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IBM Connect 2013 Recap – The Show

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At the end of January I took my annual pilgrimage to Orlando, Florida for the IBM Connect (formerly Lotusphere) conference. It’s something I’ve looked forward to every year for a decade and a half.

This year I approached it with some trepidation. I was afraid that IBM was changing it away from the conference I loved to something… well more corporate. I wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The change was pretty evident in the Opening General Session. IBM did a great job, but was showing off technologies that are more apt to the Fortune 100 than companies like mine.  In fact, I think someone said that the upcoming Notes and Domino 9 only got a total of a 56 second mention during the two plus hours.

For my team, who runs our company on XPages, based on Domino, that was kind of a bummer. However, the real travesty would have been if the technical tracks fell flat, and that couldn’t have been further from the truth. XPages had an incredibly strong showing (40+ sessions.)  The Best Practices track was as valuable as ever, and I think the content was even stronger than years prior.

Outside of the tech content, there were a lot more things offered for the pointy-haired bosses, and HR and Marketing professionals.  They are definitely offering more to bring those folks to Orlando, and that’s fine. They didn’t lose focus on the technical side despite the lack of sessions on some things like Quickr.  It makes sense as they are trying to migrate everyone to Connections, and that product continues to get even more compelling.

The conference in general made reference to Lotuspheres past with a wall of photos and a great video of highlights through the years.  The one thing they also promised to do was have a party to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Lotusphere.  This is the one IBM screwed right in the ear.

You see, our session booklets said this party was to happen on the Product showcase and it was at a time during sessions.  So if you wanted to attend, you had to skip out on content which I did.  I got to the floor and started looking around.  I found lots of other friends doing the same thing.  What did we find?  Nothing.  Well unless you count one thing of balloons and some cupcakes.

Don’t get me wrong, the cupcakes were FABULOUS, but that wasn’t really the point.  I expected an homage to the past, and kind of a passing of the torch from Lotusphere to Connect.  I skipped actual content damnit, I wanted my goodbye.  But much like we’ve felt about Notes and Domino over the years, it seemed like IBM just forgot about it.

At least on Twitter we made the “party” seem worth it, what with our piercing stations, the llamas, the live performance by Psy, and the tattoos upon nether regions.

Despite that particular shortcoming, IBM Connect seemed to maintain the things that made Lotusphere great in years past.  I really had gone into this whole process feeling that this could possibly be my last year, but when all the dust settled I felt a lot better about things.  So will I be back next year? I guess we’ll see.  One thing I would really miss is the people, and I’ll talk about that in an upcoming post.

LS2013

Goodbye Lotusphere Hello Connect

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The end of this month I’ll be attending a yearly technology conference in Orlando, Florida for another time. How long? Well, If I had birthed a child way back when I started attending, that kid would be in high school. It’s a long time to do anything in this world, and as with anything you do this long, change is inevitable.  Up until now, that conference had been called Lotusphere. This year, the moniker has changed to IBM Connect.

For the first time in nearly a decade I’m not working the show as press, or as a technology blogger, or as a speaker.  This year I’m just going as a customer.

It’s actually a nice thing for me.  In the recent past I’ve always had interviews, and press briefings and blogger “nachos and news” events that I had to attend.  I missed a lot of session content and even some parties because I was sequestered away in a back hotel hallway interviewing executives and writing articles and blog posts (sometimes on a deadline.)  Last year, I didn’t have writing responsibilities, but I had to speak on stage twice.

This year I just have to attend sessions and soak up all the information I can.  I still may take as many pictures as always, but I might not even write a word about the event until well after it’s over.  That’s a fairly seismic shift for me, but quite frankly I’m looking forward to it.

The event is obviously changing in other ways too.

Most notable is the fact that the Lotus branding is being deprecated and everything is now true blue IBM.  I agree with the decision on the branding point, but not seeing thousands of bumblebee backpacks will be a sad departure from years past.

In addition the conference has really expanded to include more managerial, strategy and big picture business tracks and the focus isn’t quite as strong on the technical ones any longer.  I’m wondering how this might affect it’s usefulness to myself and my team.

I’ll miss some of the people who will be absent this year too.  Some staples on stage giving sessions, and staples on stage singing karaoke at Kimono’s.  This saddens me for many reasons, not the least being that some of these people no longer make their living based on IBM software.  That means chances to see them in person are far less likely.

