Hey everybody, this week I got the opportunity to return to present at the NYNJ VMUG User Conference which also was mine (and many others) return to In-Person events. I’m sure for a lot of you, you might be wondering what that kind of experience is like, what to expect, is it right for you? Well, I’ll share some details about the event, attendance, my presentations and thoughts on the matter!
This is what welcomed me as I walked into the event, as I then walked over to the registration where they had me scan my QR Code (Hmm, that didn’t work) and instead opt’d for entering in my last name for it to find me in the system (That worked fairly quickly!)
Then the most important question came up, “Please show us your vaccination status” which I provided as I had JUST gotten my J&J Vaccination a few weeks earlier, much to the great challenge as even though I have a medical exemption for the vaccination due to a possible allergic reaction that COULD kill me, I bit the bullet and took the shot so I could present to you, the community, in person. 🙂 They say all heroes don’t come with capes, some come with presentations! Okay I’m joking here (about the hero part, the medical concern is a VERY real problem for me)
You may notice then from the picture above, that nobody has masks on. And that was true, every single attendee was maskless.
Okay, not EVERY single attendee, I took that picture just to kind of prove out that point, that SOME (one person) wore a mask, but otherwise everyone else felt pretty comfortable, to return to the maskless ways known pre-pandemic. You treat that however which way you will, but that does seem to be the expectation at Vaccinated events that people do not tend to wear their masks.
How was attendance?
That’s a fairly good question. It was low, certainly not like we’ve experienced pre-pandemic times, however the number of attendees both in person AND attending virtually were directly in-line with the expectations of attendance, so that’s fairly positive. This is fairly positive, because at a previous event last month which was entirely virtual, real-time on-line attendance was even lower than this, so some people both physically and virtually are just getting used to start attending some events like this.
How were your presentations?
I’ll be honest. My presentations were GREAT! Those who attended provided excellent feedback and in general I had a great time delivering them. They were obviously challenged by having only 30 minutes to cover some content in, but they nonetheless were absolutely a blast to deliver.
I’m including my sessions here below so you can take advantage and benefit from them!
The slides only tell a small picture of things, my words really bring the content to life, and more importantly if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out about the content!
The Evolution of the Virtualization Community, the vExpert Program, and YOU!
vRealize MultiCloud – Beyond Monitoring
And for those who missed it last month at the South Florida VMUG User Conference, here’s…
Operationalizing Public Cloud with VMware Cloud Management
And to wrap this up, you can ask yourself, “Should I attend one of these events in person?” and you really have to ask yourself, “Do you want to”, as you have to do what feels right for you and IS right for you. A number of the presentations were delivered entirely virtually for this one, with recordings being shared and then played in real-time. Personally, I prefer a live studio audience (or even a live on-line audience) but regardless, I encourage you to do what is right for you. What is right for your family. What will make the most sense for you. So if you want to get back to doing things in person, there are options, lots of them actually, but do not feel forced to do something you’re not comfortable with. Stay safe, keep learning, and keep communitying!