Voice of the DBA

Tag: SQL in the City

  • Decisions, Decisions. Fall Events

    I was looking over my travel calendar this fall, and I’m somewhat amazed at the variety of events that are being held for SQL Server professionals. There are a number of SQL Saturdays, and if you can attend those, I’d highly urge you to do so. Most are free, or perhaps cost you a lunch fee, but they are great chances to see SQL Server presentations, network with colleagues, and get inspired with new ways to work with SQL Server. They take a day out of your life (they’re usually on Saturday) and there’s no break from work, but they price is right.

    However if you want something a little more exotic, or with a few more frills, you’ve got some great choices out there. I’m listing a few that I’m attending, and I hope to see some of you at one of these events.

    SQL in the City

    I list this one first because these events are sponsored by Red Gate Software, my employer, and they’re a lot of fun. They are also the right price: free.

    Like some of the paid conferences, Red Gate does a great job with amenities and food. The locations are nice, and even though it’s a one day event, it’s a lot to absorb in one day. This fall we have 3 large events, and 2 (possibly 4) smaller, seminar events taking place in the US. We’d love to have you attend SQL in the City if you can. The locations we’ve picked this year are:

    • San Diego – A seminar event, with the DBA Team, on Friday Sept 20, 2013.
    • Denver – A seminar event on development, on Friday, Sept 27, 2013.
    • Pasadena – A large event, on Wednesday, Oct 9, 2013.
    • Atlanta – A large event, on Friday, Oct 11, 2013.
    • Charlotte – A large event, on Monday, Oct 14, 2013.

    We’ll talk about some real world issues you face, and give you possible solutions. We do show Red Gate tools, but that’s because they’re the quickest way to show you a solution to a problem.

    Register today if there’s a SQL in the City event you can come to.

    DevConnections

    devconnectionsI have spoken at and enjoyed the DevConnections events for a few years. This fall the event returns to the MGM in Las Vegas from Sept 30 – Oct 4, 2013. There’s a great lineup of SQL Server speakers, of which I am one. There’s a lot to do, a lot to learn, and a lot of fun to be had in Las Vegas. With the schedule, this is a perfect event to attend and add in a weekend vacation with family.

    One of the great things about this event is that there are 5 conferences taking place together, and with your registration, you can attend any session in any one of them. This is a great event for those of you that don’t just work with SQL Server.

    If you’ve never been, consider coming to DevConnections this fall.

    SQL Intersection

    sql-int-centerSQL Intersection is a new event, managed by SQLskills. I spoke at the event this part spring, and I enjoyed it. Like DevConnections, the event takes place in Las Vegas, located in the MGM Grand from Oct 27-30. The speakers are selected and invited, and there are some very popular and talented speakers in this group. I’m honored to be a part of the event. I think you’ll get a ton of SQL Server knowledge here that you can apply back at work.

    There are 5 events taking place at the same time, so if you are interested in learning more about development, cloud computing , Sharepoint, or Azure, this might be a good choice for you. It’s also a fantastic time to take an extra day or two in Las Vegas. Halloween is truly a spectacle in that city.

    Take this letter to your boss, then register, and I hope to shake your hand when you come. If you use “Jones” as a registration code, you’ll get $100 off, and I get some credit Winking smile

    The PASS Summit

    passsummit2013This year the PASS Summit returns to the East Coast, to Charlotte, NC from October 14-18, 2013. The first day of pre-cons overlap with our SQL in the City event. This is the most popular, and largest, SQL Server only event in the world. There is a ton of networking that takes place, and it’s a great time to get to know other people in the community.

    There are a ton of sessions, too many in fact. Buy the DVD of the sessions since you’ll miss more than you attend. You can register today, and if you’re there early, look for me on Tuesday. I won’t be speaking at the Summit this year, but there are lots of other great speakers that you’ll enjoy.

    The Conference Argument

    I’ve got a busy fall. In addition to the events above, I have a few SQL Saturdays to attend and skiing to get in. I won’t be at SQL Live 360, but that’s another event you might consider attending. I’d love to speak there, but I need a break. Perhaps in 2014.

    I love attending these events, and I’d recommend them over a specific training class. Here’s why.

    If you aren’t self-motivated, you’ll waste a lot of time and not get much out of a conference. It’s easy to go to some sessions, or sit by the pool all day. However I’d argue that most of the people who aren’t looking to drive their career won’t get a lot our of week long class either.

    If you are motivated, you can learn the JIT skills from a book, by yourself, or with a relatively inexpensive class like the ones Pluralsight offers. However, at a conference, you’re the person that will network with others, talk about your problems, and get some inspiration or potential solutions from those conversations. You’ll also get new ideas and inspirations from many of the sessions. You’ll recharge better than you do from a class, and most people seem to come back to work more excited about SQL Server than when they left.

    If you’re a person that wants to move forward and are motivated enough to do so, consider attending one of these events this fall.

  • SQL in the City in the fall of 2013

    This fall I’ll be attending a number of SQL in the City events in the US. Once again we have a tour, though it’s a shorter tour than the 5 events in two weeks I was on last year.

    One of my feedback items last year was that we should be able to do a SQL in the City event that’s smaller. The big events are fun and amazing, but they’re also hard to put together and expensive. I’d rather do an event for a smaller audience, and at a much lower cost, and get to do 10 of them a year.

    Someone listened to me and we ended up scheduling 5 seminar events  (2 listed for now) along with 3 big ones in the US. We held a DBA oriented event in March of this year, and a development based one in Sacramento in July. Both went over well, and we have a few more scheduled later in the year.

    SQL in the City – The DBA Team, San Diego, CA, Sept 20, 2013 – We covered a number of items in Richmond, and we’ve scheduled a few sessions on backups, monitoring, and one TBD. This will be a half day on Friday, before SQL Saturday #249 on Saturday. I’ll be speaking there as well. If you can come, register for both.

