IBM Interaction Conference 2007 Recap
Hi everyone, how did you find Interaction this year? A little different I hope! I have to say it was great to meet so many of you that I hadn’t met before. And I was very pleased that the whole conference went off without a hitch – as it normally does – but you are never too sure, especially as it was my first one as El Presidente!
The usual last minute changes to the agenda caused some heart ache. That is somewhat unfortunate but also a fact of life. We did a few things a little different this year and it certainly helped create a little extra buzz in the Sebel Albert Park.
Our new speakers, from Oracle and Microsoft, were well accepted with them all rating above 3.7 out of 5 – a great pass mark if I can be so bold!
Another highlight of the 2007 conference this year was the after dinner speaker. In an attempt to lower the age demographic of the conference attendees, we invited two young guys to talk about a little trip they are about to undertake: crossing a ditch. However as there were only two of them they didn’t significantly lower the average age – but they did have a great story to tell.
If you weren’t there for the dinner you certainly missed out on a great night and a couple of guys (James Castrission and Justin Jones) with a great story to tell. At the time, they were in the final stages of preparation. However, on November 12th they actually departed. Visit www.crossingtheditch.com.au for the complete picture.
Believe it or not the planning for 2008 is already underway. Although we did have a booking for the Marriot in October 2008, we discovered it was the Monday immediately following the Indy Grand Prix. So, as we had a get out clause in the contract specifically because of that, we have exercised it and will publish the new dates and venue as soon as we have contracts signed.
However, Interaction 2008 will be on the Gold Coast in sunny Queensland. I hope I can see as many of our Queensland members there as possible.
A final note, please visit the www.interaction.com.au site on a regular basis. We will be putting all the regional meeting dates and topics up there early in the New Year as well as Interaction news and events. I encourage you to send your views and comments to info@interaction.com.au.
I would like to wish all the readers of the Computer Merchants newsletter, Interaction members and guests a safe and happy Christmas and a prosperous and successful 2008. Thank you for your support in 2007 and I look forward to meeting many more of you in 2008.
Dermot O’Daly
Interaction President
