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RE: Wish you were here?

SQLRNNR — Tue, 17 May 2011 11:40:57 GMT

I think that being physically present at these events is better and more valuable than the virtual presence. I'm not saying that a virtual presence is not valuable - because it is worth quite a bit too. But there is a quality to face to face networking and presence in these sessions that can't be gained virtually. The buzz in the room, the networking, the facial expressions (from more than just the presenter), the side chatter during the presentation - all of this contributes to the experience.Being able to meet somebody in person with whom you have only chatted with on twitter, talked to on the phone, or conversed with in the forums is worth the price of admission in many cases. Whether that price is travel to a free sqlsaturday, or the big ticket cost plus travel incurred from PASS Summit - it is well worth it.

RE: Wish you were here?

Jack Corbett — Mon, 16 May 2011 11:45:05 GMT

[quote][b]camassey (5/16/2011)[/b][hr]Thanks, Jack. Sorry I didn't make it out there, but glad you got to meet up with the rest of the gang.Really interesting point about the time-relative value of physical attendance - I hadn't actually considered that, but it makes very good sense. Do you think the networking would be as effective outside of the event context (i.e. without the education)? With this in mind, I'm actually really looking forward to seeing the results from [url=http://thementoringexperiment.org/][b][u]Steve & Andy's mentoring experiment[/u][/b][/url]. Hope you got some good networking done last week![/quote]Networking is harder to do outside of the event context because events are what bring the people you want or need to meet to where you are. I think The Mentoring Experiment will be interesting because it is deeper than networking. To me networking is meeting as many people as possible and then building relationships with people you have already met. For example I met Mike Fal & Edwin Sarmiento (many others as well) for the first time at this event, but had the opportunity to get to know Stacia Misner and Ira Whiteside better because I had met them at other events. The mentoring experiment is more about finding someone that you likely already know to offer guidance in areas in which you are unfamiliar.

RE: Wish you were here?

camassey — Mon, 16 May 2011 10:50:04 GMT

Interesting point. Would you offset that against the rate of consumption? I.e. you can focus on the content at the conference, but you're also trying to digest a huge amount of information. On the other hand, you might get distracted when watch a DVD or attending in some other virtual capacity, but you can also control the pace of information to suite your own abilities. Do you think that makes a difference, or maybe influences [b]which[/b] events you attend in person, or do you think it's not a significant factor?

RE: Wish you were here?

michael.sedlacek 34766 — Mon, 16 May 2011 08:57:13 GMT

Hi, I see the topic from another view: It´s not (like Jack qualified: I´m in the information consumer phase, not in the networking) the being there, it´s more being not in my office. When I´m here I would be interrupted all 5 - 10 minutes and can´t concentrate on the dvd. When I´m at the event I´m physically away and so the problems were addressed to colleagues.That is my point, why I´ll go there.Michael

RE: Wish you were here?

camassey — Mon, 16 May 2011 06:37:51 GMT

Thanks, Jack. Sorry I didn't make it out there, but glad you got to meet up with the rest of the gang.Really interesting point about the time-relative value of physical attendance - I hadn't actually considered that, but it makes very good sense. Do you think the networking would be as effective outside of the event context (i.e. without the education)? With this in mind, I'm actually really looking forward to seeing the results from [url=http://thementoringexperiment.org/][b][u]Steve & Andy's mentoring experiment[/u][/b][/url]. Hope you got some good networking done last week!

RE: Wish you were here?

Jack Corbett — Sat, 14 May 2011 16:08:29 GMT

Good editorial Chris. Missed having you at SQLRally, but it was good to see the rest of the RedGate crew. I think the value of physically being at a conference depends on where you are at in your career. At this point in my career, I get more value out of the networking than the sessions. The sessions are still great, but the relationships and discussions are even better. Five years ago I needed the sessions more and the videos would have been fine because that education would have been more valuable than the networking.

Wish you were here?

camassey — Sat, 14 May 2011 12:02:00 GMT

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