Vlog #2: Planning Conference (Tableau conference 2016) #data16

0:00So, in the last video I said that this

0:06video would be about heading to conference.

0:10Before you head to conference you need to

0:12plan.

0:12So this vlog is actually going to be about

0:14planning for conference.

0:16I'm currently heading into town.

0:18I'm supposed to be on a flight in 24 hours.

0:21Actually I'm going to be on the flight in

0:2424 hours and I need to grab a few things

0:26for

0:26conference before I go.

0:28So I'm heading into town but I thought I

0:30have 15 or so minutes to talk about how to

0:34plan

0:34for conference.

0:36There are seven things I think you need to

0:39do before you head to conference.

0:41The first one, right out of the block, is

0:44download the app.

0:46The app is by far the most invaluable

0:48resource for the entire conference.

0:51In fact it almost goes far as saying make

0:53sure you carry an additional battery or one

0:55of these power banks to charge your phone

0:58so you don't run out of battery during the

1:00conference because if you run out of

1:01battery during the conference you're going

1:03to have

1:04to find someone from Tableau nearby to help

1:07you out with the sessions and that can just

1:11eat into your time.

1:12So number one, download the app.

1:14In the app you can look at the schedule,

1:16you can look at the sessions, you can book

1:18onto

1:18the sessions in advance, you can also see

1:20the recommendations for other sessions you

1:22should attend, you can network, you can see

1:25who's nearby.

1:26It's the one stop shop for the entire

1:28conference.

1:29I can't cover it all in the video but

1:31download the app.

1:33That's the number one thing.

1:35Once you have the app you can view all the

1:37sessions, right?

1:38So the second most important thing is

1:40making sure that you book onto the sessions

1:43you want.

1:44In fact if you haven't done this already,

1:46head into the app, do it now, make an

1:49agenda,

1:49make a plan.

1:51Now there are over 400 sessions so how on

1:54earth do you cover all of them?

1:56Well the key thing here is to stack your

1:59calendar in such a way that you always have

2:02options.

2:03Options are the most vital thing because

2:05you make a plan for conference, you get

2:07there,

2:08you see a talk, you network and suddenly

2:10your plan starts changing.

2:12So if you have a bank of sessions for each

2:14slot then you're going to make the most use

2:16of your time.

2:17So I personally have three sessions per

2:20slot that I've booked in my calendar so my

2:22calendar

2:23always has three things I can go to at any

2:25one moment in time and that also allows me

2:27to see what I'm in the mood for.

2:29Now the reason I'm comfortable to do that

2:31is because Tablo record a lot of the online

2:33sessions.

2:34So it's fairly easy to catch things that

2:36you missed through others, through the

2:39social

2:39media and also through the recordings.

2:42So book onto the sessions, book onto the

2:44hands on training, make it really really

2:47clear what

2:47you're going to do before you get there.

2:50And the second thing is don't forget the

2:52keynotes.

2:53The keynotes are amazing.

2:56The product keynote where they show the

2:58product vision for the future, developers

3:00on stage,

3:01you have to go to that, you just have to go

3:03to that.

3:03After last year I think it was such a

3:06massive success that I'd be surprised if

3:08people didn't

3:09flood the room this year round.

3:12So book onto the sessions, plan your agenda

3:16and in terms of the level of the sessions,

3:21they always give them a scoring.

3:22They have beginner, intermediate, advanced

3:25and Jedi.

3:26Now my advice to people is to book onto the

3:29sessions that are a level above what you

3:32are.

3:32If you're a beginner, I'd say go to an

3:34intermediate session because you're likely

3:36to come across

3:37things you've already seen in the beginner

3:38session.

3:39Whereas if you go to the intermediate

3:41session or even advanced session, you're

3:43going to

3:43broaden your mind.

3:44The whole point of conference is to broaden

3:45your mind.

3:46As I said last week, it's a platform so

3:49accelerate your learning by challenging

3:51yourself.

3:52I've always personally gone to the advanced

3:54and the Jedi sessions because I still see

3:57stuff that I haven't seen before even in

3:59the advanced sessions and I think it's the

4:01best

4:02way to immerse yourself in the entire

4:04experience.

4:05Number three, training, hands-on sessions

4:09and certification.

4:11It's not just about the sessions, it's also

4:13about learning.

4:14So make sure you've booked onto at least

4:16some form of training or you plan to go see

4:19a doctor

4:19with a challenge or you at least plan to do

4:22something challenging like a certification.

4:25The reason being, you want a full

4:26experience.

4:27You want to be able to come away and have

4:29something to show.

4:30So likelihood is you're probably going to

4:32conference on behalf of your organization

4:35and you need to come back with something.

4:36So why not take a challenge, why not take a

4:39problem and have it solved whilst you're

4:41at conference.

