My New England Lotus User Group Door Prize
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Here is the raffle prize I got at this week's meeting (nelotus.org)
And speaking of user group meetings, what gets YOU to go to a user group meeting? Do you want a multi-day affair in a city near you, with many sessions and the possibility of vendor subsidies? Or an after-work meeting on a topic of interest? Is it easier to go before or after work (maybe leave early), rather than justify several days off and maybe some travel expense? Do you want to share experiences with other, local, users in a more intimate setting? Or do you want to hear from the best speakers?
As a developer, there are some topics that I am not focused on at the time, so I might miss a monthly, single topic, meeting. And a multi-day event would need several, parallel, tracks so I could pick and choose. I do like the smaller sessions where I can share stupid ques--I mean, go a little deeper on a topic.
What about vendor sessions? Speaking as a vendor, we believe we have a solution for some problem you have. So of course we are also going to tell you about products we have that will make your job easier. Hey, maybe you don't know there was another way to do something (brute force is one way to do something). When we sponsor an event as a vendor, we do it so we can meet lots of people and see our customers face-to-face. This one of the reasons we did not sponsor The VIEW Admin and Developer Conference this year. The way the sessions are structured at the show leaves very little time or opportunity for attendees to stop by. Vendors are more than willing to tell you the problem their solution solves--you just need to make an effort to visit them and ask. And if you truly don't have a need for that solution, (not everyone needs to search and replace hard coded server names for instance), no one wants to waste your time at the show, or afterwards with follow-up phone calls.
How about webinars? Are these a more effective means of getting information? Are small user group meetings on the way out? Are you satisfied with Facebook as a way of staying in touch with other developers/admins? Are lotususergroup.org virtual meetings the way to go? Did I say I'll bring the beer?
Let me know your thoughts!
Here is the raffle prize I got at this week's meeting (nelotus.org)
And speaking of user group meetings, what gets YOU to go to a user group meeting? Do you want a multi-day affair in a city near you, with many sessions and the possibility of vendor subsidies? Or an after-work meeting on a topic of interest? Is it easier to go before or after work (maybe leave early), rather than justify several days off and maybe some travel expense? Do you want to share experiences with other, local, users in a more intimate setting? Or do you want to hear from the best speakers?
As a developer, there are some topics that I am not focused on at the time, so I might miss a monthly, single topic, meeting. And a multi-day event would need several, parallel, tracks so I could pick and choose. I do like the smaller sessions where I can share stupid ques--I mean, go a little deeper on a topic.
What about vendor sessions? Speaking as a vendor, we believe we have a solution for some problem you have. So of course we are also going to tell you about products we have that will make your job easier. Hey, maybe you don't know there was another way to do something (brute force is one way to do something). When we sponsor an event as a vendor, we do it so we can meet lots of people and see our customers face-to-face. This one of the reasons we did not sponsor The VIEW Admin and Developer Conference this year. The way the sessions are structured at the show leaves very little time or opportunity for attendees to stop by. Vendors are more than willing to tell you the problem their solution solves--you just need to make an effort to visit them and ask. And if you truly don't have a need for that solution, (not everyone needs to search and replace hard coded server names for instance), no one wants to waste your time at the show, or afterwards with follow-up phone calls.
How about webinars? Are these a more effective means of getting information? Are small user group meetings on the way out? Are you satisfied with Facebook as a way of staying in touch with other developers/admins? Are lotususergroup.org virtual meetings the way to go? Did I say I'll bring the beer?
Let me know your thoughts!
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