Two weeks from today, I will head to San Diego, for the SHRM 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition. Beyond the usual conference fanfare, I have attended the conference for a variety of reasons (serving on SHRM volunteer committees, serving as a judge for as well as having teams compete and win the SHRM HRGames national championship in 2003, winning a national award). This year, I have the honor of serving as one of the inaugural members of the SHRM Blog Squad, or as I like to call it, the "Blog Force Five." To paraphrase Tarantino..."Blog...as in we're a bunch of bloggers. Force, as we're a force to be reckoned with. Five, as in there's one...two..three...four...five of us."

The 2010 Blog Squad is:

1) David Bowles, Ph.D., co-author of Employee Morale: Driving Performance in Challenging Times and blogger at Morale at Work.

2) Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR, HR professional, television host of “Job Search Secrets,” author of Tweet This! Twitter for Business, and blogger at Blogging4Jobs.

3) Rachel Salley, SPHR, an HR consultant and blogger with Musings From the Career Anarchist.

4) Matthew Stollak, Ph.D., SPHR, assistant professor of business administration at St. Norbert College and blogger at True Faith HR.

5) April Dowling, SPHR, HR Generalist, active member of the Birmingham SHRM Chapter and blogger at PseudoHR.

In the spirit of Spinal Tap's noted auteur, Marty DiBergi, we hope to capture...the sights, the sounds...the smells....of the 2010 Annual SHRM Conference. We hope to get that...and a lot more. But, hey, enough of my yakkin'....

So, what do you all want to read about from the conference? What stories do you want to hear about? Here are some of the initial blog ideas I hope to bring you (and secure before my fellow blog squad members take them):

1. Behind the scenes of the student conference - Every Saturday, SHRM Student Programs puts on a mini-conference for students and student chapter advisors. Guest speakers include Alan Collins and Laurie Ruettimann. What went on behind the scenes? What does the Future of HR look like?
   
2. Attending the SHRM Annual Conference as a student. What does a student expect to capture from his or her attendance? What did he or she think about the experience? What did he or she think about the exhibit hall? Was he or she treated well by fellow HR professionals? Exhibitors?
   
3. The Exhibit Hall - what were the best and worst displays? What were the best and worst freebies? Will Monster.com once again bring the biggest menace to the exhibit hall experience...the rollerbag!?!?
4. Does any one really win at the exhibit hall? By now, many are receiving conference pamphlets from vendors requesting that they stop by a vendor's booth for a chance to win an iPod, Garmin, TomTom, iPad, gift card, etc. This will be my 10th SHRM Annual Conference, and int he previous 9 years I've won bupkus. Do people really win the prizes advertised?
5. The Monday night party scene - Monday night at SHRM Annual is usually the big vendor party night. Monster, CareerBuilder, HotJobs, Jobing, and others throw a big bash for attendees. I will try to give you the behind the scenes scoop and gossip from at least two of the events - The SHRM10 TweetUp and the Badger Bash (sponsored by the WISHRM state council).

6. The San Diego scene. I hope to go to the San Diego Zoo for the Panda Watch as well as Tino's to drink three fingers of Glenlivet with a little bit of pepper and some cheese, and catch Ron Burgundy on the yazz flute.

7. Hall & Oates...Really? As the three readers of my blog know, I was not a fan of this option and blogged about it here. I hope to interview those perpetrators responsible and find out how SHRM actually chooses the Tuesday night entertainment, and what can be done to bring an artist that is actually relevant in the 21st century.

What do you want to read about?

What do the following have in common?

1. Jay Leno
   
2. Sinbad
3. Wayne Brady
4. A trip to Epcot
5. The Doobie Brothers
6. Hall & Oates
7. Gladys Knight
8. Michael McDonald
9. Lionel Richie
10. Sheryl Crow

A bad road trip? A radio station gone awry? Several posts from "Stuff White People Like?" No...its been the Tuesday night entertainment at the SHRM Annual Conference for the last 10 years.

As someone who has served on our state HR conference planning committee for 4 years (including one stint as Conference Co-Chair), I know the difficulty of finding suitable entertainment. You want to find someone who will serve as an attraction to individuals thinking of attending your conference so it might serve as the tipping point in making the commitment. At the same time, you do not want to alienate any segment of your audience (comedians are a particularly tough call since humor is so subjective. In my co-chair role, we went with the BoDeans).

So, who does SHRM go with in 2010? Hall & Oates! Really? Hall & Oates? Again?!!?!?

Are they inoffensive? Yes. Have they had a number of hit songs? I suppose. Were they the highest rated Tuesday night entertainment show in SHRM history? According to China Miner Gorman, Chief Global Member Engagement Officer at SHRM, yes. Would it be painful to see them once? Probably not. But, to bring them back again after having played so recently...too much to ask. Its not that I don't want to see Hall & Oates....its that I do not want to see Hall & Oates AGAIN.

Are you telling me that are not other musical groups out there who might also be highly rated that could have been chosen? One could go to iTunes and find thousands upon thousands of artists, and SHRM went with one that has already played in the past 6 years. Even if we eliminate 98% of those artists due to fit (somehow I don't see the SHRM demographic singing "Ace of Spades" along with Lemmy of Motorhead), there aren't other groups who haven't played the SHRM circuit that would be enjoyable to see?

If we are going with the 70s/cheesy 80s vibe, why not....

1. Pet Shop Boys. Hall & Oates instead of the Pet Shop Boys? What Have I Done to Deserve This? Given they were touring the U.S. this spring, It's a Sin they weren't chosen.
2. Morrissey. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now that the Smiths frontman wasn't chosen
3. Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time she has been shown to be a classic\
4. ZZ Top - there is a group with Legs.
5. Cheap Trick - I Surrender. I want SHRM to want them.
6. Duran Duran - Is There Something I Should Know about why they weren't picked?
7. Styx - Who wouldn't want to see Lon O'Neill sing along to Mr. Roboto.

If you had the choice, who would you have preferred to see as the Tuesday night entertainment at the SHRM Annual Conference?