Location : Orlando, FL
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. Lotusphere 2009 is not immune to this. And it also means that I have to finish up some draft posts on product announcements, sessions attended, and a few odds and ends. I have to justify my selection to the Blogger Program. :-)
It's the last day, which means some final, excellent sessions; GURUpalooza, Ask the Developers, and the Closing General Session.
This Lotusphere found me a member of the Lotus Blogger Program, wherein I was afforded an excellent bean bag in the Opening General Session, access to Lotus Executives, backstage passes to the judging of the Best in Showcase Awards and CIO Award, and an "invitation only" tour of the Innovations Lab (no pictures, please). It also meant access to the Press/Analyst area, which meant unlimited soft drinks, coffee, hard wired internet, and printers.To give you an idea of what that was like, we came to call the area "The Library" (it was very quiet).
The Blogger Program. What an honor it was to be selected, and not just for the bean bag seating. We had a private product announcement (which I used Twitter to announce), but also several chances to meet and interview any member of the Lotus Executive Team. As I hadn't experienced anything like this, I was unprepared for several sessions. What do you ask, when given the opportunity, of a Lotus Executive? Who can you expect to meet at a reception and what are the basic rules? When invited to a Press Briefing, what do you do? As you might imagine, I figured out some of the answers, but sometimes it was too late. Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. But one thing I did discover: there are people that will help you, if you aren't afraid to ask. Mick Moignard provided invaluable insight into the Press reception and helped me with introductions to several IBM executives and members of the press. Volker clarified several things. Select members of the press were patient with me and showed no frustration with my questions. One, in fact, was extremely engaging, wherein we had a very good discussion on the differences in the "traditional press" and blogging, expectations, and the future of news reporting. And I was fortunate to meet Jeff Widman of TechCrunchIT.
Erica Topolski, our guide through the week, was a gracious, patient, humorous, and understanding host. Thank you for your guidance.
This program has a lot of merit and needs to continue. The voices invited, while from the "Yellow Bubble," were a diverse lot. I would imagine that was by design. The only drawback to this program is that it is sometimes hard to get a word in. We are an outgoing group, with wide ranging opinions and viewpoints, To be able to actually ask a question of a member of the Lotus Executive Team, requires patience, as there are many voices wanting to be heard. It's important, therefore, to write your question down so as not to forget it. :-) My only suggestion to the program sponsors is to provide some sort of "Guide to the Blogger Program." This guide would give us an idea of what to expect, perhaps some basic "rules," and an idea as to why a session is included.
Thank you, IBM, for including me in this program. It made an already excellent Lotusphere experience even better (if that is possible).
Technorati tag: lotusphere2009
Comment posted by Matt Coleman01/24/2009 12:14:40 PM
Homepage: http://www.lotus.com
It made an already excellent Lotusphere experience even better
I see from your FlickR stream that you've got most of "What makes a good admin" down pat.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/geldred/3210301877/in/set-72157612723904025/
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