Lotusphere has always been a family reunion for me.  Reconnecting with the people who bled yellow and had the same passion for the software that I had.  We would talk tech, network, learn, party and become close friends.  It was the recharge I needed to kick off the year in high gear.  WE were social business long before anyone coined the term.  This year, I’m just not sure it will be the same.

That said, I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt, and reserve judgement until I’ve seen what IBM has to offer.  I just can’t help having a nagging feeling that is my last yearly trip to Orlando.

Here’s hoping I’m wrong.

Lotusphere 2012 Recap

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The Swan #ls12
I know that Lotusphere was a couple weeks ago now, but this year I decided to digest it a bit before I put it down on the page here.

The Show

This year was one of the better Lotusphere events in recent memory.  The OGS started with OKGo rocking though three songs and then Michael J Fox was our guest speaker.  The OGS continued on a fast pace with lots of demos and nothing lagging.  It was a huge departure from last year for sure, and very welcome.

The news was all mostly good.  IBM is making everything incrementally better and more connected to each other.  It’s obvious that the Lotus brand is getting sunset (even though next year it’s supposed to still be called Lotusphere) but I think that’s okay in the grand scheme.  IBM has better brand awareness now and Lotus is considered legacy by too many.

For me, the biggest things concerning the whole “social” theme were support for OpenSocial, Embedded Experiences and the Activity Stream.  I’m so used to activity streams in Twitter and Facebook and the like that I’m actually excited by the prospect of this in the business world.  I’m a fairly brutal when it comes to filtering things in real life, and for me I think it will translate well to the business world.  Also, being able to tie into other systems with OAuth and such will be very beneficial.

There were no huge announcements this year, and that’s okay.  The incremental pieces are making everything more usable which is really cool.  The only thing really “out there” was a plug in for Internet Explorer that allows your browser to natively run Lotus Notes apps.  This is fairly amazing.  Too bad it’s windows only, but I still like it.

Me Personally

This year was new for me in a different way.  Since IBM eliminated the blogger program ( how social of them 🙂 ), this was the first time I wasn’t attending Lotusphere as Press or as a blogger in something like six or seven years.  That means I didn’t have a full schedule of interviews and press conferences to attend.  It was actually really nice as I got to see more of Lotusphere proper than I had in years past.  That said, I did something I had never done at Lotusphere before, and that was speak.

I was on two customer panels.  One was the Customer Evangelist panel and another one was about using Social in the SMB space.  So I didn’t have to prepare like a normal speaker.  In the Evangelist panel I had five slides and five minutes to speak and on the Social panel I just had to answer questions from our panel moderator (Ed Brill) and questions from reporters in the room.

I really enjoyed both, and might actually try my hand at speaking in the future if they’ll have me.  I’ve always loved speaking at events like these, so now I just need to find something compelling enough to talk about.

The essential human element

Some of you will remember the “essential human element” as a past Lotusphere theme.  For me, that’s the theme that has always stuck, because no matter what we are doing in life, it’s our interactions with each other that matter most.  This Lotusphere was no different.  At the end of every day, I gathered with co-workers and friends to relax, talk, smoke cigars and have a few libations.

Kimonos was rather crowded this year, so we didn’t spend as much time there as in previous years, but it was still a good time when we did.  The weather was very cooperative, and sitting outdoors at tables by the Swan and Dolphin pools made for wonderful evenings.

These folks are like family to me, and I know I say that every year, but I really cherish the time I get to spend them.  This is what truly what makes Lotusphere special.  Social?  It’s nothing new.  We’ve been Social for twenty years, I’m just glad IBM finally caught up.

🙂

Bah F’ing Humbug

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Not sure why really, but I just couldn’t get into the holiday spirit this year.  I generally love the Holidays and the time leading up to it but this year I just went through the motions.

It could have been the fact that it’s been an incredibly mild fall and early winter so far.  We’ve barely had any snow, and temps have been really warm for Chicago.  It’s been rainy and grey and bleak.  So the season didn’t feel like Christmas.

In addition, I love to give gifts.  I love to surprise people, and try to get that perfect gift that makes them go wow.  But this year, things have been much tighter money-wise and so we scaled WAY back.  In fact the wife and I pretty much knew what we were getting each other, and it wasn’t much.  So I didn’t get that feeling of snagging the perfect gift. I know that’s not the reason for the season, but it’s a fun piece that I felt I missed out on a bit.

