Another frustrating Irish Lotus User Group is over

November 13 2010

Sitting on the flight back from this week's fifth Irish Lotus User Group meeting, I can't help but feeling frustrated.

Why?  I'm frustrated....

  • ...that only 200-ish customers and partners had the opportunity to attend a first class conference, with some of the best speakers in the industry covering timely and useful topics
  • ...that we don't have more opportunities to take a labfull of talented engineers from Dublin straight to customers, because the hands-on labs and ask-the-experts tables were easily worth the price of admission alone.  (Oh wait, it's a free conference!)
  • ...that I couldn't get to Belfast in time for the conference opening session on Wednesday; when we first talked about doing it in Belfast, Ryanair was still operating there, and the flight connections looked a whole lot better then than they actually were now.  Two airports and still the connections to get there took six hours or more for those coming from Germany, Belgium, Israel, Italy, Malta, and other points east and south.
  • ...that someone I've never met before figured out my secret to success...telling me on the way out of my Notes/Domino strategy session, "Thanks for the honesty".  I wouldn't have it any other way.
  • ...that I missed most of the non-business sessions -- Steve McDonagh's history of Ireland, Warren Elsmore's LEGO demonstration, and the sight of 200 geeks singing "Happy Birthday" to Kathy Brown (though I did see the after-effects).
  • ...that even with a small conference, I still didn't get to talk with everyone.  I feel this way leaving Lotusphere, too.  I'm told that some read my inability to engage in long conversations with new faces at these conferences as aloof.  I do try really hard to be as approachable as possible to those of you who are brand new to the scene as I am with those I've been friends with for fifteen years.  The struggle is that there is a cumulative effect....I know more and more of you at every conference, and the time-slicing still deals with a finite resource.
  • ...that we as a community did not do enough to recognize the leadership of Paul Mooney and Eileen Fitzgerald, along with a team of a dozen "green shirts" and sponsors, to make a quality conference happen at the low low price of £0.  THIS IS NOT THEIR DAY JOBS, people, and yet year in and year out Paul and Eileen have managed to run a flawless conference.  Thank you, ILUG team.
  • ...that I only had enough spare personal time to see one wonderful part of Northern Ireland -- the Giant's Causeway -- but at least I had this tremendous opportunity to fulfill yet another "must do" on the list.
  • ....that after more than a decade of visiting Ireland, I still don't like Guinness.  
  • ...that my real family wasn't able to join me with my professional family.
  • ...and that I feel genuine pain and sadness leaving my professional family behind, even knowing that I will see some as soon as next month's View Admin conference in Copenhagen and most in eleven weeks at Lotusphere.  
This week in Belfast, I saw that the familial and friendship bonds in this community are deeper than ever.  Not just that people will spend hundreds of Pounds or Euro of their own personal money to throw wine and cheese parties, buy a round, or take personal leave from their jobs just to attend the conference.  But that Julian Robichaux is brought bacon, that Francie comes home with duct tape and bananas, that the registration desk has piles of international chocolate all throughout, that Thomas Bahn brought me my first Christmas card of the season (complete with Bremen chocolate), that Bill Buchan ensures that I have a beer, that Sean Burgess finds a great dinner and takes one for the team to make it work as advertised, that Theo Heselmans gets a sparkle in his eye showing off iPad applications, and that wives, husbands, siblings and others turn up just to be part of the family (Lynne, Colette, Kim, Val, Kitty, Sarah, this shout's for you).

I can't imagine a conference for some other technology in market today being this personal.  Long-time readers know that I tend to get wistful on the close of any of these events; I reflect on younger days, on previous events, on all that has happened in the eighteen years I have been associated with Lotus products.  Maybe I'm just getting older, but I never really expected my life to be full of this joy, professionally and personally.  Thank you to all of you for creating the energy, passion, emotion, and craic to make another ILUG successful.  

Ed Brill | UA 929, LHR-ORD, Seat 22H Category:  ILUG  Add/View Comments [16]

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  1. 1  Mika Heinonen http://www.siipi.com/mika | 11/13/2010 3:42:27 PM

    Guinness is awesome! It's a really nice additional value beer after you have drank normal Karhu beer the whole evening.

    In LotuSphere comes to you: Helsinki, we had also a preview of Notes 9, which was an idea of a 3D world (they used 2nd Life as a mockup tool for it), like I speculated years earlier in my blog.

    The folks at the official LotuSphere 2010 in Florida didn't hear about it back then :)

    So I think those LUG's and even LS comes to you sessions should have some extremely exciting stuff, since they are so short.

  1. 2  Tim Clark http://blog.tc-soft.com | 11/13/2010 3:45:27 PM

    I totally agree with all of the above. And it's always hard to say goodbye.

  1. 3  Stuart McIntyre http://blog.collaborationmatters.com | 11/13/2010 3:48:54 PM

    Brilliant post Ed, you've brilliantly summed up why we love this community and ILUG in particular. I was gutted to miss this one having attended the last two, and feel it even more so after following the blog posts and tweets from this week.

    Congrats to Paul, Eileen and the rest of the crew on another amazing event.

  1. 4  Jess Stratton http://Http://mattandjess.net | 11/13/2010 7:14:47 PM

    Great post, Ed. It hurt my heart physically to not be there to see friends. And after attending my first Lotusphere so many years ago, I learned the value of how much incredible information you can learn in just one hour's session. To be able to learn how to do something based on one person's years of hard-earned experience, not an instruction manual, is priceless. Matt said that by hook or by crook, one day we'll find a way to get me there, so hopefully next year it is. :-)

  1. 5  Darren http://www.dadams.co.uk | 11/14/2010 8:46:25 AM

    I don't like Guinness either. But I agree with the sentiment, that the ILUG team, the steadfast attendees, the partners and those who gather round the collective yellow blogosphere are like a family. Sometimes you'd imagine it being an easier life hanging up the yellow scarf and following the Microsoft herd, but I don't think there would be the camaraderie that comes with the trench warfare we indulge in. That's what makes me believe in Notes and the Lotus brand... the passion. Only something truly great creates that much passion - people don't get excited by things that are just safe and mediocre.