4:42Adds value to you, adds value to your

4:44experience and adds value to your

4:45colleagues who are

4:46going to obviously want to know what you

4:49were doing when you were at conference.

4:51The other thing to do is to make sure that

4:53those don't clash with some of the things

4:55you want to see.

4:56It's very easy to say, "Okay, I need to go

4:57and do my certification.

4:58I need to go do this particular session."

5:01But then it clashes with something else you

5:03want to do.

5:04It is Tableau plan, lots of different

5:06sessions and lots of different times for

5:09all these

5:09things.

5:10So it's not just going to run once,

5:12especially the hands-on training.

5:13So make sure you book on to those and you

5:16plan those side by side with your sessions.

5:19Number four is networking.

5:20It's very easy to go to conference and just

5:23session, session, session, session.

5:26Find yourself at the end of the day and you

5:27're all burnt out because you just spent the

5:29whole

5:29entire time in sessions.

5:32Break it up with networking.

5:33Go to the meetups that have been set up.

5:35Meetups are like peripheral events to the

5:37main conference.

5:38Some of them end up being whole events that

5:40are really part of something bigger.

5:43You've also got the opportunity to meet

5:45companies and organizations who are holding

5:47these networking

5:48opportunities.

5:50So you can immerse yourself in different

5:52sort of communities.

5:53And it's a great way of meeting people from

5:55all over the world who have the same

5:56passion,

5:57maybe the same angle with Tableau.

5:59They're all trying to solve the same

6:01problem.

6:02Or maybe they're in your sector.

6:03It's a brilliant way to sort of cut across

6:06the range of content at the conference.

6:10Lastly, I think the meetups that are

6:12happening are also a great way to just step

6:15away from

6:16Tableau.

6:17It's a whole entire week of conference.

6:19So I'm going to be taking part in the Run

6:22Data sort of challenge that is run every

6:25year

6:25in Tableau.

6:26I've been part of it last year, the year

6:27before that and it's brilliant.

6:29It just keeps growing into something bigger

6:31and bigger.

6:31So I'm going to be doing that as a way to

6:33sort of break away from conference and do

6:35something that I love.

6:38And yeah, I think it's a really vital thing

6:40to do.

6:40The other thing to do is just make sure you

6:43have some fun.

6:44Tableau put on a great party.

6:46Each and every year, I've been there twice

6:49now.

6:49They've put on what is essentially a carn

6:51ival in lots of different types of venues.

6:53And this year they've even got a fun fair

6:55going on and some great bands and live

6:57music.

6:58And it's another way to unwind, relax, just

7:01break away from the week a bit and just

7:03take

7:04your mind out of Tableau for a few minutes

7:06while still being amongst the community.

7:09So it's an absolutely vital thing to do.

7:11The other thing to do is to make sure you

7:13do some non-Tableau stuff.

7:14So plan some time out in the city, go into

7:17Austin.

7:18And previous years, I've been fortunate

7:20enough to do some amazing events with my

7:23colleagues

7:24and they've been by far the most stand out

7:27moments I've had at conference.

7:31So take an opportunity to do those things.

7:33It's absolutely vital and it will again

7:37just lift the experience so much more.

7:40And once you've done all that, once you've

7:42planned everything, once you've gone

7:44through

7:45all these steps, then it's time to pack.

7:47And of course, you need to pack for all of

7:50those things.

7:52Make sure you're fully loaded, so power

7:55bank, good bag to stuff all your merch and

7:58all your

7:58goodies into, but it's comfortable, light,

8:01portable.

8:02Make sure you pack for the weather there

8:04and not the weather here.

8:06It's a cold drizzly day here in Colchester.

8:09I'm hoping to swap this hoodie for a nice

8:12Tableau t-shirt when I land in Austin.

8:14So plan and pack for the place you're

8:18heading to.

8:20Look at ways of getting around, just

8:22investigate the city, find out the best way

8:24to do stuff

8:25because if the moment takes you somewhere

8:27else, then you need to be able to react

8:30quickly.

8:30So even use it as an opportunity to go do

8:34some shopping and bring some stuff back.

8:37That's it from me.

8:39I think that's everything I could possibly

8:41get out of my mind about planning for

8:43conference.

8:44I've probably missed some stuff out, so

8:46make sure you head to the Tableau website,

8:48look

8:48at the schedule, look at the tips they give

8:51you, they even let you download the data

8:53for

8:53all the sessions and all the things going

8:56on.

8:56There are tons of visualisations I've seen

8:58already that let you go through the

9:00schedule.

9:01There are tons of blog posts out there that

9:03talk about people's different experience,

9:06but I hope you've enjoyed my advice heading

9:09to conference and in the next video, this

9:12time I will be telling you about my

9:14experience of travelling to Austin.

9:17Okay, I'll see you in the next one

9:19Thanks for watching!