I’m getting excited, with the announcement that SQL Bits 2017 is scheduled. The conference goes back to Telford, which I enjoyed and takes place April 5-8, 2017.
I’m getting my presentations ready for submission, and I really hope I get the chance to speak again. This is a fun event, and one I try not to ever miss.
Registration opens soon, and the schedule should be out early in 2017, so start planning your trip today.
Had a quick interview at Microsoft on Channel 9 last month, and it’s now live. Enjoy.
https://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/vsppstories/Including-the-database-in-your-DevOps-pipeline/player
Next week is the 2016 version of SQL in the City and you can register now to attend. It’s free and doesn’t require any travel. You can watch the event live from the comfort of your office chair.
In the many years that we’ve run SQL in the City, we’ve had events in London and various cities around the US. It’s been a lot of fun and we want to continue the tradition, but with an experiment.
This year we’re broadcasting SQL in the City from the Redgate Software offices in Cambridge, UK. We have seven hours of sessions mixed in with tips and tricks that will help you become better SQL Server developers and DBAs while showing you some new ways you might use the SQL Toolbelt to work more efficiently. Even if you’re not a Redgate Software customer, I’m sure you’ll learn some things about SQL Server.
In order to make things more convenient for everyone around the globe, we are broadcasting on two days, December 14 and 15. The content is the same both days, but the times vary. Wednesday will be an early day for my in Cambridge as we broadcast for Asia and Eastern Europe. Thursday will be a late night as the conference is scheduled to fit the Western Europe and US time zones.
I hope you’ll join us and get excited about our new SQL Clone and Data Platform Studio as well as learn a few things about DLM Automation, SQL Monitor, ReadyRoll and more.
One of the things that I struggle with is understanding whether a session at a conference like a SQL Saturday is worth watching. I also struggle writing abstracts and attracting people to my own sessions, so I think the idea of GroupBy allowing rating and reviewing of abstracts in advance is fantastic.
First, let me encourage many of you to go take a minute today and rate an abstract. If you see something that you like, leave a note. If you aren’t sure of something, or don’t like something, or even have a question about the content, leave that note as well.
I’ve been fortunate to attend lots of events. I speak at many, but I try to view a session or two at each as well. I’ve seen some great ones, and some poor ones. I do try to provide constructive criticism, and I do so privately. If you’d like feedback from me at any event, please ask.
One of the things I’ve seen is that the abstract often doesn’t quite match the talk, or the abstract doesn’t really help me understand what will be covered. It doesn’t matter if someone has tried to write a cute description or a plain boring one, the writing doesn’t always match the talk well.
I know I make mistakes in my abstracts. I know sometimes I write something that I realize later isn’t quite what I think will work in the talk. I’d like the chance to edit and correct small items. More importantly, I’d like to be sure that if my abstract topic (and talk) could slightly be tweaked in a way that more people like, I want to do it.
Take a minute and give some feedback. Be honest, rate what you want, don’t take up too much of your day, and help improve the conference schedule.
I’d love to see PASS implement this as well for the Summit. I realize this can be hard, but I would prefer to see some give and take in advance to help build the best set of sessions that people want to attend.
Voice of the DBA 