Get Together
This post is obviously biased, because I loved SQLBits well before going this year. Everyone involved just kinda gets it, and makes things as nice and easy for presenters and attendees as possible.
I can’t say enough good things about it, because it really avoids a lot of the stuff I dislike about other conferences I’ve attended. If you’ve never been, go.
Of course, this year was important for different reasons. I’ll spare you all the honey-drizzle about rebuilding the community. It’s an important group effort, but I’m not a group. I’m just me.
I want to be part of that group, and to do that there were things I had to personally accomplish:
- Feeling like life can be normal again
- Getting some of the humanity back into interactions
Some folks out there aren’t ready for that, or don’t need that, and that’s fine. I hope you get there eventually, if that’s something you want.
I do need that. It’s part of how I stay mentally healthy. Twitter is not a great way for me to do that, shockingly.
We’re All Clones
In two years of virtual-everything, and only online interactions, it sort of became easy to forget the people behind the words on your screen.
I burned out on virtual events really early on. It did not scratch the itch that teaching or attending in-person did.
If I’m not enjoying myself as a presenter, then the product you get as an attendee is going to suffer. That sucks for both of us.
And that’s why I’m jumping back onto in-person stuff.
Getting on stage and seeing a room full of Butts-In-Seats just does it for me. Getting out in the crowd and talking to people does it for me.
I’ll do that all day long. It doesn’t even feel like work.
Looking Forward
I’ve already booked flights and hotels for PASS in Seattle this November. I’d written that event off under the old ownership, for many obvious reasons.
That wasn’t a rash or unfair choice, either. After all, they made me pay to attend my own precon because Brent was listed as the primary speaker.
That sort of crap is how you lose a community fast.
I’m interested to see how Red Gate handles things, and hopeful that it’s as friction-free as possible, in all directions.
A well lubricated event is important.
Thanks for reading!
Going Further
If this is the kind of SQL Server stuff you love learning about, you’ll love my training. I’m offering a 75% discount to my blog readers if you click from here. I’m also available for consulting if you just don’t have time for that and need to solve performance problems quickly.
That “paying to attend your own pre-con” story is rough. While it’s a moot point given the change in leadership, I wonder if you could have played the part of the lighthouse from this apocryphal story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse_and_naval_vessel_urban_legend.