Some time back I posted a series of articles describing how to create “dynamic date” objects based off of the current system date. For examples I used the Oracle database. This post simply contains a collection of links that I have found to references for date/time functions for other databases. I hope it will be useful.
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Not too long ago I was selected to be on the steering committee for the newly forming global user group now known as GBN (short for Global Business Objects Network). While I was busy preparing for and attending TechEd 2008 GBN launched our new web site (in the related links for this post), provided a PDF for the press release, and gave me a logo to add to my posts. Of course having the logo is the most important, right? 😆
The steering committee had our first face-to-face meeting in Chicago last month. I thought the meeting was very productive, but there was one important part that was not entirely present. I am just one of several steering committee members. Each of us has our own ideas and our own concerns. I want to be more… I want to carry your ideas and your concerns too. The most important part of a global user group is the middle word “user” as without it, the group has no purpose. That’s where you come in. Continue reading “Share An Idea, Win A Cup”
One of the things I noticed a lot of the “cool kids” using at SAP TechEd was Twitter. Twitter is an interesting and seemingly useless 😆 web service that allows you to post one to two line bits of text telling anyone who is interested what you are doing at exactly that moment. If you are interested, you can “follow” another persons twitter or their “tweets” as each entry is called. Wikipedia (and other sources) call it a “micro blog” because it lets a person post something (like a blog) but in very small bytes (pun intended).
Wiki also says that as of July of 2008 there were over two million accounts registered. 😯
One of the reasons I decided to sign up was to see how it felt to use it. There are certain things that I use now that are part of the way I do things. For example, blogging has become easier because I see blog topics all the time. (This isn’t my only blog, so it gives me a wide range of subjects to talk about.) One of the sessions that I found the most interesting at TechEd was ESME (Enterprise Social Messaging Experiment). The folks behind that project are trying to see if a twitter-like function can be used within the enterprise. They’re expanding the service so that instead of just following a person you can also follow certain keywords or topics. Think of it as slightly slower than instant messages but faster and more succinct than email.
In any case, I figured that I would try it out. There is a twitter feed on the sidebar of this blog, and there is a URL that you can use to check in and see what I’m having for dinner, or whatever I am doing at that exact moment in time. Within reason, of course. 🙂
Related Links
Wow, a five day conference (more specifically four days + Community Day) makes for a long week. Yesterday I had lunch with Giles Farrow (from Business Objects an SAP Company). Those that have been speakers in the past might recognize his name as he has been the coordinator for the Insight conferences these past few years. Giles used to work for Guinness (the beer company, not the book of records people) and tells some interesting stories. It was nice to catch up with him.
After lunch I went to the Community Clubhouse where I talked with Brian Bischof for a while. I had been introduced to Brian the night before; he is a well-known author, having published several books on Crystal Reports. He also has a series of articles on his web site (end of post for link) that talk about his experiences with self-publishing that I found very enlightening. I enjoyed the talk.
Continue reading “SAP TechEd Day … Something. Where Am I Again?”
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So I find myself typing this post on my Blackberry because the wireless at the convention center is so bad… 🙄 … Mostly that means this post will be short. I am sitting in a Universe Design session. Why? Because nothing else at this time looked familiar or interesting. Why is this post-worthy? Because of all of the sessions I have observed, this one had the longest waitlist. It seems that SAP folks are starting to “get” that universes are where it’s at. 🙂
Unfortunately today I had several conference calls and some client work that had to get done, so for the most part I was unable to attend any specific events. I did have some great conversations with people in the hallways of the convention center, and that’s one of the primary reasons why I am here.
But not much to report as far as specific track sessions, I’m afraid. So you, too, my blog audience, have the day off from the conference as well. Hope you were as productive as I was. 8)
We have to get this for the Business Objects conference! This was a lot of fun. They called it American Idol for Geeks. 😆
Continue reading “SAP TechEd 2008 Day 2 Part II: Data at Demo Jam!”
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It has been interesting to look around during some of the presentations and see what everyone is doing. I see some folks on twitter, some folks working on blog posts (I recognize the WordPress blog edit screens as I use it myself), some folks having IM conversations… and people are barely paying attention to the presentations. I try to watch and absorb and remember (I take a few notes) and then blog later.
For example, the InnoCentive information I posted about just a little while ago came out on other blog networks while the general session was still going on! So I guess my “live” blogging is not nearly as live as it could be. When I went to the first-ever phpBB (the software used for BOB) conference in London I did live blogging from the main session room because there really weren’t any breaks. Here there is a separate (private) room for bloggers to set up and do their thing, so I’m not sure why (other than being “first to market”) they feel the need to blog during the actual presentation.
Not much time to check facts or add references that way either. 🙂
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The general session this morning featured a presentation from Jon Schwarz, the CEO of Business Objects. We also heard from Zia Yusuf, and his title is listed as “Executive Vice President Global Ecosystem and Partner Group” which is quite a mouthfull. 🙂 One of the interesting things tha Zia shared was that 50% of the financial transactions globally pass through an SAP system somewhere along the way. That’s an interesting statistic, to be sure, but not that surprising really. When you consider the global marketplace and how much information passes back and forth, and how popular SAP applications are, it stands to reason that somewhere along the line a piece of data is going to be touched by at least one company using SAP. It sounds impressive though. 🙂
SAP and InnoCentive Team Up
One of the interesting things announced this morning was that SAP is taking part in what I think is a very interesting service from a company named InnoCentive. Continue reading “SAP TechEd 2008 Day 2 Part I: InnoCentive to the Rescue”
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After Lunch
After the Xcelsius session wrapped up after lunch we made our way back to the larger ballroom for a question and answer session with Jimmy Wales. I don’t know if you know who that is (I did not, until I read his bio). He is the founder of Wikipedia, and he was really interesting to listen to. This session was a bonus; he was also to be the guest speaker at the opening keynote later this evening but as a part of Community Day we got him to ourselves for a while. This was probably my favorite part of the day… and it didn’t even have anything to do with SAP or Business Objects or anything. 🙂 The idea behind bringing him in is that he’s made a top-ten internet destination out of a huge community project. Since today was “community” day it certainly made sense to hear what he had to say.
Oh, and my “technical issue” that I mentioned earlier, about not being able to get hooked into the wireless network at the convention center? It wasn’t a technical issue. I just need new glasses. The network access instructions (including the password) were printed on the back of my conference badge. 😳 Despite this, I didn’t take the time to get my laptop out during the rest of the afternoon as I was getting more benefit from talking to people around me.
I have to say that I have been given an extremely warm welcome here. It seems like everyone I meet or am introduced to knows about BOB and our own little community, and everyone seems genuinely glad that I’m here. I finished out the day with a very warm and fuzzy feeling. And if you’re wondering, yes, that’s a good thing.
Continue reading “TechEd Community Day Wrap Up”
