Connect

After not hearing the alarm this morning and therefore missing my original flight from DFW to MCO (Orlando International), I got booked on the next flight. I was in the air just a couple of hours late, and arrived at Dolphin in time for BALD  at Big River on the Boardwalk. Had a great time connecting with friends after a year of not seeing many of them. Of course I got a hug from Mat Newman, meaning that IBM Connect started for real. Låter I was going to hit ESPN, but due to changes there, the traditional party did not take place there. Instead I went back to Big River with a few friends for dinner, before I went to bed early.

Countdown to Connect 2014 [ujicountdown id="Countdown to Connect 2014" expire="2014/01/26 08:00" hide = "true"] It looks like the evenings next week week will be a little bit chilly. So it might be a good idea to bring something warm to wear for the Tuesday party at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Hope to see you in Orlando!

Wednesday morning. In exactly 3 days I will arrive in Orlando, after a short flight from Dallas. My preparations for the trip are almost done, I just have to charge up some batteries for cameras, dig out some spare USB cables and purchase a few last-minute items. So what is it that is so exciting about Lotusphere (now Connect)? How do you explain it to someone who never been there? In the past, several members of the community have brought their significant other to Orlando, at least for a few days in the beginning or end, so they could get an idea what it all is about. But how do you express it in words? To me, Lotusphere is a family reunion. I meet people I haven't seen in a year, or in some cases in several years. At work I am the only developer working with the ICS stack (Notes/Domino), but once a year I get to talk to other developers, exchange ideas and tips, and just "talk Lotus". This makes me recharge and makes me enthusiastic about things I can do when I get back to the office again after the conference. All the social event and impromptu meetings are a large part of what Lotusphere been to me for the last 7 or 8 years, when I started getting more involved in the community. I wish I would not have waited that long, I have made many good friends over the years, as the community is very welcoming of new people. So I will repeat what I already said before, go out, be social, meet people. Don't sit in your room at night, then you miss at least half (if not more) of the Lotsuphere/Connect experience! And don't miss playing the game Journey to Dolphindor! Click on the game card to the right for more info.

With the name change to Connect in 2013, the welcome reception/pool party changed somewhat. Instead of taking place at the pools/beach area between Swan and Dolphin, it started inside in the showcase area (Atlantic hall), and then moved outside for food, drinks and entertainment. From what it looks like on the Connect 2014 website, and based on Chris Miller's blog post, it sounds like the traditional poolside party is no more. The Connect website also only mention snacks and beverages. However, according to IBM, the website is not clear enough at the moment (they say it will be fixed/updated). The poolside party will still take place, according to IBM. The showcase reception starts at 6.30pm and goes on until 8pm. The poolside party starts at at 7.30 and goes on to 9.30. This is longer than previous years, allowing the exhibitors to attent the party as well.

In exactly 3 weeks, thousands of us will be sitting in the Northern Hemisphere ballroom at the Dolphin hotel in Orlando. We have already been involved in some social activities on Saturday with soccer, BALD and ESPN, followed by a full day of jumpstart and master class sessions on Sunday. Sunday evening there was the big welcome reception on the beach between Swan and Dolphin. Some of us may have continued to Kimonos afterwards, or perhaps to Jelly Rolls dueling piano bar on the Boardwalk. Or perhaps we have been hanging out with friends somewhere, catching up on what happened since last year, smoking a cigar and having another drink. But now it is Monday morning. You probably got up early and headed to breakfast, so you could get to the OGS early and get a good seat. For the last 10 years or so, breakfast have been in the Pacific hall, but in 2013, that area was used for the Conference. Instead a big dining tent was erected in the parking lot in front of the Pacific hall, reminding us old-timers about Lotusphere in the late 90's, before the Pacific hall was built, back when all meals were in dining tents. I suspect we will see that dining tent again this year. This all brings us to food and drink. As a 16-time attendee to Lotusphere, take my word for it: don't skip breakfast. Different days have different breakfast items to offer. Some mornings there will be scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages. Other days there will be fruit, bagels and pastries. There is always cereal, milk, yogurt and orange juice, as well as muffins. If nothing else, grab a muffin and an orange juice or two. Perhaps a cup of coffee or tea to wake you up. But if you don't eat breakfast, you will not have the energy you need for the first part of the day. Lotusphere is not a sprint, it's a marathon. You will do a lot of walking, and sit in dark conference rooms, drinking from the proverbial firehose of knowledge. You need all the energy you have to keep up. Lunch is usually a buffet, except Thursday, when it is a boxed lunch. Don't miss the famous pretzel cookie in the box! The lunch offers two or three different types of meat, several sides as well as a couple of salads and bread. Small individual deserts are available on the tables, together with ice tea and water. Historically, the lunches have been Italian, Mexican and American, and after all these years, I don't see that changing. In the morning and afternoon, there are coffee breaks, where you in addition to coffee and tea also can find bottled water and soda. In the afternoon break you can often find some snacks, like soft pretzels, ice cream bars, cookies or pastry. Bottled water is available all day now, but I still suggest that you stick a few bottles in your backpack when you can. I usually grab a couple of cans of caffeinated soda as well. They usually come in handy during lunch…

