Why Attend

"I enjoy coming to UNLEASH because I like to see how other people are using the Mediasite system, particularly people who are for profit. Somebody is making money using this device and that's extremely important in terms of innovation. So I enjoy coming here to listen to their stories and to share how we use it a little differently."

Peter Gorton
Faegre & Benson

"I love UNLEASH for a lot of reasons. One of them is actually because it's held in Madison instead of a larger city. I think this actually helps the community get closer; it gives a more personal feeling to the conference. UNLEASH is much more about discussing the community, making users interact and have the opportunity to see what each other is doing instead of featuring how cool our product is. We all know how cool it is."

Helder Conde
Atitude Digital Media

"I am loving UNLEASH, 2009 is the best one yet. Every year I wonder how you guys are going to top the year before. The sessions are phenomenal. I'm enjoying all the activities, the sessions, a lot of good information, a lot of good support. I always look forward to coming here every year."

Jeff Baxter
Memphis City Schools

"We love coming to the conferences. Several from our department come with me and we learn a lot every time we come and look forward to learning more every year."

Kathryn Fields
State of Wisconsin Employee Trust Funds

"I think it's just fantastic. To meet not only the Sonic Foundry crew, but also all these people who have their hearts in education, and their hearts with the students to make all of these things available, and all with totally different projects, is so nice. It's great to meet and exchange ideas."

Leon Huijbers
Technical University of Delft

"My expectations are to see where Sonic Foundry's going to take Mediasite into the future, and based on what I've heard in the short time that we've been here, it sounds extremely exciting."

Patrick Kelly
Prudential Retirement

"Excellent networking opportunities. We've only been here a day, but I've met some of the leading practitioners in distance learning capabilities globally. I'm looking forward to not having to reinvent the wheel and to learn from them."

Sean Faughnan
Oxford University

"I like UNLEASH for the fact that you can actually see what's going on in different settings. How other people are using it and you might actually be able to get some ideas for our own to use in our current position."

Tim Anderson
University of Minnesota

"UNLEASH has been really fantastic. It's a place for everyone to get together, collaborate, work on, see what other people are doing, and really that is the important part of a conference like this. Seeing what others are doing and helping to create each other's next goal keeps us moving the ball forward together."

Sean O'Donnell
Villanova University

"I just want to come here and speak with other people, really get one on one with the guys at Mediasite to get a further understanding of how the product has evolved and where it is going."

Michael Chop
Cadence Design Systems

"I'm not a conference type of guy. Last year I was forced to come to UNLEASH but I came back with so many ideas. This year I came for the workshops and next year hopefully I'm going to be able to bring people from my shop instead of just me and my supervisor. It's a very, very productive time. We've been talking a lot about ROI and I see a big ROI for coming to this, plus Madison is a cool place to come."

Bill Massengill
Bellevue University

"This is the third time I've been here and what I really enjoy about UNLEASH is the information that is given both by the Mediasite personnel and also the end users — specifically the end-users because you get real live stories. You also get to meet a lot of people who are in your same business, who you can share ideas with and who can share ideas with you. So you always come back revved up and ready to go for another year."

Larry Doele
Michigan Public Health Institute 

"UNLEASH is critical to our development, being able to see what the next step is, and making sure that what we're doing is along the same path. I like the chance to see not just what Monty's planning, but what other people are doing. So coming here and being able to talk to other people who are actually using the same product, doing the same things, having the same potential challenges, that's really valuable to me. And also the networking that's able to be done from this, being able to talk to other people, connecting what we're doing and carrying on those links is fantastic."

Mark Dashper
Te Manu Aute, University of Auckland 

"This is my third time here at UNLEASH. In fact the first year I attended UNLEASH we didn't have the equipment in our hands yet, I was a user without having used the equipment. I got a lot of good insight from that first year, which has enabled me to take that knowledge back and develop our specific content and programming. This year I keep hearing more and more neat things that they're doing. I like the move to the social media, I think that's a very in way to look at things, but I'm still just in awe over 5.0, so I'll keep playing with that for the next little while."

Todd Hutchings
Ontario Hospital Association

"Madison is just so cool and this facility, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is so neat. I've been very impressed with the facilities and again the accessibility of the Sonic Foundry people. The event today that I went to with the Chief Technology Officer, Monty Schmidt, I've never seen that amount of give and take with a large audience. I've never seen that kind of cozy atmosphere. Plus, I think it's very smart for you to make this a blended conference, to allow people to watch and participate at a distance. I know that many universities are under a travel freeze right now, and they had to have special dispensation to travel here and attend in person. So the fact that you have opened it up so that you can be present without being present, is not only green, it's not only economically smart, it's also the right thing to do."

David R. Feeney

"I love UNLEASH. I love the conference. I like to come up here because it gives me exposure to things I didn't know I didn't know. So never underestimate the importance of belly-to-belly time with people, because they give you a fresh perspective, they give you different answers to different questions you thought you already had an answer to."

Larry Combs
Center for Rural Development

"UNLEASH is a great opportunity. In the workshops, it's a wonderful learning experience. We were actually able to have hands-on experience with the recorders and gained great knowledge from that. It's also a great experience to hear what other universities are doing and to come away with many ideas."

Laura Stephenson
North Carolina State University

"I've enjoyed meeting other people that are using Mediasite, looking at different applications, so that it gives you new ideas to go off and practice in your own environment, not to mention the wonderful food and the staff that's been very supportive."

James Craig
University of Maryland Dental School

"What amazes me about UNLEASH is that top to bottom Sonic Foundry is here. You have the CTO, you have the CEO who are here rubbing elbows with all the users... It is interesting to me to see the interaction between users and how interested the Sonic Foundry staff is in what the users have to say."

Bob Hillhouse
University of Tennessee

"I'm thrilled to be here because I've looked at all the sessions, and I'm actually torn between a couple of them because I'd like to go to both. I'm really happy to hear they are being recorded, and I can actually see both. I'm very excited to go talk to some of the gurus at the table in terms of asking some specific questions that I have and that our group I think would benefit from knowing the answers to."

Jane McKenzie-White
Johns Hopkins University

"We have seen the evolution of Mediasite from version to version, and one of the benefits of that is its not only the product but also the relationship we have made with all of you at Sonic Foundry. To be able to be here and spend a little bit more time face to face is a great opportunity for us. I'm glad that you put this on. I know it is not an easy undertaking, but I think on behalf of all of us that we definitely have to thank you guys."

Octavio Heredia
Arizona State University