Outreach Technology

UNC Cause 2008 is officially over, so I thought I would share some of my thoughts as far as how the conference went.

UNC Cause is different in many ways to the standard “conference”.  It seems a little less formal in lots of ways.  Perhaps it’s the lack of keynote, or session tracks, or something I can’t really put my finger on.  Either way, it continues to be different than things like ZendCon and the ResNet conference.  Here is what was good, and not so good, about UNC Cause 2008:

The Good

• Networking was really good.  I met lots of people who are dealing with lots of the same issues our group is.  Made some really good connections that I will probably hit up for info later
• Wireless connectivity.  It was solid from the very beginning.  It would have been great if I could have gotten on it upstairs in the hotel, but it had great coverage in the conference area.
• Groupwise to iPhone Calendar connector FTW!  I am crafting an email to go to our email and calendar lead about this product, cause I want it t-now!  In case you missed our previous post, it was by Notify Technology.
• Breakfast was really good.  Better the second day because they had biscuits and gravy
• Twittering at the conference.  A small group of people tweeted a lot, in turn helping those who stayed at home and couldn’t come to cause stay up on what was going on.
• Receptions rocked!  The Sun reception was the best, but they were all good.
• Delivering web services BOF.  There were only a few people in the room, but it was great conversation.  I really got a lot out of it, and some of you guys (you know who you are) are going to be getting emails from me about your deployment and such
• Hotel was pretty good.  I’m definitely not sold on the beds, but the facility was pretty nice and the staff was courteous.
• Greensboro was better than I thought it was.  I have lived in NC my whole life and never been to downtown Greensboro.  It was bigger and more active than I thought it would be.
• SWAG was in full attendance.  I got all kinds of cool stuff including a football, USB hub, 20+ pens, a penguin (or duck, or platypus, or something), a glowy ball thingy, and some other things.  Good job vendors!
• Attendance was good!  It seemed most sessions were full, at least the ones I was in.
• I left the conference feeling hopeful about the direction of NCSU.  That was a first for me relating to UNC Cause.  I feel like we weren’t surprised by anything, and we have good leadership in place to take us to where we need to go.  Some events at the conference reassured me that we are moving, and for the first time in a long while (IMHO), in the right direction.  Way to represent, NCSU!

The Not So Good

• Communication wasn’t great.  I think the lack of a central site with updates and whatnot caused some confusion as far as where stuff was, when it was, etc.  I’d like to see a larger effort placed on communicating to attendees during the conference.
• Twittering at the conference.  I know, I put this in the “good” list too, but it belongs here as well.  Our small groups efforts were good, but I suppose it was too little too late.  I’m not sure some people really see the benefit of tweeting, but those of us that do can really not figure out how to function without it   I’d like to see a bigger emphasis put on staying connected while at the conference.
• False advertising of sessions.  I’m not going to harp on this much, as it is not something the conference can really control, but a few sessions I (and others) went to weren’t as advertised.  If you are gonna talk about Banner, say you are gonna talk about Banner.  You are going to either a) get people in your session who don’t care about what you are talking about or b) miss out on people who might want to hear what you have to say.  Either way, it is lose-lose.  OK, off my soap box
• Pepsi instead of Coke.  Personal opinion only
• No power strips.  In a session where 20 people have laptops and there is only one electrical outlet, riots may ensue.  It would be a worthwhile investment to put power strips in all the rooms.

Overall, I’d say the conference was pretty good.  The best thing about conferences are always the people, and this one is certainly no exception.  Good job overall by the conference planning group for getting the vendors, the hotel, the food, etc.

We’ll be back next year, so I hope to see you all in New Bern for UNC Cause 2009!

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