SharePoint: an open source community, sharing more for the local area at SharePoint Saturday the Conference Aug 11-13

I’ve made a bold statement “open source community” so let me digress for a second before giving you the juicy details of Community day at DC’S SharePoint Saturday the Conference (SPSTCDC http://www.spstc.org/Pages/default.aspx). When I started my career I can vividly remember a joint user group or NT Server and Linux Administrators in New York City. In one corner the NT group, dark suits, short haircuts, and obedience to the technology provided. Sitting opposite were the Linux professionals, a varied array of khakis, jeans, and some t-shirts (gasp in NYC in the late 90s), long hair and beards, and a passion for pushing the technological limit. To say the least the different groups didn’t see eye to eye.

Flash forward to today and probably some of the same Microsoft professionals have learned from their Linux/Open Source counterparts and we’re in an environment where User Groups present implementations, demonstrate theory, and SHARE code! In my opinion because the SharePoint platform is based on bringing value, productivity and collaboration to the workplace our community comes equals the open source community model, with the exception of some licensing issues (ok, give me some liberty here!). SharePoint User Groups all across the country are created to server specific user needs and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the tool that an organization has chosen to work with. We are lucky in this area to have the Baltimore SUG (http://www.baltimoresug.org/default.aspx), SUG DC (http://www.sugdc.org/), and Federal SUG (http://www.fedspug.org/SitePages/Home.asp ) specifically supporting SharePoint but also the Capital Area Cloud Computing Group (http://www.capcloud.org/ ) and the Capital Area .NET User groups (http://caparea.net/ ) integrating content when users request it.

SPSTCDC is bringing these groups into one location so you can learn what their niche is, when their events are, how runs them, and how you can participate as a user and/or volunteer. Thursday is Community Day and here is the schedule:

9:00 – 10:15 am – SUG DC
Real Life value from the community

10:30 – 11:30 am – FEDSPUG

From Community meeting to Implementation: How Project Management was implemented after one presentation

11:30 – 1:00 pm Lunch
1:00 – 2:00 pm – Women In SharePoint

The Myth of the SharePoint Unicorn: Staffing, Recruiting and Developing a SharePoint Team for SP2010 and Office365 Success
2:15 – 3:15 pm – Baltimore SPUG

The Business Value of SharePoint Community What is the impact of SharePoint community for SharePoint practices, experienced professionals and newcomers to the SharePoint platform?

3:30 – 4:30 pm – SharePoint Community Panel discussion

A moderated panel discussion about the future of the SharePoint Community of the Washington DC area and beyond. Learn about each organization, and voice your questions and suggestions for the future of our community.

ALL DAY EVERY DAY – Visit the Community Booths to learn more about the organizations, meet the founders, and ask questions!

Suggestions? Questions? Write me! [email protected]