OOW Day2

Why do you come to Open World? I'm sure we will get all kinds of reasons, as many as there are stars in the sky. Some predominant themes are - getting to know more about the Oracle (or related) technologies by attending sessions, reconnecting with old friends and building networking. Of course, getting freebies from the Exhibit Halls, I'm sure, can't be far behind as a motivator.

I come to OOW for all those reasons as well. But high up in my list is the visit to the Exhibit Halls. No; not for the tee-shirts that do not fit me and graphics I don't really dig. I visit the demogrounds and exhibit halls to know about the products and tools that I should be aware of. Where else would you find 1000+ companies advertising the products at one place? Sure, I can call them and find out; but ho do I find them? OOW exhibit halls are prime "hunting" grounds to look for new ideas and tools that I should be interested in; or at least be aware of. I can not only look at the tools; I can actually get some relevant technical facts in 5 minutes which might take weeks of scheduling and hours of marketing talk. And, if I decide the product is not relevant; I can always walk away. I have the privilege of walking away; they don't. If I call them to my office, "they" have that option; not me :) If I find something attractive, I can always follow up and get to know more.

Oracle demogrounds are even better. Not only I can meet Oracle PMs there; but the people who never come out to the public world - developers, development managers, architects and so on. These unsung heroes are mostly the reason why Oracle is what it is now. I meet the known faces, get to know new ones and establish new relationships. They hear from me what customers want and I learn the innards of some features I am curious about.

So, I spent almost the whole day yesterday navigating through demo grounds and exhibit halls. I could cover only a small fraction. In between I had to attend some meetings at work. Going to OOW is never "going away". I wish it was.