We already talked about how to prepare for Connect by getting everything together, like batteries, chargers, comfortable shoes and questions for the IBM developers. But you also should plan ahead for the sessions. You will spend hours listening to experts from IBM as well as from business partners from all around the world. There are always several sessions at the same time, sometimes making it hard to choose. There are also the longer Show n' Tell sessions, sometimes overlapping other sessions you might want to attend. So picking the right ones, at the right times, is crucial to get the full benefit of the conference. Previous years some popular sessions have been repeated during the week. They are listed as R1 and R2 in the pocket agenda, making it easy to tell that they are repeating sessions. Hopefully this will be done this year as well. In the past, Ben Langhinrichs used to create an online session database, and Gab and Tim Davis built a smartphone app you could download. This is no more, but hopefully IBM will offers some of that functionality through the conference website. With the focus at IBM on mobile technologies, one would hope that IBM would have developed a conference app using their own tools. But I would not hold my breath on the last one... Back to planning. What I do is that a couple of weeks before the conference, I go to the conference website and look at the list of sessions. I print the ones I am interested in (there is usually a way to print them with the session abstract), then mark them from 1 to 3, with 1 being the most important to attend, and 3 meaning "if I have time". Next I try to puzzle together my schedule, using the tools on the conference website. The last few years there has been a scheduling tool, letting you select your sessions to build a personalized agenda, which I print. I bring that printout, together with the session printouts, in a folder to Connect. After I get my badge and pocket agenda, I take a pen and mark all the sessions I plan to attend in the pocket agenda as well. This way I have that information at my fingertips. You could of course download all the information into the calendar in your smartphone, but sometimes an old-fashioned analog solution is the fastest and easiest. And it works even after the battery died and I forgot the portable charger in my room... :-) As a developer, I usually focus on the AD (Application Development), BP (Best Practices), SHOW (Show 'n Tell) and JMP (Jumpstart and Master Class) tracks. Sometimes I pop over to the ID (Infrastructure) track for a session or two. New this year is the Innovators and Thought Leaders track, and I will absolutely take a closer look at the sessions in that track and see if I can find something that would benefit me or my organization. For the last couple of years, there have been additional keynote sessions Tuesday and Wednesday morning.…

