Leaving on a Jet Plane… TechDays Vancouver (T-4 days)

We’re heading to Vancouver! TechDays 2010 is about to start.

(…intro sappy music)

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye…

- John Denver, 1966

(I’ve already started packin’ my bag, I’m not quite ready to go just yet – but the song is fitting none the less. )

It’s the start of TechDays season on our team. It’s a little something that we’ve been working on over the last few months - hand in hand with members of the Technical Community across Canada.  The Vancouver track of speakers are primed and ready to go, “the truck” of stuff we ship from location to location left last week to meet us in Vancouver. We’re dotting the i(s) and crossing the t(s). You’ve heard about the marketing stuff (60 sessions, local experts, networking opportunities, special offers from partners, collaboration lounge) – that’s all said and done. 

Now it’s show time! Some Advice…

File:2009-0604-VancouverConventionCentreW.JPG

(Photo taken by Bobak Ha'Eri, on June 4, 2009)

  • I put up the lovely picture from Bobak on Wikipedia of the West building – because that is where it’s all going down this year. DON’T GO TO THE OLD BUILDING – WE WON’T BE THERE.
  • If you haven’t already done so – go back to the TechDays.ca site and look at the schedule builder to pre-plan your sessions. Figure out which ones you want to go to AND ALSO ALTERNATES. Why the alternates? Some proactive planning – in case your primary choice is not your cup of tea – you will know where to go.
  • We’ll have printed agendas/guides (and a cool pen) that you can use to take notes and find your way, complete with session details and partner offerings.
  • I say this every year and I will say it again. Use the “non session time” to make new networking connections. Seriously. Introduce yourself to people in the session you are attending – there is a good chance THEY share similar technical interests and could become valuable resources FOR YOU in the future.
  • TALK WITH THE SPEAKERS. we won’t bite! Just don’t take offense if we’re busy immediately after the session ends or just before it starts. Take the time to “book” us to talk in the Experts Area, during lunch or during breaks.
  • Check out the Collaboration Lounge. I am very stoked about this – very well received the last couple of years we did it. This time around the focus is on Windows 7, alternate interfaces (touch experiences and different form factors) and cool devices (Windows Phone 7). It will even have and xBox Kinect – so get ready to get up and MOVE in a controller-less world.
  • We’re around before, during and after TechDays.  The team will be in Vancouver until mid day on Friday. We’re going to be doing a “coffee and code” in every city where you can get some hands on time with Windows Phone 7 or grab a cup’a joe and chat with one of us.
  • If you want to keep in touch with all the “official” and “unofficial” activities – follow the #TechDays_ca hashtag on twitter. you never know where we’ll end up.

Oh yeah – in case I forgot - Have Fun! Make sure to stop me in the hallways and tell me how it’s going and what we can do to make it better, eh? I’ll be the one wearing the green hat.

Rick
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