    I salute you all and hope to see many at Lotusphere.

  1. 6  Palmi  | 11/14/2010 2:04:22 PM

    One for the Best beer in the World

    ---

    There's a big conference of beer producers in the most beautiful town in the world: Amsterdam, the Netherlands...

    At the end of the day, all of the presidents of all beer companies decide to have a drink in a bar.

    The president of Budweiser orders a Bud,

    the president of Miller orders a Miller Lite,

    Adolph Coors orders a Coors

    and the list goes on...

    Then the waitress asks Arthur Guinness what he wants to drink, and to everybody's amazement, Mr. Guinness orders a Coke!

    "Why don't you order a Guinness?" his colleagues ask.

    "Naah. If you guys won't drink real beer, then neither will I."

  1. 7  Andy Stewart  | 11/14/2010 2:12:31 PM

    Unfortunately I couldn't attend ILUG this year - mainly because it would have been self funded and I spent a lot of money a week before going with my wife and children to New York (joint 50th). Maybe I should think about the Tri-State event next year :)

    Having met Paul Mooney and some of the rest of the team (albeit briefly) at UKLUG in Edinburgh last year I had no doubt that ILUG would be a success so big, big Kudos to everyone involved. Just shame I wasn't there.

    But if I had attended I would have booked Ryan Air as well. Ying & Yang.

  1. 8  Eileen Fitzgerald http://www.eileenfitzy.com | 11/14/2010 4:35:43 PM

    It was as always a special event and its the team that made it. without the support of the team, IBM, the sponsors, partners, delegates it would not be possible.

    There is soo much and we had some first, having Tim and Karen presenting the Labs was fantastic and a great success , likewise having the developers on site and engaging with the customers was very much appreciated by the delegates and I believe developers alike. The efforts that people made to attend and present were amazing, constantly amazed by the support that the ILUG team receive.

    Great week.. going to sleep for a month now ;-)

  1. 9  Giulio http://www.buzznotes.com.au | 11/14/2010 6:06:36 PM

    @Darren. Guinness is not a drink... it's a meal.

    If ILUG produces such a great result, and the organisers are not re-imbursed for their effort, imagine the benefits / results if they were financially sponsored ?

    @Ed,

    A slightly different approach here (or an old one). Can IBM back this team with some sort of reasonable budget, and let them do a roadshow, quarterly or bi-annually. Nothing wins mindshare and commitment more than passionate people sharing their skills. You might then also be less frustrated with only 200 BPs/Customers turning up. :)

  1. 10  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 11/14/2010 6:54:23 PM

    @9 we do that - it's called Lotusphere Comes to You (or Collective Intelligence, depending on where). There is a vibrant market for independent efforts with local or regional sponsorships. We see that model now working in the US, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, and other countries. Perhaps a group of Aussie business partners would consider doing the same.

  1. 11  Giulio http://www.buzznotes.com.au | 11/14/2010 9:20:15 PM

    @10. In Australia it's called Collective Intelligence. But it's rather thin on content when compared to the agenda I have read from ILUG.

    Anyway, it seems that there is alot to take from ILUG that could be exploited by LCTY.

  1. 12  Stuart McIntyre http://blog.collaborationmatters.com | 11/15/2010 12:37:58 AM

    @11 Your question (and Ed's answer) illustrate the difference between an IBM-organised 'roadshow' and a user group organised and presented by passionate folks in the community.

    Whilst LCTY/Collective Intelligence definitely has its place in terms of a one-day Lotusphere update for local markets, it can never hope to cover the breadth of content that Lotusphere does, nor can it replicate the community and entertainment that a User Group does.

    I would encourage the Australian Lotus community to look at the amazing events that have taken place over the past 3-4 years around the world - ILUG, UKLUG, IAMLUG, DDive, NLLUG and so on - and try to produce something similar in your geography. I do understand that you have challenges in terms of distance both within Australia and New Zealand and for speakers to travel to the event, but there must be something you can do to mimic the success of the other user group events.

  1. 13  Paul Mooney http://www.pmooney.net | 11/16/2010 2:37:44 PM

    Never been to Australia /New Zealand. hmmmmmm

  1. 14  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 11/16/2010 3:02:54 PM

    @13 if you want to organize a LUG there, maybe partnering up with some of the local BPs and using your expertise, I will personally organize paying for your flights (I'm sure a few of the ILUG fans would chip in) and be there.

  1. 15  Kerr Rainey  | 11/17/2010 2:57:44 AM

    @13. @14, I'm sure I can speak for all the Green Shirts when I say we would be more than happy to help out. It'll be a bugger of a drive for Warren in the van though. ;)

  1. 16  Giulio http://www.buzznotes.com.au | 11/17/2010 7:38:03 PM

    @Ed. This is starting to sound promising. Some co-ordination with IBM Australia would be required, and I for one would be happy to contribute some effort to make it happen and help manage logistics. I am pretty sure other locals would be equally keen to help.

    With Lotusphere around the corner though, and LCTY after that, I would think that any potential LUG event dates would need to be compatibly positioned around those events. ILUG/LS2011 presenters should have their passports upto date. Next year could be interesting ;)