It is scary to think that Dreamforce is only about 5 weeks away. For most folks internally it is as eagerly anticipated as those attending, and perhaps even as much as game 7 for the Giants! By now you already know that Dreamforce is going be huge, but I wanted to give you a taste of what the preparations are like for the Dev Marketing and Evangelism team.
1. More Evangelists
Dave and I have been flying the flag for the Evangelist team for a while now. The road to Dreamforce has also allowed us to expand the team. We have four new Evangelists joining us, all with a wealth of experience, perspectives (yes, finally you don't just have to listen to my abstract rants!), and opinions. Look for the black jackets at Dreamforce and make sure you say hi!
2. The Developer Track
The developer track consists of roughly 60 sessions all focused on great technical content covering the gamut of Force.com: from App Development with VMforce, Mobile devices, Platform State of the Union (always my favorite session) and more. Internally we are at the draft slides and dry run phases of the prep. What this means is that for the 16 sessions I own, I have about 2 dryruns each day with .ppt decks, and code being created, changed and tweaked by all the speakers, many of whom are community members like Jeff Douglas, and Richard Vanhook to name a few. If you want a full list of the sessions in the Developer Track make sure you check here.
3. Toolkits
You may have heard me rant on about toolkits a few times in the past. That is probably because, some time ago in a galaxy far, far away I put my hand up and offered to run the toolkit program. Salesforce is one of those companies that offers a lot of opportunity for growth, in other words be careful what you ask for. 🙂 We are busily updating a number of the toolkits as well as building some new ones to deliver on the promise of making it easy for developers to leverage the Force.com platform however they choose, in languages and platforms they are comfortable with. Stay tuned on this front for some really exciting news…..but until Dreamforce, I can't say anymore. You are just going to have to come and join us!
4. The DevZone
Well perhaps I am a little biased, but I think the DevZone is always the coolest part of Dreamforce (or is the reason that Kavindra always signs me up to help out, and I don't get a chance to see anything else for a few days….). If you have been to any of the previous Dreamforce events and participated in the DevZone—forget everything! This year the Zone is going to be about four times as large taking over most of the second floor of the Moscone West! There will be Force.com and VMforce labs, lots of code consultantations, hackathons, and more! The planning and prep to put on something like this years DevZone is incredible. I can't wait!
5. Cloudstock
Forget Woodstock (well most people that where there, probably have problems remembering it anyway), Cloudstock is the place to be to start this years Developer Experience. Cloudstock is bringing together the leading cloud companies for a day of open collaboration, socializing, demos, and games. If we go with the vibe for a moment, let the aromatic smell of incense take you over, and reach for the Tao of Programming, I feel the following parable helps us get in the zone:
There once was a man who went to a computer trade show. Each day as he entered, the man told the guard at the door:
"I am a great thief, renowned for my feats of shoplifting. Be forewarned, for this trade show shall not escape unplundered."
This speech disturbed the guard greatly, because there were millions of dollars of computer equipment inside, so he watched the man carefully. But the man merely wandered from booth to booth, humming quietly to himself.
When the man left, the guard took him aside and searched his clothes, but nothing was to be found.
On the next day of the trade show, the man returned and chided the guard saying: "I escaped with a vast booty yesterday, but today will be even better." So the guard watched him ever more closely, but to no avail.
On the final day of the trade show, the guard could restrain his curiosity no longer. "Sir Thief," he said, "I am so perplexed, I cannot live in peace. Please enlighten me. What is it that you are stealing?"
The man smiled. "I am stealing ideas," he said.
Ah, I can feel the Zen washing over me, centering the Force across my chakras. I can even feel the vibrations……oh wait, that's my iPhone—it looks like the road to Dreamforce is a highway, and I am glad I'm on it!