TechEd: 15 years of Geeking Out!

...and here I come!

I am so excited.   You'd be hard-pressed to find a bigger fan of TechEd than I am.  And this year Microsoft is celebrating 15 years of TechEd. 

I missed the first year (1993 - Orlando), but I have attended nearly all of them (Only missed two others - '96 and '97), and have may wonderful memories both as a Microsoft Employee and as a regular attendee.

Some of my memories:

Even though it's broken, I still have the TechEd '94 watch that was in my attendee bag.  I also remember the Mardi Gras parade they held for us in the convention center hall.

I remember how mad Aaron Neville looked when some idiots started hurling those little TechEd '95 pads they gave us to sit on at the Neville Bros. concert.  (I still have TWO of those pads.)  And while sitting in the official LAUNCH of Microsoft Access 2.0 (featuring Kevin Nealon), the guy next to me showed me his beta installation of Windows 95, which was my very first look at the new UI.

The rest of the TechEd memories tend to run together... but I've seen some amazing concerts (Cheap Trick, Blondie, Steve Winwood, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and others), fantastic parties (amusement parks inside domes... Disney, Seaworld, Universal Studios, Horse Tracks)... lots of special MCP and Tech Influencer parties... Jam Sessions (I usually sing at least one song while I'm there), and many many wonderful friends I see and catch up with year-after-year.

"Great memories indeed! Do you have any photos?"

You know, I was looking through some of them earlier this evening.  I don't have any earlier than TechEd 2000 (Also Orlando), because I didn't have the digital cameras before then.  But perhaps I'll post some of my favorite photos from each of those last 6 years.  (Watch this space.)

"Wow! What kinds of things are happening this year?"

I'm glad you asked.  TechNet Radio this week has a great interview with the two folks who are running the show.  There are some really cool things happening this year.  Check out the interview.

"In recent years you've worked booths or hands-on-labs. Are you doing anything like that this year?"

Yes, I'm helping out, though not on as much of a strict schedule.  I'm going to be helping with Virtual TechEd; doing podcast and video interviews.  Many podcasts may also find their way onto TechNet Radio. 

NOTE: Come to the Jam Session on Monday (At "The Groove" at Universal Studio City Walk). I'll have a video crew with me for some interviews and footage of all the fun.

I'm also going to try to do my own video diaries like I did in 2005, and at least one daily blog entry like I did last year.

Are you going to be there? Let me know! We'll do lunch! (I'm serious!)