Stephen Few, renown educator and trainer in BI Visualisations and author, had been giving a BI Visualisation workshop earlier in the week. I was in attendance at the workshop and managed to persuade Stephen to attend our social event. He was only in Melbourne until Friday November 18th, hence the last minute change to the date.

It was a Movember themed event, but unfortunately not that many people took part. I was one of two Mo Bro’s of the evening. Angus Bell had quite the impressive Mo and walked away with a heap of Movember merchandise (which he later gave away at another Movember party), as well as bottle of wine. It was a great effort by Angus, check out his Mo below and donate to his cause here:

Next month’s event is in the works and will be held, once again, at The Sherlock Holmes Inn. Dates and times will be communicated soon. Stay tuned for more on SQL Server Social!

However, in order to have Stephen join us, it has meant that I have had to change the date of the event. So, SQL server Social will now be held THIS THURSDAY, 17th November 2011.

Stephen is an incredibly busy individual and travels all over the world enlightening people on data visualisation best practices, so I am privileged that he has agreed to join us.

I’ll be sending out updates to those of you who have already registered and will be apologising profusely. Don’t worry, if you can make it, your current registration will still stand. For those of you who can now make it, please head over to http://sqlserversocial.eventbrite.com to sign up. Don’t forget, this is a rare opportunity to come and meet, and chat to, one of the leading experts on data visualisation.

Event Details

If you are not sure what SQL Server Social is all about, you can either read about the first event here, or check out the following recap:

What is SQL Server Social

SQL Server Social is a monthly event that has been created to provide SQL Server Professionals with a chance to network with industry peers, discuss predefined topics, have a little fun, have a beer and make some new friends.

What is the aim of SQL Server Social

SQL Server Social aims to build local SQL Server communities through regular social meetings, where database professionals can share their experiences and learn from their peers through open discussion.

Movember Edition

This month’s edition is a special one. It’s Movember and that means Mos! Here’s what the campaign is all about:

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in Australia and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.

For all the guys planning on attending, let’s see who has the best Mo by the 24th of this month. There’ll still be 6 days remaining until the official end of the campaign, but it’ll be good to see how you are all faring by that stage. This will be my first year participating; you can follow my ‘progress’ on my Mo page – mobro.co/lukehayler. If you feel so inclined, I have also put together a team for SQL Server Social, so show your support for the cause and join in!

Facebook Page!

SQL Server Social now has it’s own Facebook page. This page will be used to keep all the fans in the loop with updates about future events, photos from past events, links to interesting SQL-related sites, and so-on and so-forth…So if you are on Facebook why not tag along and keep up-to-date. Check out the page here.

Twitter!

SQL Server Social is also all over twitter like a bad rash. Follow us for updates – @sqlserversocial

SQL Crosswords

One of the [optional] challenges for the event is to complete a SQL Server Crossword. The SQL Server Crosswords have been generously donated to our cause by John Sansom (blog | @JohnSansom). John is a DBA in the UK and is a frequent blogger at www.johnsansom.com. John has had several awards bestowed upon him including Microsoft’s Community Contributor 2011 and SQLServerPedia’s Professional Development 2010 Winner as well as being a Rock Star Blogger (in Tom La Rock’s rankings). John has a wealth of information on his blog, so do yourself a favour and go check it out.

See you there!

• How do we quickly deploy builds to the data warehouse without a big configuration overhead?
• How do we adapt to timing issue with data availability without pushing out the entire processing schedule?
• How do we prove the data is right with each refresh and anticipate issues before they are raised by a business user?

So if you are in Manhattan tomorrow, take the time and go and meet Nadav and hear what he has to say. You can find out more about the event here.

Please give a warm welcome to SQL Server Social!

How SQL Server Social came about

For a while now I have been thinking of setting up an event where [SQL Server] database professionals can get together on a regular basis to network, exchange ideas, have a few drinks and make a few new friends. The mixers at the start of each User Group meeting are good, but they are just not long enough, and with the lecture style format of these meetings, it is can be quite difficult to get to know more people.

I was finally gearing up to doing something about this idea, when I got a call from my good friend Jim McLeod (blog | @Jim_McLeod). He had had the same idea and his aims for the meeting and the format it would take were so similar to mine that it just made sense to team up and organise it together.

What is SQL Server Social

SQL Server Social is a monthly event that has been created to provide SQL Server Professionals with a chance to network with industry peers, discuss predefined topics, have a little fun, have a beer and make some new friends.

What is the aim of SQL Server Social

SQL Server Social aims to build local SQL Server communities through regular social meetings, where database professionals can share their experiences and learn from their peers through open discussion.

