SDN Clubhouse improvement suggestions

Hi Mark,

I really like the idea of an SDN Day prior to the Teched.. I didn't get a chance to attend last year & not really sure of this year too.. but I would love to meet my fellow SDNers.. being a daily visitor to SDN, I feel like I know some of the regular contributors ( deliberately avoided the names) very well.. it will be interesting to meet them in person in an informal session..

Good luck with all your planning for a great event..

Regards,

Suresh Datti

>One of the ideas that we are thinking of is to have an SDN day before TechEd actually starts with just community activities.

I really like this idea. I though the SDN Meets Labs was a very unique event last year because of the contact with the fellow SDNers. The conversations at the lunch table alone were priceless.

It can be very difficult for companies to send their developers to multiple events. However to just extend a trip by a day usually isn't near the problem.

I think a "SDN Dinner" or some sort of exclusive socal gather (perhaps at the end of the SDN Day) would be really fun. It doesn't have to fancy - just an opportunity for everyone to chat in a really relaxed environment (ie. refreshments). Although the club house itself offers lots of networking opportunites, often people are there at different times and having to run off to other sessions. It would be great to have one time where everyone gathered with no other distractions for just a social time. At the event you could have groups of tables with signs on them that match the developer area's on SDN. This could help facility networking with developers that have similar interests. Of course you would need a really big table for the ABAP one. 😉

Also great would be an evening event that drew on both the BYOB and Quiz of the past. This could be a programming contest. Teams are formed and everyone has an evening to build something to show off at the end of the evening. It doesn't have to have ridge rules - it could just be build and show-off. The teams could be created on-site so that it is a mixture of members. Logistically this might be challenging, but it could be a lot of fun.

Hi Mark and others,

I was one of the Vienna-Techies last year that didn't make it to the SDN Clubhouse, indeed because there were so many lectures going on and on. Besides, I didn't (and, I'm sorry to admit, don't) know that many of the SDN-folks.

So, the idea to have a SDN-day sounds great to me. Even better when organized by topic, as some people have already suggested (otherwise the groups would become too big).

Living in Holland, I would certainly be there ;-).

IMHO it doesn't really matter what kind of activities you organize on such a day, just being together should do the job.

Best regards, Fred

Not sure if i posted my response in the right place so after being chastised by Eddy, I will reiterate here my response to your weblog.

"TechEd is a few days long what about putting up some challenges on the 1st day of techEd, and letting people form teams and code a solution while they are not in sessions, or just not sleep ( it is in Vegas ) and then on the last day do a "Demo Jam" with people's solutions. If SAP Labs can do it ( /people/mario.herger/blog/2005/12/02/sap-developer-challenge-day-1--shais-best-date ), so can the SDN Clubhouse!"

Possibly do the SDN day after techEd and let people show their solutions there. Also encouraging SAP developers to work with some of the teams would be a great opportunity for the developers to see how people are using their tools.

Dear Mark,

I like the idea to meet other SDN members. No matter what you choose "the SDN Dinner", "a pre-Teched SDN day" or a social event, I will be there in Amsterdam.

I liked the idea of last Tech-ed in USA: "Bring Your Own Box (BYOB)" for installing SAP software.

Also a country or company developer team’s competition could be a nice idea for a SDN day. For example which team can build a full blown SOA application using web Dynpro, XI and web application server within 8 hours?

With regards,

Robert Eijpe

Please contact me, if you need some help in the Netherlands.

Maybe off topic and I can't find anywhere else to put this. I can't seem to get the Update Profile to allow me to check any of the profile info. The data is updated fine. Any help gratefully received. At present I look like one of those anonymous lurkers. Yikes!