A fine time was had by all; an enthusiastic mix of members from both chapters attended this educational event held in the inviting atmosphere of the Borgata Hotel/Casino in Atlantic City.

We had a strong line-up of speakers including Paul Hockenbury from Comcast, who spoke of tight research budgets, the Comcast community panel for internal work, and the fact that seniors are the largest group adapting high speed data, but  in TV  rating polls people over 50 don't count. Lisa Peskin from Business Development University  gave us strong tips on  how to maximize opportunities with our clients, and Wes Osborn from Unisys  explained the trials and tribulations of budget cuts for research, along with the downsizing of his staff from 17 employees down to two. The highlight of the first day in my opinion, was Jonathan Kay from Penn Scheoen Berland with an enlightening look into the potential of the use of technology to promote health care issues and the use of cell phones as the medium for transfer of information, utilizing mobile diaries or sending information such as glucose levels; exercise and diet information, perhaps even photos of skin rashes to be used in diagnosing an illness without an office visit. The major stumbling block for the advancement of this methodology is  as expected; insurance companies and how do we reimburse physicians, as they will not be seeing as many patients in office; possibly an end to the medical insurance structure as we know it?

The  day  ended with a pleasant networking opportunity at the  cocktail party, and then for  many, a chance to explore the casino or the one of the many fine restaurants available in the hotel.

The second day speakers were equally as engaging as the first day starting with  Peter Johnson  from m-Lightenment with a riveting speech demonstrating in detail how  the use of mobile devices for real time data collection could expand the possibilities of collecting information from virtually anywhere on the planet through the use of smart phones. Bill Viereck followed with a look into the research process at QVC, the success of products through using all available tools to make sense of what is selling or not selling, and why. Research might not be just a snapshot of a market, rather it is a video.

Greg DePalma from TiVo concluded the session with "The 30 Second TV Ad is Dead" because of the use of DVR recording of television shows; no one watches the ads, further stating that 40% of households have a DVR. He went on to explain how those who have TiVo provide a wealth of information because their TV viewing habits can be tracked, and advertisers need to target their markets more appropriately in order to broadcast effectively.

Following the raffle, a boxed lunch was served and it was time to adieu to all of our colleagues, until next time.