What is the format of the event

1. Meetings are to be held monthly on the last Thursday of the month.
2. Meetings are to be informal events with a focus on networking and open discussions, rather than lecture-style sessions.
3. Several themes/topics will be suggested for each meeting. These will form the initial topics of discussion and provide the icebreaker conversations for attendees.
4. Each attendee should have something specific to discuss, whether this is a existing problem they need an answer to or a solution that they want to share.
5. For now, events are not sponsored, so each attendee will be expected to pay their own way. We are hoping that this will change in the very near future. If you would like to sponsor this event please contact me or Jim using the details contained at the end of this post.
6. Like local User Groups, these events are free to attend and are open to anyone who currently works with or is looking to start working with SQL Server.

The first SQL Server Social — Melbourne, Australia!

The first of these events is next week (Thursday, 26th May 2011). It is going to be held at Number Five (next to Freshwater Place) on Southbank, 6 Queens Bridge Road, Melbourne, Australia. Starting at around 5:15pm the agenda is as follows:

1. 5:15pm (~45 mins) Meet and greet
2. 6:00pm (+ 1 hour) Open discussion focussed on topics-of-the-month
3. 7:00pm (15 – 30 mins) SQL Server Crosswords!

Click here to register –> http://sqlserversocial.eventbrite.com

Please bring your contact/business cards with you – one of the main aims of the event is to network after all. If you don’t have a business/contact card go check out moo.com, they make premium business cards in different formats. They are highly recommended.

The SQL Server Crosswords have been generously donated to our cause by John Sansom (blog | @JohnSansom). John is a DBA in the UK and is a frequent blogger at www.johnsansom.com. John has had several awards bestowed upon him including Microsoft’s Community Contributor 2011 and SQLServerPedia’s Professional Development 2010 Winner as well as being a Rock Star Blogger (in Tom La Rock’s rankings). John has a wealth of information on his blog, so do yourself a favour and go check it out.

This promises to be a fun event. We already have a number of people attending, so let’s see if we can grow those numbers and make this inaugural event a success. Due to the fact that this is the first of the series, we are unsure as to how many people will be interested in attending. To manage this we are limiting the number of attendees, so please be quick if you want to come along!!

Contact Us

If you have any questions about the event please feel free to get hold of either myself or Jim McLeod:

• @lukehayler / luke (at) hayler.com
• @Jim_McLeod / jim (at) jimmcleod.net

The Data Warehousing and BI Virtual Chapter was started up Amy Lewis (@amy_lewisAZ), Tim Mitchell (Blog | @tim_mitchell) & Adam Jorgensen (Blog | @adam_jorgensen). If you are not already signed up for PASS, and in particular this VC, then shame on you. You should be. There are a ton of great resources and they are there for YOUR benefit!

The BI Virtual Chapter can be found here: http://bi.sqlpass.org/. Bookmark it now!! There is also a Twitter account for the BI VC (@PASSBIVC)

There are loads of great events coming up too. Here is a summary of what is on offer:

All events start at 12pm EST

Each of these are described in more detail on the BI Virtual Chapter website

I am thoroughly looking to each of these and want to express my thanks to the organisers for pulling this Virtual Chapter together.

I have only been to one SQLBits Conference (SQLBits V, Newport, Wales) and have talked about it here, here and here. I liked it. I liked it a lot (as if you couldn’t tell, right?). I got to meet loads of sqlservery people and had a number of good conversations, attend several brilliant presentations and a number of good ones (most of which I learned a bunch of new things), won a Redgate SQL Compare license (which I am still waiting for btw, Redgate, nudge nudge) and generally had a great time. While SQLBits V was a 3 day affair, SQLBits VI will be 1 day only and the theme is Performance Tuning and Scalability. Oh, and it’s free.

Conference Details

SQLBits VI will be held in London, and more specifically, at the Church House Conference Center, Westminster, London, UK on 16th April 2010. Starting at around 8am (for registration, swag-bag pick up and of course a few obligatory bacon baps) the conference kicks off with sessions across several tracks:

• Database Administration
• Development
• Business Intelligence

With the focus being on performance tuning and scalability for all tracks, this promises to be a great conference for learning some interesting things.

Registration is open (and has been for a little while, if I’m being honest), but you will have to be quick. Becuase it’s only a 1 day conference, but mostly because it’s such a great conference and it’s FREE, places tend to be snapped up pretty darn quick. Also, if you register for SQLBits VI before 30th March 2010 you stand a chance of winning registration to the European PASS Summit (Germany), if you attend SQLBits VI then you stand a chance to win a registration to the PASS Summit (Seattle, USA).

One point on registration. As it is free, people tend to register even if they are not sure if they will actually attend. While this is not a bad thing in itself, if you are one of those people AND it turns out that you cannot attend then please cancel your registration. This frees up a place for someone else that can make it (but was too late [initially] for registration). There’s a lot that goes into planning a conference and most of this is done around the number of attendees. If a number of those registrants don’t pitch up, then there is a not only a whole lot of wasted money but a whole lot of wasted opportunity. Don’t be selfish, think of the community and act accordingly. Remember, it’s free!

