I hadn’t planned on establishing a set deadline for presentation submissions, but with further consideration, decided it might be for the best in order to provide an agenda with times for each presentation in advance. A number of people who are hoping to tune in to CMEpalooza have been asking about the times for specific presentations so they can set their schedules accordingly.  So, in the name of good customer service, I’m setting January 31 as the deadline for presentation submissions. It would be great to get them even earlier than that, but I know how some of you people work. So there you are – a deadline to shoot for. (Truth be told, if you contact me on March 1 with a presentation idea, I’ll probably still say yes, but don’t tell anyone I said that…)

As it currently stands, we have 255 minutes of confirmed presentation time scheduled, which my calculator tells me is 4 hours and 15 minutes. I have four other individuals who have given verbal commitments to present (you know who you are!) but have not yet officially submitted their presentations. That still leaves plenty of time for additional presentations to fill out the rest of the day. If you have an idea in mind that you want to run by me before submitting, feel free to send it my way.

And lastly, there’s no truth to the rumor that I’ll be changing the name of CMEpalooza to CMEpalooka, despite what I may have (accidentally) tweeted out in the past. Blast you, auto correct!!!

Part of the motivation behind CMEpalooza is to provide a presentation platform for individuals who aren’t big fans of public speaking and tend to shy away from opportunities to present at conference like the ACEHP’s Annual Conference. If you fall into this category, I encourage you to consider giving CMEpalooza a try. The only other person you will see during your presentation is me…and I can hide if you want me to! It will just be you and your webcam. There might be a few others watching the live stream, but you won’t really know unless I tell you and I’m perfectly capable of lying to you if that makes you feel better.

I personally think that CMEpalooza is a great, low risk format for trying out a presentation, especially for those who think they get too nervous speaking in front of a crowd. It truly is open for anyone to present, not just polished, experienced speakers. So, why not give it a try? Or at least consider it. If you want to run your idea past me before submitting it, I’d be happy to take a look at it. Just shoot me an email at dwarnick@theCMEguy.com. I’m thrilled to see a few new names on the agenda – I hope to see a few more!

This is how I envision CMEpalooza working:

Each presentation will be streamed individually on the CMEpalooza Google+ page and then archived there and on this website. It will not be one continuos live stream that goes on for hours and hours. It a presentation is 15 minutes long, then the live stream will end after 15 minutes. There will be a delay of a couple of minutes while I get the next presenter set-up – during which there will be no video – and then we’ll start up again. You will need to refresh the page you’re on (the CMEpalooza Google+ page) to see the next presentation available for live streaming. The videos will be automatically archived on the Google+ page, which happens fairly promptly.

I’m really not expecting that participants will sit in front of their computers for an entire day and watch every presentation (I wouldn’t). At some point before the start of CMEpalooza, I plan to put together a scheduled agenda with an anticipated start time for each presentation (heavy emphasis on anticipated). People can then pop in and out, tuning in for the specific sessions they’re most interested in seeing. I really have no clue how many people will watch live – I’m not anticipating very many (though I do hope at least a few with G+ accounts do. There’s a cool Q&A app for Hangouts I’d like to try out). My guess is that the archive will be more watched and of more value to the CME/CE community. But, if if I’m completely wrong and a hundred people tune in to the live presentations, that would be fantastic!

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below.