First off, have you heard that there is going to be an ArchiCAD User Conference on October 15-16, 2013 in San Diego, CA. For a good overview of what’s going to be happening read this blog post over at BIM Engine. Or go to the official registration page and view the tentative agenda. If you haven’t heard about this event yet, I have a quick question. How do you get your Graphisoft and ArchiCAD news? E-mail, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, me? Or maybe smoke signals and carrier pigeons? The first five options are all good. But getting your news from two or more sources is probably best. If you haven’t heard about it, maybe it’s time to pester your local reseller and ask them why they haven’t told you about it yet.

Ten Reason you need to attend the Graphisoft North America User Conference.

1. ArchiCAD event + San Diego = vacation. I mean Business Expense. Definitely 100% business. The whole time. No fun can be had at a bay side hotel on Coronado Island. Or on a Dinner Cruise. Yeah a Dinner Cruise just sounds like work, work, work. Learn, learn, learn. #nofun.

2. All but two sessions give you AIA CES credits. No need to worry that you’ll go to an interesting seminar but not get credit for it. That’s 9 hours of credits. And don’t CES credits count towards IDP now too? They do.

3. Keynote by Graphisoft CEO, Viktor Varkonyi. When you come to the conference not only will you hear what Viktor has to say (I’ve heard great things about Viktor sharing his vision for ArchiCAD), I have a feeling you’ll have a chance (if you want) to have Viktor hear what YOU have to say about ArchiCAD.

4. Graphisoft North America’s Product Manager will introduce you to GDL.

5. ArchiCAD Vets and Heroes Monte Chapin, Ransom Ratcliff, and Russ Sanders will share their wisdom.

6. Jonathan Segal.

7. I’ll be there, as will most of the GSNA team. Are you prepared to see how much I look like Scott Baio? Want to put a face to the Tech Support Team? How about meet the head of Graphisoft North America? Or all the other great people who are working hard to grow ArchiCAD in our region? I’d wager that there will be a few people flying in from Budapest along with Viktor as well. During my adventures over the last year I’ve gotten to meet a lot of the GSNA team and they are all just great people. I’m excited to hang out with all of them some more. Seriously. That and I owe Charlie a drink.

8. Social Media for Architects. What’s that got to do with ArchiCAD? Plenty. Social Media is about more than just broadcasting. It’s also about listening, learning, sharing, conversation, and community. Have you ever asked a question on Twitter about ArchiCAD? I have. But I’ve also ANSWERED more than I can remember. I could talk on and on about this subject: how one can grow a business, find new and bizarre opportunities, exchange ideas… I’ll stop. For now. But you know, look at the agenda and connect some dots.

9. The Europeans have been hosting awesome ArchiCAD User events for years. It’s not fair that they have all the fun. Note this conference is open to anyone. Want to cross the Pacific or Atlantic and join us? Do it!

10. As a community, ArchiCAD users in North America need this. We need to be able to point to this event and say “see we have big user conferences too.” We need more opportunities to meet each other, strengthen bonds, find potential business partners, share our experiences and knowledge… We can get this locally with user groups, but we need something bigger. We need annual large gatherings; events that cater to our needs and evolve into the ideal venues for making us better architects. And this is the biggest reason why we all need to attend. If this event goes well you can bet there will be a Graphisoft North America User Conference 2014. But what if attendance is poor? If we don’t support Graphisoft in their desire to support us? Maybe GSNA will try again. Maybe not. Maybe it won’t be for another decade. We need this to become an annual event. YOU need this to be an annual event. Sure it’s an expense (a deductible business expense), but it’s a huge opportunity. There is so much potential in this event. Don’t let fear and excuses keep you from attending. Because let’s be honest. If this event is as great as it should be, we all are rewarded, even those who can’t make it. And if it fails… it’s our own fault. Is that harsh? Sure. But is it true? Definitely. We all want more opportunities to learn and strengthen ArchiCAD. And this is a pretty awesome one. See you in San Diego!

What Are You Waiting For? Tell All Your Coworkers and Bosses and Friends.

It’s time to Register for the Graphisoft North America User Conference 2013!
(did I mention that there are discounted rates through August 31st September 18th? I didn’t.)

When you sign up for the conference, why not add ‘Jared convinced me to attend’ under ‘Any special requirements’? I don’t get anything if you do; but I bet it’d make a few people smile, especially me. To tie this back to the beginning of the post, a great way to stay current on all things Graphisoft and ArchiCAD is to subscribe to my blog… so follow Shoegnome on Facebook, Twitter, and sign up for the RSS feed.