Work has been high stress at the moment too, and it’s for a good reason, but the normally relaxed holiday season has been a million miles an hour.  A major office move, and a major project all aligning at the same time meant glitches.  Glitches that normally aren’t a big deal, but when you are on a deadline, things change a bit.  Some of glitches are out of our hands too, and I hate that feeling of being responsible for something yet not being able to fix it myself.

Next, my kids are at an age where they are constantly at each others throats.  So it seems every time we are in a car, or spending time together as a family, they are fighting like cats and dogs.  The eldest is constantly neglecting the youngest, and the youngest is purposefully being annoying to compensate.  In addition, the youngest is hypoglycemic, so she needs to eat right and watch her sugar intake.  But she’s been horrible about not wanting to eat anything that might be decent for her.  So THAT has been a struggle.  Then she spent all of Christmas with a horrible cold that blossomed into nasal and ear infections. So she was completely miserable for the holiday and it sucks to see her this way.  After the doctor’s visit today, hopefully that improves.

It also seems like forever since the wife and I have had a date night.  We don’t do babysitters, so it’s always generally my in-laws that take the girls for a night when we need it.  But, we’ve been so busy for the last several months that we just haven’t had time to get away for a movie or dinner.  So I’m missing that.

So fuck it, I’m in a shitty mood.  And today’s work glitches (that we couldn’t control) did not help matters.

But all of that said, I think everyone is entitled to have shitty moods once in awhile.  So I can wallow a bit and not feel the least bit guilty.  But, I’m not going to take it lying down.  It’s time to reverse the mood, and here are some reasons why.

For one, I’m speaking at Lotusphere for the first time ever.  That kicks ass.  For those of you who aren’t part of my Lotus circle of friends, Lotusphere is the annual IBM conference that talks about social software.  It’s a honor to speak, and I’m thrilled to be a part of two sessions.

Next, I’ll be attending the Consumer Electronics Show in a couple of weeks.  The company I work for does a lot of work for that show, so I wanted to see some behind the scenes, and I’m just a huge gadget nerd too.  So even though it’s work, I think it’s something I’ll really enjoy.

Most importantly, my family has their health (minus poor youngest’s cold), I have a job that I really do love, I work with people whom I trust and admire, and I’m blessed to have family that I actually like to be around and see on a regular basis.

So as I sit here in my kick ass man cave, listening to music on the Sonos, smoking a cigar and drinking some Scotch while typing this blog, I just have to say to myself “Suck it up you pussy.”  So that’s what I’m going to do.  Time to harden the fuck up.

So today, Bah Fucking Humbug.  Tomorrow, I reign supreme.

Sharing my Story on Lotusphereblog.com

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For those of you going to Lotusphere, a new blog popped up not long ago that will be dealing with everything Lotusphere related. One thing they have been featuring the last couple of weeks is the “Share Your Story” segment. It’s interviews with people in the community discussing all of their thoughts on Lotusphere and their tips and tricks for surviving our annual pilgrimage. Well on Christmas Eve, my story was posted. You can check it out here.

Lotusphere 2009 is almost here

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This year has just flown by. Things are seriously going way too fast. Anyway, it’s getting close to that time again. Lotusphere 2009 is happening from January 17th – 23rd and the Dolphin and Swan in Disney, Orlando.

I will be attending as press for Intranet Journal once again, and am also set up by Lotus as a blogger as well, so I’ll wear the double hat once again. Triple hat if you consider the fact that my day job is that of a Notes admin. Anyway, a couple things to note:

Tagging
Please tag all flickr photos, blog posts, bookmarks etc. with lotusphere2009
Please tag all twitter (and other microblogging service) posts with the #ls09 hash tag

Last year I wrote a Lotusphere Survival Guide for Intranet Journal. For the most part, it still holds true. Also, check my survival guide that I posted here from a couple years ago, those are universal Lotusphere truths!

Look forward to seeing you all there, if you see me, don’t hesitate to come up and say HI!

My Lotusphere Article Available for Download

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For those of you who didn’t know, I had an article published as a Lotusphere giveway by Voltage security. If you were unable to get to Lotusphere, or to stop by the Voltage booth, you can get a copy here:

Lotus Security in the New World of Collaboration

The download does require registration on the site, but once you register, you get access to a bunch of other whitepapers as well. Voltage has solutions for encrypting files in Quickr or encrypting email outside your enterprise so if you have those needs, make sure you let them know in the registration process and they will contact you.

