Sep 08 2008
TechEd Community Day Wrap Up
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.
The “Community Day” is the pre-cursor to the full TechEd event, and the entire day is built around community members. The opening session was … interesting. They gave out harmonicas to everyone entering the room, and at one point we were all asked to join in a symphony of sorts. You can imagine the noise. 
