Here it is Directory Experts Conference (DEC) day 3 and I am writing about DEC day 2. I could have written last night but instead tried to do a little work work and then sleep.
What do I have to say about DEC day 2? Well it is the “real” DEC day 1. DEC day 2 is the first presentation day and that is when most of the people really show up and once again, my feelings are that the people who attend the DEC are what make DEC very cool. I met a lot of extremely incredible and cool people and got to touch bases with a lot of cool incredible people I met at previous DECs; it is for those people that I come to DEC. Not because I think they are happy to see me, but because I am happy to see them and learn a great deal from them even if it is only insight into how people view AD and how it should be managed, monitored, handled, etc.
Many of the presentations are good, a couple are great, but that doesn’t compare to the informal interactions and communication that occurs between the sessions and during the “meet and greet” mixers at night. I personally hear about things I don’t know if I ever would have heard about otherwise and meet people that previously might never have spoken to me because I didn’t come across to them in the “right way” to them in an email or newsgroup posting and I meet in person the peopel who do enjoy communicating with me in email or reading my posts and that is even better because I see positive effects I have on at least some people and renergizes me into trying to put even more effort into the community.
When I go home, I will probably not have a useable voice, I will be dead tired, and I will once again be impacted heavily by the thoughts and questions and comments from many incredible people. Oh and I will be smiling broadly because of some of the people I finally got to meet face to face that previously were simply an email address prior. I would drop names of folks I have met but I won’t do it justice because I am not a name remembering kind of person. While I literally and seriously enjoy most everyone I speak to, I am not the super young photographic memory version of joe that I was years ago. I wish I were, but I am not and I accept it and beg you for forgivess if we speak and your name doesn’t pop off the tip of my tongue.
Oh yeah, for those reading this who are here also and give me cards or try to get my card so we can chat later on the telephone. Nothing personal, but I don’t talk on the phone to pretty much anyone. If I speak to you on the phone (and it is not related to my current job), then almost certainly you are a relative or other “I must speak to you” person with the I in that sentence meaning me and the you being, well you. Not to be hoity-toity, but if I spent “just five minutes” on the phone with everyone who wanted that, I would still be trying to catch up with people trying to get a hold of me 2 years ago and I wouldn’t have gotten much sleep in the meanwhile. IM is very much in the same boat. I have a difficult time simply keeping up with email alone and I work hard at trying to do that and have the benefit of being able to do it in a completely async way. So again, nothing personal. I don’t carry business cards and I don’t talk on the phone. Email me, you know where to find me and assuming some spam filter doesn’t slap your message I will read it and I will respond. If I don’t respond, assume a spam filter got it and retry, put [JOEWARE] in the subject and it more likely it won’t get trapped in spam filters because I try to configure them to avoid subjects with that string and it catchs my eye quickly when I am manually verifying “spammed” messages.
So I need to get my shower, try to find an Aussie to American and Welsh to American dictionary so I can understand all the humour flying about, hope my voice works today, and get down to the sessions. Have a great day.
joe
P.S. I almost forgot, the Dean and joe show presentation went well. We figured we would cover about 1/2 to 2/3rds of the material in our slide deck and we barely covered maybe 1/5. However it seems to have been quite popular and I say that is very much due to Dean. Dean is an amazing presenter, I have never seen him present before and he is, well, amazing. I think I did ok, but I did hear one comment of “when you started talking about replication queue properties, my eyes did start to glass over”, I do apologize, not a very glamorous or fun topic, but good info just the same. I am not a presenter, I am more of a back and forth chatter kind of person and do better in a forum where folks can reach out and smack me if I am being overly smarmy or what not than standing in front of folks. Dean says I will get better, I say, who knows, it isn’t really a goal, if it happens it happens. Old dog, new tricks, etc and I am older than Dean by two days so I know better than he does (listen to your elders Deano!).
So if you are here at the conference and you saw and liked Dean’s presentation style and you think, wow that was some good, err, stuff. That is one of the things Dean’s company does that for a living and you can bring him in (or one of his other great folks) and learn just tons of stuff. A lot of folks said our session was pretty darn technical but it is nowhere as deep as it could have been and what Dean normally does on a daily basis if that is the level people want to go to with content. If you want a training class, you would be hard pressed to find anyone more interesting and technical than Dean to bring in for it. If I didn’t mean it, Iwouldn’t say it. I don’t say Dean is good because he is a friend, he is a friend because he is good. 🙂 Oh if by some odd mischance you liked my presentation style, I would suggest taking something for that, not sharing that info with anyone who has the power to get you locked up in a room with all white walls. Oh and no, I don’t do presentations even if you say pretty please.
To get a hold of Dean… dwells@msetechnology.com or go to the company website, www.msetechnology.com. Wish him happy birthday if you email him next week, he is going to be a “salt and peppered” or as he prefers a “George Cloonied” 37.
Hmm, so by jetlagged/tired reasoning, that would also mean that it’s your birthday next week, too. I may have to give you your birthday punches in advance. Or I could just buy you a birthday drink. OK so it’s an open bar, but you know that the thought is there!!