If you’ve been on the Twittersphere over the last 24 hours you may now be aware that one of the bigger networking events in our industry has now been cancelled.
This is the message you will find if you go to the GlassTalk website:
It is with regret that the organisers of GlassTalk 2012 are annoucning today that GlassTalk 2012 will not be going ahead. Due to the incredible popularity and success of the FIT Show, GlassTalk 2012 has been somewhat overshadowed. As a result we have not received as many bookings as we would like in order to run a successful networking event. We had a fantastic line up of speakers and a good number of delegates from various backgrounds from within the industry, however we would not like to run an event without the numbers of attendees that we have had in previous years.
After discussions yesterday with organisers of the FIT Show, GlassTalk and the FIT Show have agreed to join forces rather than go head to head. ‘On The Couch’ GlassTalk presentations and discussions will be run during the FIT Show in lieu of a standalone GlassTalk event this year.
All those who have registered to attend the event will be refunded immediately with funds reaching you early next week.
From all of the GlassTalk team we would like to thank you for your support of the event and hope to see you at the FIT Show in March. We do apologise for any inconvenience cancelling the event may cause at this late stage.
If you have any questions, please contact Joanna on enquiries@glasstalk.co.uk.
It is a shame that a new event like this, which had been gaining traction over the last few years has had to be shelved. Whether it will continue after the FIT Show is another question. My gut feeling is no. To be honest, I’m not totally surprised that it came to this. There had been very little buzz on Twitter unlike previous events. Not much was said about it and not many showed interest in going. I think that expense might have played a part with some possible guests too. A party of two staying over night would have cost around £500. Why pay that when you can go to the FIT Show in April for free?
It was also the FIT Show that got in the way. The exhibition is clearly a project that needs total dedication from everyone involved to make sure it works. Trying to run and organise another networking event on the side and smaller scale would have been a big ask. To be frank, I think the organisers have done the right thing and cancelled the event and amalgamated it into the FIT Show. That way features like the ‘On The Couch’ sessions will actually gain more exposure and hopefully be more productive that way.
Still, it is a shame it has gone as I would have liked to have gone to one. I never had the time when it came to previous events, and I do wish I had made time as feedback from the events had been very positive.
For those who had booked to go to the event, full refunds are being organised now.