AU is such a huge event that first-time attendees can get overwhelmed. Thankfully, the Freshman Orientation, which was such a success in its previous 2 years, returned to help newbies get the most from the conference. More than 76% of those who attended this session were first-timers. Thank you, mentors! A hearty thank you to those who signed up to be mentors at each of the tables. They played an important role in making attendees feel welcome by answering questions and getting all of them started on networking with other attendees. READ MORE >

This afternoon, AU attendees enthusiastically turned out to help create a better world by helping to build hygiene kits created from recycled guest room amenities for the local community in need. In partnership with Clean the World and Three Square, AU is hosting this event on-site for the first time. Clean the World brought supplies for 2200 kits and before even 2 hours had passed, AU attendees assembled more than half of the kits. Have you stopped by yet? If not, you still have until 5:00 to get down to the Sands Lower Lobby, Level 1. Here’s a few photos from the event: BEFORE AFTER... READ MORE >

While many of you were on planes traveling to Las Vegas for AU 2013, the CAVE Conference was already gearing up for the week. This preconference, featuring artists, designers, and storytellers, explores and celebrates the fundamental spirit that traverses these creative domains and disciplines. The event opening welcomed attendees at the CAVE Exhibit Hall which featured lots of hands-on activities, an art gallery of projects, and even a wandering astronaut.  Here’s a few photos: READ MORE >

Many of you are probably en route to Las Vegas at this point, ready for your exciting AU adventure. Nevertheless, I want to make sure that you know we still have some seats available in several interesting classes, many taught by some of our most popular speakers, including Lynn Allen, Jay Tedeschi, Kate Morrical, and last year’s winner of the Speaker Newbie award, Susan Murtaugh. Some of you asked us to add repeat classes and thanks to some of our speakers, we were able to oblige. We also added some classes on topics that we might have overlooked when we first set up our AU 2013 catalog. T... READ MORE >

AU 2013 is hosting dozens of today’s top innovators and progressive thinkers and you’ll have the opportunity to meet them at any number of sessions and networking events. One of those visionaries is Stephen Ambrose, Asius Technologies CEO. Since the 1970s, Stephen has protected hundreds of thousands of musicians from hearing loss on stage. Now he wants to do that for the rest of the world. Oh, and while he's at it, he’s created a new source of electrical energy. READ MORE >