My personal Lotusphere highlights

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Well, I know this is a little late for a recap, but I wanted to bullet point the highlights of this Lotusphere for me

  • Seeing Lotus finally support the SMB market with Foundations and BlueHouse
  • Having my whitepaper on Lotus Security as a giveaway from Voltage
  • Feeling a little omniscient talking about how Lotus should provide spam and virus protection in the whitepaper, only to have Lotus announce Lotus Protector
  • Getting to meet many new people who I had only interacted with online. Folks like Tim Tripcony, Gregg Eldred, Mitch Cohen, Yancey Lent and many others. My apologies if I forgot to list you here
  • Still having people come up to me and tell me they read my blog. It’s a very humbling experience, and it makes me happy every time it happens.
  • Having my family along, and getting the best cheering section ever when they came to watch the boat races.
  • Enjoying a cigar on the beach with Matt Stratton after the aforementioned boat races
  • Watching an embarrassed Jess Stratton get an ovation that seemed to go on forever after her absolutely killer Evanescence Karaoke at Kimono’s.
  • Meeting White Chocolate Truffle. She’s such a cutie. You guys are the best parents she could ever hope for.
  • Spending time with ‘Scottish’ Joe Litton. That had to be one of the most entertaining things I’ve ever been a part of at Lotusphere. After my round of ten shots of Jack was followed by his round of ten shots of Crown Royal, I knew it was going to be a good night.
  • Enjoying the talents of Scottish Joe and Bill (I’llneverbeabletospellhislastname) M. as they mixed the Mai Tai’s. They were phenominal.
  • The return of super hero duo UTurn and Lady Buttcheeks. Had a great time hanging out with you two as always. Miss you both already.
  • Hitting the rollercoasters with my partner-in-crime UTurn. Thanks for braving front rows with me.
  • Singing ‘If I had $1,000,000’ with the Captain (twice) and Tim from Voltage (once)
  • Singing ‘Summer Nights’ with UTurn to end the final night of Kimono’s debauchery
  • Julian’s ever-morphing facial hair
  • Watching Duffbert annihilate Bill and Paul at their Worst Practices session by pointing out some of THEIR practices. It was priceless!
  • Dining at Il Mulino in the Swan with my wife Jen. Everything I ate there was wonderful. Some of the best veal I’ve ever had. The company wasn’t bad either!
  • Covering the conference as press and as a blogger. It was a lot of things to go to, but I felt far more relaxed doing it this year. Hat’s off to the Erica and the PR team for really making it easy on us.
  • Many thanks to Volker as well. His guidance last year helped me really learn to handle all the stuff that flies at you when you are press. I can honestly say, without his help last year, I would have never survived and been able to do press this year. Now I feel like an old pro.
  • The Blogger press conference. For Mike Rhodin to take the time to sit and answer our questions says a lot about Lotus. He was candid, funny, and very accomodating.
  • Lotus people being friendly in general. The fact that I can bump into and have conversations with people like Ed, Alan, Adam and Mary Beth shows just how different of a company Lotus truly is.
  • Hanging out with friends like jonvon (didn’t spend nearly enough time together man!), The Captain, Bruce, Gayle, Vince (thanks for the rainy walk home), Carl, Devin (my partner-in-crime), Terri, Declan, Julian R., Julian W., John, Paul (as always, you are a riot to hang out with), Lorraine, Warren, Kitty, Andrew (& Melissa!), Kristina and Genelle, Turtle (his mojo be workin’), Phil, Matt and Jess, Kevin, The Bob and many others. Probably some people I can’t imagine that I forgot.
  • Getting my yearly drunken hug from Wild Bill when he tells me how much all of us as friends mean to him. Right back atcha man. In fact, I think you pretty much sum up what a lot of people feel. Lotusphere is about technology, but it’s more about the people and connections we make. I see some of my best friends once a year, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

So folks, another Lotusphere in the can, and it was a good one. Thanks to everyone who made it a wonderful experience.

My Lotusphere Pictures are Posted

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Hello everyone. Just wanted to let you know that my Lotusphere pictures have been posted here on flickr. These are mainly pictures of the opening general session and a little bit of the closing. I have a separate album for the Alton Brown photos. I’ve got a bunch of him on stage that I still need to develop and post, but I’ve at least got the ones with him signing autographs. The stage stuff will be up shortly. Hope you enjoy!

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