Money.
There, I said it. I got the dirty word out in the open so we all have to deal with it now.
I don’t care who you are, or where you are from, or what you are doing…
Continue reading this post at the Funboard (free registration required)
|| posted by chris under biz, community, opinion || comments (0) || ||
So, I couldn’t stop thinking about seeing the SBSC group in the #1 slot on the WPC attendee networking tool, which I mentioned in the previous post. Even tho I already kinda mentioned this off-hand at the end of the other post, it bears repeating as an official Funcave CHALLENGE…
Why don’t we in the SMB/SBSC community keep that group #1 on Connect?
Seriously.
Folks are constantly whining about how they don’t get enough attention from MS because we’re individually too small to notice.
Here’s a prime opportunity to show not only the spirit of the SBS/SMB/SBSC community, but also an idea of the number of us serious enough about our businesses to attend WPC.
Heck, you don’t even have to be an SBSC. You can just be interested in or serving customers in the SMB sector. Really, the only requirement for this challenge is that you need to be attending or planning to attend WPC07.
So here’s what to do:
I’d hope we could keep this group #1 on the Connect system through the entire conference.
Honestly, if you’re already registered for WPC07, you should already have your profile set up on Connect. And if you’re planning to attend WPC07…well, you should quit dawdling, get registered & get your profile on Connect.
You see, you are wasting valuable time for other attendees to check out your business & solution profile and decide if they’d like to Connect (now the name makes sense, right?) with you to talk some biz.
Heck, it’s worth browsing to the Connect login page just to check out all the folks with squished head syndrome. C’mon folks. When it says 100×100, you want your pic to be exactly 100×100. Otherwise, you risk looking like a sketch on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
Business plan to self: Code an intelligent photo/avatar resizing system. Become a zillionaire. Retire.
Last year, due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to take advantage of the WPC networking tools. Which, quite honestly, reduced the value of attending for me by at least 1/3, if not more.
That won’t happen to me this year, since I’ve got something to say about it now.
|| posted by chris under biz, community, thumbs up, travel || comments (10) || ||
Anyone else planning to attend Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference AKA WPC this year better get a move on.
The conference is right now at 60% of capacity & going fast! They’re forecasting WPC07 to sellout even before June rolls around.
For those of you who are SBSCs, you’ll be glad to know the Yellow Lounge AKA The Tweety Room is already open & ready for business. Besides being a great place to take a break & cool your heels last year, this lounge especially for SBSCs was a spot where you could also catch semi-informal mini-demos of complementary solutions for SMB at various times throughout the conference.
Here are some pics, in case you missed last year:
And if you’re wondering why all the EU folks are in all these pics, that’s an easy one. They never left those couches!
And I would be remiss if I didn’t include my 2 absolute favorite pictures.
The posed shot…
and the candid.
Truly one of the best benefits of attending WPC is getting access to their attendee networking tool, this year titled Connect. Lynette Eastlake, the WW Partner Community Diva, has been busy setting up a group on Connect specifically for Partners & SBSCs registered for WPC who are planning to attend the Small Business Symposium.
Right now, it’s the largest group on Connect!
Not surprisingly, you have to be a registered attendee of WPC to access Connect. But once you are, go ahead & join Small Business Symposium Attendees / SBSCs if you’re in the community, or are simply interested in seeing what it’s all about.
So get your registration on & come join us for WPC07: Mile High in July!
|| posted by chris under biz, community, travel || comments (1) || ||
An anniversary of sorts for me today.
And it’s a bit strange, since the Funcave happens to be deserted.
365 days ago, I had surgery on my neck. To be honest, it has been an insanely long long road to recovery. It wasn’t until my last checkup a month or so ago that there was evidence the second bone graft had finally started to take. Barring that, I’d have been scheduled for another surgery.
But what’s funny, at least to me anyway…
What started as a sore shoulder set off a chain of events that totally transformed my life. There has been literally nothing about my existence that wasn’t overturned by it.
I’m not sure, given an option back then, that I would have chosen all this to happen. But now that it has, and I have a chance to look back on it, I’m genuinely glad it did.
You learn a lot about the true nature of people & what’s at their core when you are nearly incapacitated. It bares to light the sheer barbaric nature of one person to another, which is normally covered with the thinnest veneer of civility.
Primary among those folks bared to light…is yourself.
Which is why trust should never be given lightly or flippantly. Because 9 times out of 10, you’ll get stabbed in the throat for it.
What it boils down to…
All the people that matter to me are still here.
Those that don’t…aren’t.
Which is a simple, beautiful thing.
Cheers.
|| posted by chris under epiphany, nostalgia, rx || comments (2) || ||
If you’ve ever been curious about the realities inherent in developing the Windows Mobile platform, you definitely need to check out this post:
Dogfood Doesn’t Always Taste Good
For those who might miss the nuances, I get the impression that developing Mobile OS is roughly akin to piloting the space shuttle via remote control while submerged, upside down, in a vat of hydraulic fluid. While wearing a strait-jacket. And your mother-in-law zaps you continually with a cattle prod.
In short, if you value openness, candor & insanely helpful information in a corporate blog…
look no further than the Windows Mobile team blog.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a huge fan of the Exchange team blog.
But the WM team just took the #1 spot on my list of mothership blogs.
|| posted by chris under beta, biz, hardware, mobility || comments (0) || ||
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