What's The (Share)Point?

Tag: sharepoint conference 2009

  • SharePoint Saturday – Ozarks

    I just saw that they are having SharePoint Saturday – Ozarks again this summer. SPSOzarks was my first SharePoint Saturday experience and I really enjoyed it. The information I learned, and the relationships that I began that Saturday were the impetus for getting more involved in the SharePoint community.  Since that Saturday in Harrison, Arkansas, I have attended Microsoft’s SharePoint Conference 2009 in Las Vegas, gotten more involved in our local SharePoint User Group and started presenting at other SharePoint Saturdays. I hope to work up another presentation for SPSOzarks so I can be a presenter this time instead of a spectator.

  • Will You Relocate?

    I receive calls daily about my availability as a SharePoint developer.  Are you seeking employment?  Are you presently available?  Can you talk?  All of these questions I am sure are a result of my continually updated resume on Dice.com.  As a SharePoint Consultant, I am always interested in talking to people about new opportunities.  It’s how I make my living.  I love talking to people about SharePoint and I spend quite a bit of time developing a network of personal and professional contacts.

    I employ many different techniques.  From social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, to writing on this blog or living blogging at different events, I try to promote my interest in SharePoint.  I like to help people discover the exciting world of SharePoint and so I participate in User Group meetings and attend different conferences.  Most recently, I attended the Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2009 in Las Vegas.  You can read my post about that experience here.

    Inevitably, the question comes.  Are you willing to relocate?  Now – I have to ask you.  If you are recruiting for a SharePoint Developer position in Chicago, are you telling me that there are not any SharePoint developers in the Chicago area willing to look at an opportunity?  Will a company actually move a person just to fill a developer position?  Maybe I’m naive.   I was just talking to someone about a couple of positions in Washington DC.  I continually see positions out there.  Are there no developers in the DC area?  Now – for short-term projects, I will travel – no problem.  For a long-term situation – I would need to be able to telecommute.  But please don’t ask me to move my family to New York, New Jersey, Washington DC, California, Seattle, Denver or St. Louis.   I’m sure they are all nice cities, (I’ve visited most of those), I’m just not interested in moving there.

    But – if you want me to move to the Springfield, Missouri area – then let’s talk!

  • SharePoint Conference 2009 Reflections

    SharePoint Conference 2009 is officially over and of course, the big news is SharePoint 2010.  I can say that any company actively developing MOSS 2007 solutions should take a serious look at upgrading to 2010 as soon as it is released.  In fact, you should already start planning for the upgrade – it is that good. 

    Based on all that I have seen this week, I can say that I will be recommending an upgrade as soon as possible for everyone I work with.  Why?  Well, that will be in another post.  There has been so much information to digest, that I am going to have to get my thoughts together so I can put something down that presents some semblance of a rational thought.  My immediate goal is to put together a “Top 10 Reasons I Think You Should Upgrade Right Away” document.  When I’m finished, I’ll post it here also.

    I want to say a big Thank You to the staff of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.  The art of moving 7,400 people from session to session and feeding them efficiently is no small task.  You performed wonderfully and it made my experiece even that much better.  I was always greeted with a smile and  I thank you for that.

    For those who I have met here at the conference – it has been my great pleasure.  I enjoy meeting new people and this conference was no exception.  In fact, it was exceptional.  I met folks from the land of my heritage, Denmark (where we all agreed that people left Denmark because of the weather and then settled in parts of the US with climates similar to Denmark).  I shared a beer with a few guys from Poland.  I enjoyed listening to Huey Lewis with a couple of folks from New Zealand (I’ll fly there anytime to work) and had a nice conversation with Nicolas Georgeault of France.  I met Dux, Margo, Patrick, Nina, Malli, Francois, Colleena, Lisa, Talia, Christian, Danny, Sigalit, Catherine, Julie, Peter, Clint and many more.  I met a few folks from Omaha – we’ll have to make sure to meet again at the next SharePoint User Group meeting.  I received an awesome business card from Kevin Bluer (I’ll bet it’s a moo card).  SharePoint folks are surely a social and passionate bunch. 

    Of course – there are also those who I have met previously at other SP conferences.  Joy, Kevin, Becky, Mark, JD, Cathy, Laura and Lori.  Some I will see again in December for SharePoint Saturday – Kansas City.  I finally met a samurai named Mike, who filmed a video podcast with a cute little fairy (never figured out the fairy outfit) and the famous Dux of DuxQuax.com.

    Most of all, I came away feeling good about my decision to foot the cost of this conference.  It reinforces my decision back in 1999 to “hitch my wagon” to Microsoft.  They are the software that businesses use, everyday.  SharePoint is becoming as important to business as Office is and I feel good that I am in a position to help them make the most out of their investment in Microsoft products.

    Thanks Microsoft for a great conference. Thank you Las Vegas for an “interesting” time (I was only propositioned once).  I am already looking forward to the next one.

  • SharePoint Conference 2009 Goodness

    I’m here in LasVegas enjoying the SharePoint 2009 conference.  I’ll post more later but here is a video of Huey Lewis and the News from the beach party last night.