More on the Lotus events brainstorming discussion

February 26 2004

Tuesday's posting, where I was seeking input on what other kinds of Lotus events you might be interested in seeing, generated some interesting commentary.  I think it can be summarized in three interest buckets:

  • People who can't travel or can't spend money on training, who want webcasts, webinars, or satellite broadcasts of relevant Lotus content
  • People who want more local events, so that more of their colleagues can hear the messages -- The Aussie Lotus Fusion got several votes for a comeback (me too, mates), as did the US "Lotusphere Comes to You" or other roadshow types of things.
  • People who see the value of community and interaction, and want face-to-face events.  Devcon was the most frequently mentioned idea there.
I'm interested in exploring that last one a bit more.  No doubt, Lotus can be doing more on the first two as well -- though as some mentioned, there are third parties now filling a lot of that void, including e-Pro's webcasts, the View's conferences and training, etc.   And there are indeed some regional events that are getting a lot of attention and interest (note three different events going on in Germany in the next few weeks).  I'm going to make sure the feedback about those two get to the right people.  BTW the satellite work -- "The Lotus Masters Broadcasts" -- was really really really expensive, so I don't think we'll see a comeback for that format.  It was fun to do, though -- and we had some great times over at the WGBH studios.
Anyway, from your feedback, there is clearly something to be said for Lotus-run, Lotus-branded face to face events.  I'd like to hear more about what kind of content you'd be looking for in such an event -- Lotus vs. external speakers, Workplace - Notes/Domino - Portal - J2EE  etc., and more importantly, what else you'd want to see.  For example, someone mentioned hands-on labs, but there are other things like birds-of-a-feather sessions, roundtables, etc.  Let's leave venues and entertainment out for now, and focus on what value a face-to-face event could deliver.

Ed Brill | Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Lotusphere 2004  Add/View Comments [7]

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  1. 1  Rob McDonagh http://www.CaptainOblivious.com | 2/26/2004 12:16:58 PM

    ****I thought Lotusphere did a good job with the "why" question this year. I wanted to see more on the "how" side of the equation, though. A lot of the people I spoke to were thrilled with Team-TSG's approach (taking advantage of your knowledge of the Domino objects and writing an equivalent Java agent to an existing Lotuscript one) because it was practical and they could take advantage of it right away. The sessions in the BP track are typically more oriented in that direction than the other tracks at Lotusphere, but I'd like to see that approach extended to more of the sessions at a DevCon.

    ****In the same vein, a non-trivial amount of content based around the existing product line (6.51) would be greatly appreciated. We know we'll see great things in 7 & 8, and content for 5 isn't realistic, but what about some time spend on quick but powerful updates to old (R5) database designs that take advantage of 6.51 features. We know what most of them are, but I think some practical real-world examples would go far to moving or speeding up migrations to 6.51 - think ammunition to impress the boss.

    ****I'd like to see a lot of actual code - it's a DevCon, so I expect that's already the intent, just stating the obvious.

    ****I'd like to see sessions about how to get at the nuts and bolts of Portal. The Portal sessions at The Sphere that I attended (and I went to most of them, 'cause that's why I was there) didn't get too detailed. Simple example: Several presenters showed that you can choose a different Theme and Skin (and a couple even explained the difference, which was nice [NO sarcasm intended]), but I didn't see anybody show how you customize a theme or skin or build an entirely new one. I also didn't see anybody editing the JSP pages used in the portlets, or building a new portlet from scratch with real developer tools (the browser-based customizations are all well and good as a starting point, but I think they're too limiting for real-world use).

    ****I guess in general I'd like to see more low-level, practical, and detailed technical content.

    ****Off the top of my head. Not that I'm opinionated or anthing...

  1. 2  Mark Dopita  | 2/26/2004 1:33:46 PM

    I'd like to see more how-to and hands-on type sessions, specifically with regard to Java. Not just Agents, but getting at Domino data via stand-alone Java programs and applets, something on XML and utilizing RSS feeds, using JSP tags, and the like.

    Have attended the last two 'Spere's, but have not yet been able to get into using what I saw in the sessions fast enough. Maybe folks could propose hands-on session content (something like "How to utilize an RSS feed using Java") and the presenters could customize the sessions based on that input?

    From Libertyville, IL where Spring is in the air!

  1. 3  Lance Spellman http://www.workflowstudios.com | 2/26/2004 2:16:14 PM

    I was very impressed with the clarity of the message coming from Lotusphere this year around ND and Workplace. I'd like to see this capitalized on with local events, directed at IT mgt who've invested or might invest in IBM technologies. Put forth a roadmap for companies that have just been sitting on the tech sideline the last couple of years. Now, as budgets are becoming available again, show how they should align their prior technology purchases with the new opportunities in front of them. With a clear message about what's appropriate and how it aligns, I think we'll see some more purchasing.

  1. 4  Randall Shimizu  | 2/26/2004 2:54:21 PM

    I would like to see more Webcasts. Perhaps we could have a repeat of some sessions from Lotusphere in a webcast format. The nice thing about webcasts is that they are On-demand as IBM says.

    The face to face events are good as well, but there needs to be more marketing. It's too bad that we could not utilize IBM lead generation system to market a event.

  1. 5  Tim Leach  | 2/27/2004 4:48:53 AM

    ...I would just like to say that I thought this year was one of the better Lotuspheres.

    This was the first year that I felt that IBM actually appreciates the Lotus community, rather than simply viewing us as an expendable, "foot in the door" means of selling our employers more IBM technology.

    I hope that IBM never underestimates how important Lotusphere is to the community. It brings us all together and helps to broaden our horizons. We may moan about it every now and again, but we love it really, and it wouldn't be the same anywhere else. Familiarity may breed a little contempt, but we know the Swan and the Dolphin like the back of our hands now, and when we arrive we feel like we've "come home".

    One of my favourite parts this year was the hands-on session on "Build your Own J2EE Application Using IBM Websphere Studio". Having just come out of a session on Websphere Studio, it was great to actually sit down and play with what I had just seen.

    To my knowledge, this was the first time that Lotusphere has offered these hands-on sessions. There were a few problems (lack of places, errors in the documentation, etc.)but this is to be expected when trying something new. I hope to see more, bigger and better hands-on sessions next year.

    As for other events, I would be really interested in attending one-day, local workshops between Lotuspheres.

    These could be run at regional IBM or Lotus offices and used to focus on specific, real-world issues (eg. What is a Portal, how to explain it\sell it to Management, and how to move from a old-fashioned Notes environment to a modern J2EE\Websphere\Workplace world).

    These should not be marketing events, should not demonstrate vapour-ware, and should be buzz-word-free zones (eg. no mention of "on-demand", "middleware", etc.). What they should be are down-to-earth, real-life demonstrations of current technologies and advice on how to implement them.

  1. 6  Paul Pentony  | 2/27/2004 5:49:18 AM

    Agree with the need for hands on nuts and bolts stuff. And you should certainly do it in Australia - after all we are closer to the centre of the galaxy.

  1. 7  Bill Whittakers  | 2/28/2004 3:23:37 AM

    Ed, for comparison with IBM Lotus training options, please have a look at what is being offered for Microsoft developer training in Australia by Monash IT, www.monash.net or www.readify.net. How could similar competitive IBM Lotus options be developed?