I'm an integrator. I have been to the Pelco University and had my plane ticket, hotel and meals covered. I have and likely will continue to attend manufacturer parties, social hours, receptions whatever you want to call them. I will host receptions and social hours for my customers and potential customers. As stated repeatedly in this and other threads, wining and dining is a product of salesmanship. No one thinks those things are designed for anything other than influencing purchases. That pitch may come in the form of “educational" seminars and as a thank you for spending your valuable time with us, here is some food, drink, entertainment, ect. Please don’t demean yourself with clear embellishments or justifications of the “grueling 8-10 hours of training”. Grueling 8-10+ hours of training is for the techs who actually make these systems work such as the old Pelco University Digital Sentry certifications, (those attendees were always sweating those test) Bosch BVMS certifications, a network cert or even an actual IPVM course. Those courses all are actually grueling, not any fluff marketing seminar/roadshow/reception event which is specifically what John was addressing.
Good for you, you have built up long term relations ships and have customers who trust you, we all strive for that. And good for you that you try to stay current with products and technology. While you have obviously taken umbrage at the insinuation that these type of events could affect you and may attach some stigma to someone who is supposed to do an independent spec, you certainly can’t be naive enough to think it isn’t worthy of a conversation. Don’t get on your high horse and start this sort of crusade on behalf of all independent consultants that there is nothing to see here and everyone should move on. Sure, John’s “shock jock” style as some have called it gets on my nerves, but still the underlying point is valid. <INSERT MANUFACTURER NAME HERE> pays to influence people to spec, and thereby create purchases of their products. The issue isn’t that these events exist. I think John has stated and I agree with the point, it is who attends them that is an important distinction.
While you and likely many others see these events for what they are you can still choose to attend if you think it provides you and thereby your clients with a benefit that outweigh any question of impropriety. If that benefit is a free meal for you then great I suppose. Maybe it is the opportunity to network with other like-minded individuals. Or perhaps it is a an understanding of a specific manufacturers product capabilities, as presented by a not impartial party. I personally will take a shootout by IPVM over a manufactures pitch, but I will attended/read both. The distinction is I don’t pass myself off as independent consultant (and for all I know neither do you).
You’ve made it clear that you find no value to this conversation and in many of the offerings of the site and as such are canceling your membership. That is indeed the best way to voice your disapproval. I may think it is a loss to have fewer voices in the conversation. The fact that you feel the need to demonstrate that lack of value to your boss probably says more about you than IPVM but that is just my opinion. Johns style may make the conversation harder, and letting it become personal aggravates it. But seriously do you think the topic doesn’t bring up some potential conflict of interest concerns specifically for A&E’s? No one’s saying you have to, I would just be surprised if that really were the case and I move on.