Last week, Derek hinted at an exhausting conversation we had earlier this year surrounding the upcoming birthday/anniversary of CMEpalooza. Briefly, Derek wouldn’t let me call 2023 the 10th “birthday” or “anniversary” of CMEpalooza. His argument was that, “You don’t turn 1 year old until you have been around for a year. Your first anniversary doesn’t occur until 12 months after the actual event. Therefore, CMEpalooza (which launched in 2014) won’t celebrate its 10th birthday and its 10th anniversary until 2024. It doesn’t matter that this is going to be the 10th year of CMEpalooza – I refuse to let you call it our 10th birthday or 10th anniversary. If you do, I quit!”

I must say, I was very tempted to take Derek up on his offer, but then I remembered that there were few other people in this world who would willingly agree to be my verbal sparring partner, so I backed down.

Until this article came along…

It turns out, there are enlightened cultures in this world that agree that you are “1 year old” the day that you are born. Frankly, it would make life a lot easier for the parents of newborns. I always have to use my fingers and toes to try to figure out how old a toddler is when I’m told “17 months!” If that instead meant that he/she was “2 years old” that would make things much easier.

Let’s do a quick poll to see if you agree with me.

 

Lest you think that everything about CMEpalooza is fun and games, let me share a recent text exchange between Derek and I to demonstrate the serious nature of our work.

ME: X!? Phdn M@A
DEREK: Excuse me?
ME: Sorry, butt dial. Happy Thanksgiving.
DEREK: Whatever

It’s this exchanging of exciting ideas, this way of exploring new ways to engage our audience, this VERY VERY SERIOUS approach to education that has allowed CMEpalooza to grow year after year. And so here we are, celebrating our 10^th year of CMEpalooza (can you believe it?) with plans for a bigger and better future (note from Derek: At least Scott spared you the details of our argument about the difference between this being the 10th year vs. 10th anniversary of CMEpalooza).

As the world shifts back into a more normal in-person meeting schedule, CMEpalooza continues to thrive as the premium online event for the CME/CE community. Our audience has grown by 10-20% every year since our launch, reaching nearly 1,000 learners in 2022 during each of our Spring and Fall events. We’re hoping to reach that magic four-digit milestone with our 2023 live broadcast days, happening on Wednesday, April 12, and Wednesday, October 18.

And as our events evolve, so do our sponsorship opportunities. While we have a lot of the “old standbys,” we’ve thrown in some new wrinkles once again this year, many of which we successfully piloted in the Fall.

One important note of caution – if you are interested in one of our higher-level, elite sponsorships, you should probably act fast. These go more and more quickly every year, and we operate on a first-come first-served basis. We hate turning anyone away, so don’t let it happen to you!

Just take a look at the 2023 Sponsor Prospectus (also on the Sponsor tab of our website) for all of the information you’ll need. We make the sponsorship process simple – you just send us an email saying something like, “We love CMEpalooza more than sweetbreads. Please count us in as a (Gold/Silver/Bronze/other) sponsor,” we collect some basic information from you, and VOILA! up you go on the CMEpalooza website. You get in on all of our promotions and special events, and you receive as much exposure as we can possibly offer.

Of course, if you have any questions or would like any additional information, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’ll be there in February at the upcoming Alliance meeting if you’d like to chat in person (Derek will be sitting in the back corner of every room if you have trouble finding him).

“Life isn’t all about sports.”

That’s something I remember my mom telling me when I was a young boy and finishing up a 12-hour television marathon of Penn State vs. BYU football, Wide World of Sports (dog sledding episode), Phillies vs. Giants in Game 161 of another meaningless baseball season, and 76ers preseason basketball vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv. I think there may have been a few minutes of the latest Professional Bowlers Association event thrown in there, but my memory is a bit foggy.

Looking back at things now with a clearer sense of priorities and the wisdom of old(er) age, all I have to say is this:

“It’s a good thing I didn’t listen to her!”

Alas, committing the statistics of yesteryear’s sporting superstars doesn’t pay the bills (though it does encapsulate about 75% of the conversations between Derek and I when we comb through our personal archives to see who can come up with the most obscure tidbit from our childhood) and so we have this CMEpalooza thing that we have to fall back on sometimes.

Which is why, in the midst of all of the winning currently going on here in Philadelphia – yes, we’re bragging because it’s so darn rare – we are revving up the CMEpalooza machine once again at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning for a special, live, free Spotlight broadcast with the fine folks at Broadcast Beat Studios. We did a short test run last week where they showed me some of the technology they have to offer – it’s cool stuff! And while there will be a bit of show and tell, what we’re really going to focus on is the role of the video production studio in today’s CME environment. Whether you are interested in hearing about the current (and future) of hybrid video capabilities, the current state-of-the-art in broadcast studios, or just gawk at some of the cool technology that we can potentially leverage in our education, I’d encourage you to tune in.

Just like our other CMEpalooza live events, you simply need to go to our LIVE tab at the appointed time to join us. We’ll chat for about 30-40 minutes and answer whatever questions you might have. If things start dragging, I may just recite the starting lineup of the 1987 Philadelphia Phillies like a PA announcer (“Leading off… second baseman Juan Samuel!”). But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.