Freedom Fest Wrapup
The Free State Project returned to Freedom Fest last weekend in Las Vegas. The event was an impressive collection of speakers with several different tracks including a large gathering of Campaign For Liberty activists. I don't know what the total attendance was, but I think over 1,500 attended Freedom Fest itself, and hundreds (or thousands?) more came just for the Campaign For Liberty part.
The Free State Project decided to return to Freedom Fest with an expanded mission. We were not primarily looking to recruit new participants on the spot, though we did manage to do that. We thought it would be a good venue to make contacts with people who might be able to help out in other ways. We had in mind seeking out potential donors, event speakers, influential people who might say nice things about us, and so on. In those areas, I'd say we had at least some success.
I continue to be surprised that so many people apparently well connected to the libertarian community are still unaware of the Free State Project. Most of those who heard about us for the first time reacted very positively, especially when presented with the latest progress on the project. Some were in need of an update and most of them were surprised and impressed with how far we've come. The most negative comments we got all weekend were along the lines of "good luck with that." Thank you. So far the luck's been relatively good.
While we didn't turn up any giant donations on the spot, several people capable of making such donations heard about us for the first time. The overall response was positive, though I wish we had more time with some of them to present a bit more about where we're at now. Follow up...
Two areas that seem quite successful were encouraging publication or promotion about the Free State Project and speaking with prospective speakers for the 2010 New Hampshire Liberty Forum. Several people with media outlets (news, magazines, etc.) indicated an interest in writing about the Free State Project or even having people from the Free State Project write for them. It's hard to put a price tag on all that, but I think we will have gotten our money's worth in the long run if we follow up.
Saturday evening, several of us went to see the Penn & Teller show. They're outspoken libertarians and have a very entertaining magic and comedy show. Of course, they might object to it being called magic, but most people would understand it that way. Penn quite strongly endorsed the Free State Project recently and I thought it would be nice to stop by and thank him for that. He was very happy to see us there, passed on his greetings, and reiterated his support for the Free State Project.
V-
The Free State Project decided to return to Freedom Fest with an expanded mission. We were not primarily looking to recruit new participants on the spot, though we did manage to do that. We thought it would be a good venue to make contacts with people who might be able to help out in other ways. We had in mind seeking out potential donors, event speakers, influential people who might say nice things about us, and so on. In those areas, I'd say we had at least some success.
I continue to be surprised that so many people apparently well connected to the libertarian community are still unaware of the Free State Project. Most of those who heard about us for the first time reacted very positively, especially when presented with the latest progress on the project. Some were in need of an update and most of them were surprised and impressed with how far we've come. The most negative comments we got all weekend were along the lines of "good luck with that." Thank you. So far the luck's been relatively good.
While we didn't turn up any giant donations on the spot, several people capable of making such donations heard about us for the first time. The overall response was positive, though I wish we had more time with some of them to present a bit more about where we're at now. Follow up...
Two areas that seem quite successful were encouraging publication or promotion about the Free State Project and speaking with prospective speakers for the 2010 New Hampshire Liberty Forum. Several people with media outlets (news, magazines, etc.) indicated an interest in writing about the Free State Project or even having people from the Free State Project write for them. It's hard to put a price tag on all that, but I think we will have gotten our money's worth in the long run if we follow up.
Saturday evening, several of us went to see the Penn & Teller show. They're outspoken libertarians and have a very entertaining magic and comedy show. Of course, they might object to it being called magic, but most people would understand it that way. Penn quite strongly endorsed the Free State Project recently and I thought it would be nice to stop by and thank him for that. He was very happy to see us there, passed on his greetings, and reiterated his support for the Free State Project.
V-