One of the great advantages to MVP Summit is the information that is made available to us; speak to any MVP and chances are they were in no fewer than a dozen sessions over the course of four days, not to mention all of the break-out sessions, the Open Space sessions on the first day, and a plethora of additional meetings and semi-organized conversations with anyone from peers to product managers. There was a welcoming keynote on Monday, and two keynote speeches on Thursday, delivered by Sean O'Driscoll, Ray Ozzie, and Steve Ballmer respectively.
All of that information can be overwhelming - it is not uncommon to suffer from information overload. One of the common terms tossed about is drinking from a fire hose. If you have ever tried to do that you will likely have three results:
- Your thirst is quenched;
- Your face is wet from a lot of the overage; and
- The more you try to ingest the more likely you will get hurt, either from the water rushing to your face or from the bloating.
If there is one thing I have realized as my relationship with Microsoft has progressed and continues to progress is that the more connected you become - the more NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) you sign, the more programs you become involved in - the more information is made available to you, and the harder it becomes to ingest it all.
Of course I would never complain of being given too much information, but the reality is that at a certain point you start realizing how much of that information is wasted. You could spend twenty-four hours per day reading and keeping up - but what suffers as a consequence of that? No sleep, no work, no family time, no eating (many would suggest that I could afford to miss a meal or two... but that is another story).
The problem with all of that is that every (or most) MVP has a number of things in common, which they also share with most of the people I have worked with at Microsoft; that is a passion for the technology and a thirst for the knowledge. I have met MVPs (and Microsoft employees) who will sacrifice those aspects of their lives to quench that thirst. On occasion I have been one of those, although often I try to skim the interesting information and only get deep into the necessary information. Again, this is not an easy skill, but I consider other aspects of my life too important to sacrifice completely.
So this week at a glance I have been exposed to sessions, talks, and conversations on:
- Social Networking and Web 2.0
- Windows Mobile 6 and related technologies
- Essential Business Server
- Small Business Server
- User Groups
- Certifications
- Licensing
- Writing
- Public Speaking
- Virtualization
- A brief History of the beginning of Microsoft (VERY abridged)
- Collaboration Tools
- Many, many more...
In a perfect world I would now be much smarter on any number of these topics than I was... hopefully I am at least a little better off than I was. I know I have paid much closer attention to sessions that are of more pertinent relevance to what I am currently working on than the others, but I would be lying if I said I got as much out of them as I could have. My best hope is that the feedback that I offered was heard by the people who can make a difference, or at least caused some of them to continue to discuss my ideas.
This is my second MVP Summit and I am happy to be here for many reasons... not only for the information but also (and possibly especially) because of the people I get to interact with... fellow MVPs and Microsoft employees alike. The entire event has been planned to expose many of us to different groups which remind me of the Web 2.0 discussion that Sean gave - of course I spent a lot of time meeting with my immediate peers (related to my technological areas of interest); but I also had a lot of opportunity to interact with fellow Canadian MVPs (some of whom I have no technical interests in common), and then the social meetings and keynotes that were open to all.
Most of you know that I have been a big proponent of IT Pro communities - local user groups and such - which I see as a similar model on possibly a smaller scale. I love going to a user group meeting (either at one of the groups I am a member of or as a guest speaker) and seeing the interaction that happens at different levels:
- Attendees who are obviously friends or colleagues who interact naturally;
- An attendee may make a point during the event that rings true or important to another who will start a conversation during a break;
- Attendee interaction with the speaker or other guests - including speakers or sponsors - in attendance
These introductions and conversations extend our own webs and reach, and I always encourage them even often to the extent of introducing people who might not know some of the common needs or pain points. When I founded the Montreal IT Professionals Community (www.mitpro.ca) in 2005 I did not have the foresight so realize how important that would be, and yet I count a number of friends and colleagues whom I met through MITPro, and who continue to be friends and colleagues to this day, fifteen months after I left the group. When I started the IT Professionals Community of Greater Toronto (www.itprotoronto.ca) I did realize that, and have encouraged the relationship fostering among our members, including initiating an informal gathering at a cafe or pub after every meeting.
What information do you come across that is important to you? Do you like to share that information, or are you the type to horde it to give you a leg up on your competitors? Have you noticed increased success as a result of your participation in either in-person or on-line groups? Share your story by filling out the Comment form hereinbelow. Share your stories, and maybe your insight will be helpful to someone across town... or across the globe.