Every year brings new opportunities and new challenges for the Penn State Web Conference planning committee when it comes to selecting our opening keynote speaker. He or she will kick things off and set a positive tone for the entire day of the conference.
The planning committee was fortunate this year that we had several excellent options to choose from when selecting the keynote speaker. We hope this portends well for future years!
We started the keynote search about a month after the conference last June. We began by brainstorming about who might provide a presentation that would be of wide appeal to our diverse group of Web professionals. Several feelers were sent to potential speakers to inquire as to their interest and availability, as well as to request information on their fee structure.
About half of those we contacted charged more than our budget could handle without significantly raising the conference registration fee. A small number did not respond to our inquiries. Others were not available during our time frame, which has been a real challenge in the past (a large Web conference has been scheduled in London within a day or two of our conference in the last few years).
This year, we have a verbal commitment from yet another speaker who has been part of a select group who has sat atop our wish list for the last few years. We are so excited, and can hardly wait to get the word out! When we get things signed, sealed and delivered, you will definitely be hearing more about it.
The closing keynote speaker selection is a slightly different animal which I will write about on another day...