Remember the after party

The sessions are bound to be fantastic, and you are likely to learn a great deal. But go home early at your peril. The prize giving, party and social after all the day’s events is not something you will want to miss. Why? Well, this is a prime opportunity to really get to know more SQL Server people. People that may well become your friends down the line, or at the very least be a contact point should you need assistance on a specific topic (the SQL Server Community is pretty awesome that way). It is also the best time to find those elusive speakers and ask them the questions that you have prepared. It’s a prime time to do this as the speakers are not stressed out about their presentations and are in a more relaxed and approachable state. They are much more likely to entertain your <ahem>query </ahem>, especially if you hand them a beer before you do so.

So, stay out a little longer than 6pm and make the most of a wonderful opportunity.

And finally…

I’m looking forward to catching up with some old acquaintances and learning a lot of new tricks on how to tune SSIS Packages and Scale Reporting Services Solutions. I’ll also be taking some notes on presentation styles and on what makes a speaker/session a great speaker/session, as I’m thinking getting on to the presentation bandwagon….in the hopefully not-too-distant future.

See you at SQLBits VI!

See you there!

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You can find the SQLBits agenda here: http://sqlbits.com/information/newagenda.aspx

Lending a hand

After reading Jeremiah Peschka’s (@peschkaj) article, Volunteering with PASS, I’ve realised the need to help out if I can. So, one of my goals at the conference is to find a few of the current organisers and figure how I can get involved. Is there any better way to rub shoulders with the best & the brightest out there? So, if Simon or James or Chris or Martin or Darren or Allan happen to read this, then consider this my offer to help. By the way, you’re all on my list of people to meet… ;)

My Schedule

When I originally planned to go to SQLBits I wondered whether or not to go up on the Thursday evening or rush in on the Friday morning. I was never going to make the Thursday pre-con, so it was a toss up between shelling out more ££’s for another night in the hotel or risk missing the start of the Friday program. So I gambled and decided I would travel on the Friday morning. This was done before the agenda was published (train tickets are sooooo much cheaper if you book in advance, see my previous entry), hence the gamble. It seems to have paid off however, as registration is from 08:45 – 09:40 and I should arrive (hopefully) at around 09:30. Just in time.

Here’s my planned schedule (if you’re remotely interested):

Friday, 20th November:

Saturday, 21st November:

Sunday, 22nd November:

I’m hoping to meet a bunch of folks at the conference, so if you are going, let me know. It’s always easier to start a conversation if you’ve already introduced yourself, even if that is only in a ‘online’ sense. So, either leave a comment here or look me up on twitter (@lukehayler). Oh, and if you’re already on twitter and not using the #sqlbits tag for related posts, you should be.

I’m hunting for social events next….stay tuned.

Preparations

So I’ve been reading a lot in the last few weeks. As the PASS Summit has just come and gone, there are a multitude of blog posts out there about conference preparation, travelling tips, ways to cut costs, what type of questions you should and shouldn’t be posing to speakers/vendors/other attendees, starting conversations with others, making new acquaintances, as well as those about the actual conference.

My preparations have be slow and steady. Research has been the main focus, with understanding what sessions are on offer, who the speakers are and what events will be taking place ‘after hours’. The first two items here are easily accomplished by venturing over to the sqlbits website where you will find a description of each of the intended sessions, the speakers and their bios with links to their websites and other web presences (twitter) if any exist – most do, but there are a few who seem to be ghosts on the information super-highway (ha! when was the last time that you heard that phrase…). Say what you like, but I believe that if you are a speaker then you should at least have a spot on the intertubez where people can find out more about you and download your slides.

I’ve ordered a bunch of business cards from moo.com. They’re of the mini variety and hold all the vital contact info as well as a mug shot of yours truly – so you can remember who to avoid look for at the next meet…

I’ve started to put together a few questions for key people that I’m aiming to stalk find, meet and get to know a little better. I’ll bribe them with whatever they need to persuade them to stick around long enough find out who I am and to answer my questions – I find beer works pretty well in most cases.

What to do, Where to go

In terms of sessions that I’m thinking of attending, it depends on the schedule. I’ve been informed however, that although the schedule for the sessions has been done, ‘technical difficulties’ have meant that they are not yet available for the rest of us. Let’s hope they fix the issue soon… wink wink nudge nudge. Once I know when the sessions are to take place I’ll post a list that I’ll be attending.

On to the important stuff. Social Events! I have been searching for a while now, but have still to find any reference to the ‘after hours events’ – think organised dinners and karaoke sessions at the PASS Summit. This is due to the fact that either there are no events (yet) or they haven’t been adequately advertised. So, if any of you readers do have knowledge of any planned social events, please let me know. If there aren’t any planned events, well…, we’ll have to change that. Pronto.

I’ll see you there. SQLbits 2009.