CMEpalooza in Dallas

~ Thecmeguy ~ 3 Comments

 

Look, I’m just going to come right out and say it — I’m a Dallas Cowboys fan. I was seduced to the dark side by little Wendi Jackson when I was an innocent 2nd grader growing up in lower Delaware. She casually mentioned on the school bus one day that she liked the Cowboys and quicker then you can say Ed “Too Tall” Jones, I tossed my Eagles fandom to the wayside and became a die-hard Cowpoke fan. I’m not particularly proud of this fact (though I still blame my parents for not offering better sports team loyalty guidance), but I have maintained my rooting interest in the team over the years, no easy matter considering I have lived in Philadelphia — the epicenter of Dallas Cowboys hatred — since 1996.

I share this with you now because as I write this blog post, I am in a supremely cranky mood. If you follow the National Football League with even just a passing interest, you are no doubt aware that the Cowboys lost an eminently winnable playoff game to the meat-packers from Green Bay just a few hours ago. Part of that loss featured an amazing 4th down catch by Dez Bryant late in the game in which he out-jumped a defender, CAUGHT THE BALL, fell down, stretched out towards the end zone, hit the ball on the ground, bobbled the ball, and then regained possession of the ball. Somehow, this was not considered a catch and the Cowboys lost and now I’m cranky and I’m supposed to write about the different CMEpalooza-related things happening at the Alliance for Continuing Education on the Health Professions’s 40th Annual Conference in…you guessed it…Dallas. I had this whole schtick I was going to do comparing the Cowboys and the Super Bowl and CMEpalooza and the “Super Bowl of CME conferences”, but now I’m not doing it because I’m pouting. I’m still going to write about the CMEpalooza stuff (because I’m rather proud of it), I’m just not going to do any witty football references or Chris Christie jokes along with it.

All that being said, CMEpalooza is going to be well represented at #acehp15. Here are some of the things Scott and I will be involved in this week:

Using Social Media in Medical Education: Are You Utilizing All Your Resources?
Technology Track: Thursday (1/15) Breakouts 10:30 – 11:30 AM
Texas Ballroom D
I (Derek) will be joining Brian McGowan and Alex Djuricich to talk about using social media in medical education (obvs). My role will be to talk about CMEpalooza and the role social media has played in the development and promotion of the program. 

Hanging with Mr. Google (On Air)
Technology Track: Thursday (1/15) Breakouts 1:15 – 2:15 PM
Texas Ballroom D
Hey, this is handy — you don’t even have to leave the room (unless you want lunch, but let’s face it — this is Texas and you’re probably going out for dinner the night before and having a steak the size of Rhode Island, so maybe skipping lunch isn’t such a bad idea, hmmm?) This session isn’t about CMEpalooza per se, but it does demonstrate how Scott and I use Google Hangouts, which is the framework behind CMEpalooza. Scott and I are doing this one together, which I am now regretting since Scott is a lifelong Eagles fan and I may or may not have made a few jokes at their expense in recent emails between the two of us.

ReachMD Lifelong Learning Series
To be honest, I don’t know too much about this, yet, other than that Scott and I are going to be interviewed by the ReachMD folks on Thursday about our Hanging with Mr. Google session. I’m told the interview will be available in multiple formats, including video, so, more details to follow when we know them. Personally, I just want to know where my dressing room will be and who I should deliver my contract rider to (gonna demand a bowl of only green M&M’s).

Besides the above, you can find Scott and I roaming aimlessly around the conference center, so feel free to stop us and ask any questions you may have. We are always happy to talk about CMEpalooza and I promise to be less cranky by then.

Why Sponsoring CMEpalooza Makes Good Business Sense

~ scottkober ~ Leave a comment

When I twisted Derek’s arm last summer to convince him to go after sponsors for our fall event, I had to pretend I was full of confidence. “Of course we’ll get people to sponsor this. We’re cool, we’re hip, we’re trendy, and besides, people like us.” Once I set aside the Stuart Smalley routine (random Saturday Night Live reference), I had to admit the truth. I really didn’t know. The few other people I told about the plan to try to sell sponsorships were dubious, even if they didn’t come right out to say it.

But then one sponsor signed on. And another. And another. We ended up with 10 sponsors and even came up with a few wrinkles along the way to add value to each sponsorship. There was information on our website, regular mentions on social media, and then brief shout-outs prior to the start of each of the live CMEpalooza Fall sessions (still archived for viewing here, by the way).

When we talked to our sponsors after the fall event ended, they all seemed pleased with the value they received. I’m not even sure they knew what to expect, but the traffic we were able to generate to the CMEpalooza website and the eyes and ears we had on our event hopefully meant a valuable trickle down to our sponsors. And it’s not like we were charging a king’s ransom either.

So we’re trying again in 2015, and adding in a few new wrinkles from the get-go. You can check out our Sponsorship prospectus on the Sponsor tab. You can also check out a cool infographic (from infograph-ed) that was produced to illustrate some of the key data points from the fall event.

Derek and I will be trolling the hallways in Dallas, er, Grapevine, during the upcoming ACEHP meeting and we’ll of course be happy to answer any questions about anything CMEpalooza. Derek will be writing in the next few days to whet your appetite for our Thursday afternoon session, Hangin’ with Mr. Google, which will certainly touch on CMEpalooza (along with other things).

But you don’t even have to wait until then if your company is interested in sponsoring CMEpalooza Spring, Fall, or both. You can be a sponsor today by filing out the form at the back of the prospectus. The earlier you sign up, the sooner and the more you’ll be recognized via our various social media channels. Maybe we’ll even create a secret hallway handshake for our early-bird sponsors. Because we’re cool, we’re hip, and… well, you know the rest.