Last week we chatted, this is THAT recap, and no, no, you're not in trouble.
Last week, March 31st, we turned on YouTube and discussed our 2021 and beyond plans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8ZqrwzSDEU. I wanted to take a few minutes to explain our plans further and summarize for those who couldn’t attend.
TL;DR;
THAT Online, a monthly unconference, is kicking off on April 15th. Get your ticket here, and it only costs \$15. THAT Conference 2021 is on! Our new standing time is the last week in July, which is July 26-29th. We launched THAT Membership — a way where we can better support one another all year. https://that.us/membership/pricing
Recapping Our Past Year
2020 was a year full of disruption. As we made our way through April, we quickly realized THAT Conference wasn’t going to happen in August and that our events in the future may never be the same. We could have packed up the tents and waited out the pandemic in hopes things would quickly return to normal, but THAT is more than an event; it’s a solid and passionate community of geeks who during these times demonstrated the true spirit of what community is all about.
Now our story doesn’t stop here, but instead, it kicks off THAT next decade. You see, the pandemic created the opportunity to start creating just THAT, a concept that was a notebook of ideas, sketches, and a vision well before COVID.
This past decade we saw some tremendous changes in tech. Ten years ago, we couldn’t connect with one other as we can today. We’ve set out on a mission to build the best peer-to-peer learning system for the true practitioner. It is a digital-first global platform aimed at connecting geeks with one another while also supporting their communities and the great companies around us.
We want a system that removes restrictions on time, space, and format. One that is simple, open, and can adapt as our industry changes and drives innovation. We want to respect our ability to collaborate with today’s best of breed and today’s tools so that we can all level up together. All of this should happen at any time from anywhere in the world.
THAT debuted on August 3rd, 2020, the day we should have kicked off our 9th year. 860 users registered on the brand new platform bringing this unique mix of presentations and discussions in a deep interactive unconference array of activities.
Since then, we have continued to grow. Every week, we continue to expand the platform’s feature set while doing it all in the open, sharing what we’ve learned along the way. Today THAT has over 1300 Members who’ve hosted over 200 Activities at well over 200 hours. I feel like I keep saying it, but it’s true we’re just getting started. The possibilities are endless, and no pandemic is going to get in the way.
Introducing THAT Online — THAT Event Every Month
Activities on THAT can and do happen at any hour of the day from places stretching across the globe. It is also lovely to get everyone together for something a bit larger. Like a family reunion! Every month we’ll host THAT Online to bring us all back together to recenter and recharge in an unconference array of activities.
Starting April 15th THAT will begin hosting monthly online events bringing our community back together. These events will always be on the 15th of each month. It’s predictable, and some months the event is on a weekday and other months on the weekend. Monthly events are:
- 24 hours long, every time zone: We know you’re busy, and rather than complicate schedules, we’re creating an opportunity to get involved when it works for you regardless of your timezone or schedule.
- Audio or video and even your desktop: Sometimes, all you need is a short conversation, and other times you want to share your screen and dive deep into code. We’re here to support you, your topic in the best way possible.
- Grow your network: THAT is a community, not just an event. Events are a reunion, the platform is here to connect us, and the conversation happens every day, 365 days a year.
- \$15 dollars, that’s all or FREE if you sign up for THAT Membership program.
Introducing THAT Membership
We could create a free platform, but then you become the product. To that, we say no thank you; we’re the product, not you. We’re taking the approach of creating a monetization approach of helping us help you.
Daily usage of THAT.us is free and allows anyone to create and join daily activities. Monthly events cost \$15 per person. For access to all online events and other benefits, we’ve created THAT Membership. THAT Membership is \$150 per year and provides these incredible benefits:
- Access to all online monthly events
- \$50 off 1 THAT Conference Camper ticket
- 10% off at THAT Store
- First access to new platform features
- Help shape future releases
- Special Merit Badge
- You’re helping support future platform growth
- Yearly commitment, automatic renewal
THAT Conference 2021
It’s our 10th year! THAT Conference 2021 at the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells will be back this July 26th -29th! Wait, July, you ask? Isn’t THAT Conference always in August? Historically yes, but this often caused issues with some families who were already going back to school. So we refactored.
It might be our 10th year, but keeping everyone safe is our main priority, and to that end, it will have this year’s THAT Conference looking and flowing a bit differently. Those details are being worked on now, and we will have much more to follow in the weeks ahead.
If you haven’t noticed our schedules, all has been delayed and compacted. We’ve been holding off on planning until we had absolute certainty we could operate this year. Our website will finally get those needed updates, so it’s not such a hot mess.
Questions we know you have:
- The call for speakers will be open in the next couple of weeks.
- Tickets will go on sale in the next couple of weeks.
- Room blocks will open when tickets go on sale.
- We need your support. If you’re interested in sponsoring, please contact us at https://that.us/sponsorships/apply/#prospectus; this even includes that.us.
Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your support. Thank you for being such a great community of amazing people who support one another every day. This year will be the start of a new decade of THAT.
We are looking forward to all of THAT to come.
THAT Crew