGear for trying something new (am I buttering you up enough now Doug?). Heh heh.

Hey Doug, YES!! You should certainly consider going international for 2008. There are good bloggers outside of the US too you know :) I'd like to think I was fairly decent myself LOL and the UK is full of us, not to mention the rest of the non US world.

Cheers,
Gary
http://www.garyshort.org/

A few inside thoughts from us folks at NETGEAR for anyone applying (and for next time, it sounds like we should think international for CES 2008!):

1. If we wanted the guest blog to be only about NETGEAR, we would have written it ourselves.

2. There is a big, crazy CES out there. You have a unique perspective. You are there for everyone else who will never have the opportunity to experience the overwhelming, amazing, four day, 102 inch plasma adrenaline rush that is the Consumer Electronics Show. (http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/07/samsung-ces-...).

3. All those amazing new gadgets at CES? We at NETGEAR live to network them all together and to the Internet. Wired, wirelessly, whatever it takes. And, no surprise, we believe that “connectivity” is as important a trend as “convergence.”

4. We don’t want to just hear about why NETGEAR products are so great - our customers already know that :) we want you to help the world understand how all the pieces fit together into one giant connected life. Capice?

Sigh. This competition is only for people in continental USA, so I guess if I want to cover it as a blogger I'll just have to find someone else willing to sponsor me. :)

Cheers,
Gary
http://www.garyshort.org/

So Robert, how will PodTech organize the coverage of Both MacWorld and CES ? It's a pitty they do it at the same time :(

So I really want to go but not officially in the trade - even though I spend have my dam life involved in technology :( It would be a long way to go (I'm talking off my own bat here) to get turned away at the door. How detailed are they with the ID checks - ie what about a fake business card. I so want to go

Site is back up. Should be a-ok here on out!

Darn, his site is broken. Looks like a php meltdown with a plugin. I've had that happen when I deleted a plugin and forgot to disable it first, it is no fun :(

Woot, I'd love to go :) I registered last year and couldn't go at the last minute. I'm still on the mailing list but haven't registered this year because I'm covering Aff Summit 2 weeks later in Vegas as press.

Thanks for the heads up.

Cool - last time I went to CES (I worked for Microsoft) it cost $30k!

Free sounds good - would it include airfare from Aus ;-) ?

Fang - Mike Seyfang

Rats...same week as Macworld, and that's a much larger obligation for me.