It's time to start planning for Connect 2014, and there are a few things I want to share, based on my experiences previous years, which will make the conference more enjoyable and beneficial. Since Andy Donaldson has been a slacker this year, I can't link to his excellent guide to Connect-o-sphere yet... You can of course read his guides for 2012 and 2013.   What to bring In addition to the obvious items, there are a few things you should bring in order to save you money, hassle or both. Chargers - don't forget to bring chargers for all your devices. In addition, bring a portable changer/battery pack to recharge your tablet and/or phone during the day. With the amount of Twitter and Facebook messages being posted/read during a day at the conference, the battery tend to drain already around 3pm for me. I have been using a 6000 mAh portable charger for the last few years, it gives me two charges of my Samsung phone. I get a full charge in about an hour. If you, like some, are bringing a portable wifi hotspot to use instead of the conference network, one of those battery packs is perfect to get through the day. Power strip - the Disney hotel rooms don't have an abundance of power outlets. A power strip with a few feet of extension cord goes a long way when you have perhaps half a dozen devices to charge. Andrew Pollack recommends the Power Strip Liberator Plus, which seems like a very smart complement to a traditional power strip. Just remember, you are not allowed to have devices plugged in during the sessions, so you have to charge devices in your room. This is another reason I prefer to stay at Swolphin (Swan/Dolphin), I have quick access to my room if I need to put a device on charge for an hour or two, like the above mention battery pack after I drain it. Then it is ready for the evening when I need it again. Batteries - bring spare batteries for cameras, phones, etc. If you have devices that uses AA or AAA batteries (like an external flash for your camera), bring plenty of extra batteries. You can buy batteries at the small convenience store on the Boardwalk, but they have a very limited selection and are expensive. I usually get Lithium batteries, as they last longer. Medicine - in addition to any prescription meds you use, bring some headache pills/pain killers, Pepto-Bismol and/or Tums for stomach issues, some band aids for blisters, etc. Items like this are either hard/impossible to find on Disney property, or way over-priced.   What to wear Bring at least two pairs of comfortable shoes. Make sure they are not brand new, walk them in for a couple of weeks before Connect to avoid getting blisters. Alternate between the shoes while at the conference. Dress code at Lotusphere was always casual,  and despite the name change to Connect, that has not changed. You will se a lot of jeans and t-shirts, as…

As I mentioned yesterday, Lotusphere/Connect is not only technical or marketing/strategy sessions, it is also a very social conference. This was that case long before IBM started talking about "Social". Over the years, there have been a number of social activities. It started with the Turtle Party at ESPN, people meeting up Saturday night after they got in. It is named after Scott "The Turtle" Wenzel, a long-time Lotusphere attendant who no longer work with Notes, and thus was not at Connect last year. It is (like many other social activities) not organized, just a bunch of attendees and friends getting together, having drinks, food or just talking. It usually starts around 7pm. As people started coming in earlier, a spontanious meeting at Big River Grille on the Boardwalk created another long-time tradition, BALD. It stands for Bloggers Annual Lotusphere Dinner, but you don't need to be a blogger to show up. It is just a bunch of geeks, having a few adult beverages and something to eat after arriving to Orlando. It has been compared to a family reunion, which is a very good description. Reminder: bring cash, the waitresses will appreciate not having to run dozens of credit cards... Sunday evening IBM arranges the traditional welcome reception on the beach between Dolphin and Swan. Be social, make some new friends, and have some food. You need your badge (or a guest badge) to get in. Afterwards, people often head to ESPN or Kimonos. Kimonos is the sushi restaurant and karaoke bar in the Swan hotel. For many years it was the place where everyone from geeks to IBM executives were hanging out, having some drinks and perhaps singing some songs. The last few years, Kimonos have been more crowded than usual, as more and more attendees have heard about it. This spawned the unofficial Nomonos, a bunch of geeks hanging out at different places on different evenings, often outdoors if the weather allowed it. The activities included beer tasting, smoking cigars, having apple cake shots, and just talking and hanging out. But Connect/Lotusphere is not all about drinking and partying. There is also sports, even if that activity often include some adult beverages as well... Between 2009 and 2012, Mitch Cohen arranged Blogger Open, a mini golf tournament at the Fantasia Gardens across the road from Dolphin. This tournament took place after the closing session, and was a great way to decompress and have some fun (and some beer). In 2013, Disney put an end to it, as they could not (or did not want to) grant exclusive access to the course for an hour or two, despite the beer sales in a few hours exceding what normally is sold in months. Bill Malchisky quickly stepped in and organized Soccer Saturday as a replacement in 2013, and this event returns again in 2014. It takes place Saturday before BALD, starting at 10am and going on for 2 hours. This year, Joe Litton is making an appearance as Guest Mai Tai Master.…