Live On Stage AND On Your Screen

  • Comments posted to this topic are about the item Live On Stage AND On Your Screen

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • Grant, I am so pleased you've asking this question! In previous jobs I had the opportunity to attend lots of in-person conferences. In my current job, I was only able to attend one. And I was, to my knowledge, the first person in decades to be allowed to attend a conference.

    However, the pandemic made it possible to many of my colleagues, who've never attended any conference in their career, to do so. One of the best benefits of the COVID induced quarantine.

    So far, I've attended two Microsoft Ignite conferences virtually, and one Microsoft Build conference, virtually. I have loved doing them both!!!

    The one aspect that really is missing, in a virtual event, is that in-between times. When I attended the Microsoft Ignite event in 2019, I had many opportunities to talk with people, but during lunch breaks and other such breaks. During both the MS Ignite and Build virtual events, I had time to meet with a Microsoft expert on a topic (normally some programming issue or with using some Microsoft product), which was great, and I benefited from those opportunities. There were also chances to meet with vendors, which I didn't take advantage of. But what was no possible, in either the MS Ignite or Build virtual conferences, was a chance to talk to someone (who wasn't a Microsoft employee or a vendor) to learn how they solved an issue we were dealing with at work. I found that to be very valuable. I remember during a lunch break at the Ignite 2019 conference, striking up a discussion with a couple of guys who I learned worked in a similar environment to me, that had dealt with an issue we were having with Azure SQL. I took that information back to work and told the head DBA, so he could implement it. That saved us a LOT!! That kind of interaction I've not seen anywhere in a virtual conference I've been able to attend. Or if they were there, it wasn't easily discoverable, because I never found it.

    I've no idea how you might be able to do such a thing, but I would be willing to help you and others brainstorm possible solutions.

    Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.

  • Thanks Rod. Yeah, you've hit the nail on the head. While I found the hybrid model put together by the conference to work pretty well. It still didn't get the interactions that we had in the hallways of the venue. Others have tried. There have been game nights & other stuff like that arranged virtually at last year's PASS Summit. This year similar, but different, things will be tried again. Because, you're right, that direct personal interaction between people, outside of sessions or sanctioned comms, that's one of the biggest things at these events.

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • I have to admit that I miss in-person events because, as good as they can be, discussions even on things like teams still don't have the "feel" and "serendipity" of a discussion as when you're in-person.  Of course, the really cool part of online discussions is you can get out of a bad one with the click of the mouse and even blame it on a bad connection or the "damned site software". 😀

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • Grant Fritchey wrote:

    Thanks Rod. Yeah, you've hit the nail on the head. While I found the hybrid model put together by the conference to work pretty well. It still didn't get the interactions that we had in the hallways of the venue. Others have tried. There have been game nights & other stuff like that arranged virtually at last year's PASS Summit. This year similar, but different, things will be tried again. Because, you're right, that direct personal interaction between people, outside of sessions or sanctioned comms, that's one of the biggest things at these events.

    Maybe it would be possible for the virtual event software to incorporate something like MS Teams and Zoom have for having a private chat with someone during a meeting. (I forget what it's called, as we don't use either at work. What we do use doesn't offer the feature I'm thinking of). I don't know, neither may fit the bill anyway, but since we don't use either MS Teams or Zoom, I can't say, I don't have the experience. I get the feeling that with both Teams and Zoom, the breakout chat/meeting is dependent upon the large meeting. If so, then what I'm proposing doesn't work.

    Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.

  • Jeff Moden wrote:

    I have to admit that I miss in-person events because, as good as they can be, discussions even on things like teams still don't have the "feel" and "serendipity" of a discussion as when you're in-person.  Of course, the really cool part of online discussions is you can get out of a bad one with the click of the mouse and even blame it on a bad connection or the "damned site software". 😀

    What?

    I would never do that.... again... today.

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • Rod at work wrote:

    Maybe it would be possible for the virtual event software to incorporate something like MS Teams and Zoom have for having a private chat with someone during a meeting. (I forget what it's called, as we don't use either at work. What we do use doesn't offer the feature I'm thinking of). I don't know, neither may fit the bill anyway, but since we don't use either MS Teams or Zoom, I can't say, I don't have the experience. I get the feeling that with both Teams and Zoom, the breakout chat/meeting is dependent upon the large meeting. If so, then what I'm proposing doesn't work.

    Yep. That's what has been tried. Also with other software that works differently than either or both. You get some interaction, sometimes. Other times, little to none. It's honestly a tough challenge and not one I've seen be wildly successful. Not yet. However, we're going to keep trying. As I said, think a certain amount of hybrid events are going to continue into the future. Once we crack the nut on getting more virtual interaction, that may even grow.

     

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • It is important to keep trying to crack that nut, as you put it. The solutions used at Ignite/Build and those I've seen in other conferences for small business, all drive the individual conversations to either talk with a company representative or a vendor. Those are useful, but it would be even better if I could show I'm interested in learning how to update my Azure SQL instance with either Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions, then have others who've done that or are struggling with it to, connect with me in the virtual hallway.

    Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.

  • Nah, we've used it to put individuals in a room with other individuals. No vendors needed, or wanted. The interaction was still extremely limited. There's just a level of.... something, discomfort, distraction, some other word that starts with dis, that's preventing hallway conversations when the hallway is virtually created. I suspect, but don't know, it's because there's literally going to be an extra step, click on this link, to get going. Whereas, the hallway happens because it's just there. I don't know.

    I do know, we're trying to solve it. Keep the feedback coming.

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • I attended an online, non-IT conference this past January which was fantastic.  One of my favorite sessions was a time the conference reserved for no presentations at all.  Instead, you signed up and joined a main event.  After a brief, joint intro, the organizers had a quick way to randomly assign and transfer break-out 'rooms' consisting of 10 to 15 people each.  In the breakout room, you got to meet with strangers and just talk about whatever.  We got to know each other/chat socially as well as talk about issues related to the conference.  Over the hour, 3 different conference presenters popped in (sequentially--as expected) to meet us and join the conversation.

    The whole thing was masterfully organized.  It ran smoothly, and I got to really know the 14? people in my group as well as have a "personal" conversation with one of the presenters that I had wanted to talk to.  This wasn't a spontaneous hallway conversation, but I would argue that it served many of the same purposes: business networking, feeling connected to fellow attendees, and being able to ask questions in an informal setting of fellow attendees.  And just like you would do when sitting at a big table with a bunch of people, some people talked and some just listened and that was all fine!

    Beyond a single-scheduled session where people are randomly assigned to a small breakout group, I think it would be helpful to have lunch sessions set up like a big conference room with round tables and 'table topics.'  People can eat their lunch and join sessions where other people are interested in the same topic.  For SQL Server, topics might be along the lines of : query performance, SSIS, backups, etc.   Have a lot of topics that people can just sit-in on and talk and listen (and move on if the conversation isn't interesting).

    In addition to the 'small group connect with attendees' session mentioned above, the same conference did a GREAT job of creating a 'conference platform' which ran in parallel to the conference and made the experience feel like a conference and not just a series of zoom sessions.  Some of the features included: a main page with conference announcements, ability to look up and connect with attendees in multiple ways (by where attendee lives, interest, experience, etc), ability to create a conference schedule (I'm going to this session at 10:00 and this one at 1:00...), games and prizes, etc.


    I'm glad you are working on this topic of how to improve the experience of virtual conferences as I agree that the virtual option is not and should not go away.  We just have to make it better.

  • WOW, JJ, that online conference experience you related sounds exactly like that Grant and I would like to have! Thank you for sharing your awesome experience!!

    Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.

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