    SQL in the City – The Development Seminar, Denver, CO, Sept 27, 2013. This seminar flows well as we present talks on putting your database under version control, automating your database build and test with continuous integration and smoothing out the deployment of your application and database. I’ll actually be presenting all three talks myself as Grant is other commitments this weekend. I’ll also be at SQL Saturday #190 on Saturday in Denver.

    SQL in the City – Pasadena 2013 in Pasadena, CA, October 9, 2013. The first of our large events in the US this year. We’re back in LA, near the Red Gate office in Pasadena. We’ll have a large staff for this all day event, which should be a great time for all. We hope to see you there for a mix of administrative and development topics.

    SQL in the City – Atlanta 2013, Atlanta, GA, October 11, 2013. We’re crossing the country for a Friday event in the South. My first time speaking in Atlanta, and I’m hoping to see something in the city before I leave. This will also be a mix of administrative and development topics.

    SQL in the City – Charlotte 2013, in Charlotte, NC on October 14, 2013. This is the final stop on our 2013 large tour, with us again covering administrative and development topics. If you can’t attend the PASS Summit and you live nearby, here’s a full day of free training. If you are attending the Summit, feel free to register for this on Monday if you are in town.

    We’ve tentatively scheduled one final Stairway to Development in Washington DC in December, just before the SQL Saturday there. More details to follow soon, and there’s a chance we’ll add a sixth one as well.

    Hopefully I’ll see some of you at one of these events. Whether we’ve met before, please feel free to say hi and shake my hand.

    SITC13_Banner_300x250_Speaker

  • A Better Conference

     

     

    sqlcity

    Hope to see you at the conference.
    Hope to see you at the conference.

    ImGoingToSqlBits200

    sqlsat183_speakingspeakingsqlsat197.jpg

    I participate in a lot of events during the year. I had the SQL in the City event from Red Gate recently, with more of those coming to the US later this year. In 2013 I’ve also been a part of SQL Intersection, the online-only spring IT Connections event, various SQL Saturdays, and attended the MVP Summit from Microsoft. In the past I’ve also spoken or attendedTechEd, the PASS Summit, and various one, two, and three day events that didn’t necessarily focus on one specific technology. In that time, I haven’t seen a lot of difference between the various conferences organization and flow. some little things have been tried, and some I liked, but overall most events consist of:

    • a series of “tracks”, which are really rooms in a building.
    • a 60-90 minute presentation of varying quality from a speaker, built months in advance, with little input from the audience.
    • shuttling from one session to another quickly

    There are other parts of the events, parties at night, sometimes networking, keynotes, lunch panels, etc, but for the most part organizers pick a location, choose to have x number of rooms, and choose speakers to present in those spaces, largely on the basis of their own biases or desire to learn about a specific topic. Even when attendees vote for content, they only affect a small portion of the agenda.

    Could we do better? I don’t know. I saw this post on a better conference and it got me thinking. Perhaps there are other ways we could build conferences. Would it make sense to link sessions together, and build on knowledge across the day? What about getting a panel of speakers to respond to real scenarios and questions from the audience, possibly submitted a few days or hours before? That would raise the bar for speakers, and it might be more entertaining. I’m not sure the quality would be better, especially if demos are hastily thrown together.

    However the post has an interesting point. Conferences and many sessions ought to be more about engagement and inspiration and less about training you to use a particular piece of technology. Perhaps we would like to find ways to interact more, discuss and debate ideas and approaches rather than broadcast information. Would you like more interactive content? Or do you prefer to sit back and listen to what the speaker thinks is important?

  • SQL in the City 2013

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    Last week was the opening of a new SQL in the City season for Red Gate Software. Once again, for the third year in a row, we had our first event of the year in London. We had a new venue, and only one day this year, but it was sold out completely, with well over 400 people commuting to the middle of London on a Friday morning. I was lucky enough to attend, though my name being listed next to 4 of the talks probably ensure I had an admission ;). This was one of the busier events for me, slightly compounded by the fact that I arrived in London about 20 hours before the event and left the next morning.

    It was quite a bit of fun see lots of familiar faces and meet a number of new ones. I had some interesting questions posed to me, and I think I was able to answer, or get someone else to answer all of them. Sometimes it’s more important to be able to do the latter, since SQL Server has grown in breadth and depth, as well as sheer numbers of versions to the point where no one can keep everything straight. We encourage networking at SQL in the City, as do many other events, and you should take advantage of the time to meet a few new people, and renew old acquaintances as well. You never know when you’ll need to ask someone a question, and a personal contact might get you an answer quicker.

    The event ran smooth (Thanks, Annabel and Carly), as they all have over the last few years. This year we tried something a little different, focusing the morning on development topics and the afternoon on administration items. I liked that split, and I liked the flow in the morning between three sessions that built on each other to tell a continuous story moving from development, to testing, to deployment. Deployment is an important topic of conversation at Red Gate these days, and we hope that you find it to be important in your organization as well.

    Our tour is a little shorter this year when it comes to the US, with three dates in the fall: Pasadena, Atlanta, and Charlotte. I know many of you were hoping we’d come to your city, and we might in the future. We are bringing smaller events, 40-50 person, half day seminars to a few SQL Saturdays later this year. If you’d like to have us come early to your location and speak at a SQL Saturday, let us know. It’s Grant and I doing most of the work, so we have a limited number of slots available, but feel free to voice your opinion to our Community group at Red Gate.

    We like these events, and love the chance to speak with the community and customers, and plan on continuing them for the foreseeable future. I expect that we’ll bring more events to locations outside the US, and I look forward to meeting more of you all around the world at a SQL in the City near you.

    Steve Jones

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