Anyone having a good experience with the EventCadence app?

(10-26-2020 02:27 PM)grol Wrote:  Anyone having a good experience with the EventCadence app?

I just tuned in to a very interesting talk by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine '98.

But no, I can't say I've had a particularly good experience with Cadence.

I was surprised that it took so many clicks/pages/different sign-ins to finally get to the Homecoming schedule from the alumni homepage.

I'm using Cadence only on my laptop ... not the app on my phone. After I signed up for the events I thought I might like to attend, I got a message from Cadence saying that they'd noticed some time conflicts that I should resolve. LOL!! I knew what I was doing and wanted to be able to move from event to event -- perhaps leaving early and/or joining late ... without re-registering. I guess that recognition of that must have been very difficult from the Cadence folks to program. (There was not "No thanks; it's fine" option ... so I just deleted the message.)

Today, once I got to the "My schedule" page, all went well. And I liked the events I attended.

I hope Rice didn't pay much for the Cadence app (or whatever support they were supposed to provide), at least based on my experience so far. As George knows, the Wiess Tabletop event was a mess. In addition to the technical issues of the actual video, the app itself (at least on my laptop using Chrome) was extremely unfriendly. There was not even an opportunity to chat with the other folks that were trying to watch the video - the only info I got was from the Wiess alum FB group.

Hopefully the Class of '90 event on Friday will go better, although I am not too sure about a Zoom event with more than 50 participants either. I have not used Sidebar yet, which is the software for the "mingling" event, but it looks promising.

I know the whole thing has been a challenge and they have tried hard to put on an event to help get us together (well, to make money for Rice) but it has been disappointing so far.

And yes, if asked for feedback from those putting this together, I will provide it.

(10-28-2020 06:48 PM)earldrake Wrote:  I hope Rice didn't pay much for the Cadence app (or whatever support they were supposed to provide), at least based on my experience so far. As George knows, the Wiess Tabletop event was a mess. In addition to the technical issues of the actual video, the app itself (at least on my laptop using Chrome) was extremely unfriendly. There was not even an opportunity to chat with the other folks that were trying to watch the video - the only info I got was from the Wiess alum FB group.

Hopefully the Class of '90 event on Friday will go better, although I am not too sure about a Zoom event with more than 50 participants either. I have not used Sidebar yet, which is the software for the "mingling" event, but it looks promising.

I know the whole thing has been a challenge and they have tried hard to put on an event to help get us together (well, to make money for Rice) but it has been disappointing so far.

And yes, if asked for feedback from those putting this together, I will provide it.

I can empathize. We lost our 40th B-school reunion this past June. The school was pushing for a zoom event and we collectively told them to screw it. We'll get together on our own once the virus in under control. It's one thing to have a zoom meeting with 10 - 15 folks actively participating. Zoom also works well for up to 30 people when there's only one person leading the discussion at a time. However, how the heck to you get any value out of reunion with 50 - 100 people on zoom?

(10-28-2020 06:48 PM)earldrake Wrote:  I have not used Sidebar yet, which is the software for the "mingling" event, but it looks promising.

Good luck!!

I missed about half of the regional alumni activity this morning because all I saw were black boxes and people's names, and their flickering yellow borders when that person talked. The folks in the rooms could see and hear me, but I saw and heard nothing!

After logging off and on a couple of times, the Sidebar tech person there asked if I was using Chrome (which was recommended) and I was. "Did I have Firefox?" Not for many years. But I do have Edge, which I rarely use. "Then try that." I did, and then it worked fine. Very strange.

So if you have a problem, switch browsers until you find one that works.

That being said, I thought I saw that you could create your own "room" ... and folks could join you there. So it might be possible (preferable?) to have many few-person rooms through which one can visit ... or like sitting at a table, see who comes by to visit with you.

It's surely not an ideal 50th Anny Reunion for my class ... but I'm looking forward to enjoying whatever transpires.

(10-28-2020 06:48 PM)earldrake Wrote:  I know the whole thing has been a challenge and they have tried hard to put on an event to help get us together (well, to make money for Rice) but it has been disappointing so far.

I've been VERY impressed with the quality of the talks (Bridenstine, Brains in a Bar, Vaccine roommates) and student project presenters (Rice 360, OEDK, D2K etc.).

I also appreciate being able to see so much from my home. The usual Homecoming has tons of great events that often conflict with each other. This more-spread-out week of activities has enabled me to enjoy more of it.

Only 13 got on the 1975 reunion so I was not a real reunion. Might go to the 1976 next year if it is in person. Virtual reunions just do not work. Missed most of the time due to the difficulty of signing on.