In no particular order, here are some observations and thoughts on my OOW experiences so far.
- Everything is about people, who you know, and knowing what those people do. With people and connections, you can learn a lot more than doing it on your own.
- Identity Management is sort of important, but not important enough to get a session room in Moscone–you have to go to Marriott’s basement to catch an IdM session.
- It’s pretty cool to be mentioned in the opening keynote address, but it’d be cooler if you knew you were going to be mentioned ahead of time :).
- Lots of people are taking pictures of slides in sessions even if they know that slides will be posted later. Not sure why.
- I see about 75% of people taking notes on paper with legacy devices like pens. Why not type them in to a text file instead?
- It seems that news about “X” is leaking out and if the rumors I’ve heard are true, it’ll be a very big deal. All eyes will be on Larry’s keynote today–hopefully he’ll provide enough technical information to make everyone understand what’s up.
- Oracle Beehive looks really cool, but personally, I don’t think anyone is taking it seriously since Oracle Collab Suite just died on the vine after a similar launch a few years ago.
- The OTN Lounge is a great thing and keeps getting better every year. Justin and the OTN gang do a great job making a place for people to do Good Things for the community and magic does happen occasionally.
- Unconference sessions are absolutely excellent ways to get information and engage in good discussions instead of death by powerpoint.
- Staying hydrated is, as mentioned by Judy Sim, a great idea.
- Time zones in SF suck for many people–especially those from Oz.
- There is a growing community around Oracle and it’s full of great individuals.
Tonight is the “appreciation event” and while the acts aren’t as interesting to me as past years, it still sounds like a fun night and a chance to see more people and have a little fun, too. See you there!