Nothing quite matches the joy of being at SQLBits, but there are a few things you might like to try to fill that hole!
User groups
Join a user group. Are you missing learning on the go and getting deep dive content from other community-goers? It’s time to join your local user group and get stuck in all over again, at the end of the day, it’s always good to keep expanding your skillset and getting on top of subjects that may be slipping away from you. A lot of user groups also have been hosting SQLBits session repeats, so if you want to talk to the speaker or get a recap on something you missed LIVE, it’s the best opportunity to interact. Added bonus: it’s a great way to meet more like-minded people in the same or similar boat to you too!
Watch the vids!
Why should you watch the videos? There is SO much content at SQLBits, sometimes two (or even three) sessions you want to attend are on at the same time, nightmare, right? Well, now is the time to catch up with them and get notetaking.
You could even rewatch sessions you attended on the day to secure your understanding and pick up anything you missed. Perhaps you want to see your friends present in all of their glory because you couldn’t attend on the day? Do we even have to justify that you should keep continuously learning?
*Cough cough* We recommend the keynote for some very fun announcements you missed, oh, and for the fact they put on a great show, or should we say theatrical masterpiece?!
Write a blog
We don’t just want you to write a blog because we LOVE reading and sharing them, but because it helps others see what you took away from SQLBits and how this differs from their experience, or perhaps they missed something you flagged as super important. It’s a great easy way of sharing the knowledge you learnt at SQLBits and passing it on to someone else in need.
Other attendees can also take away from your experience maybe something they missed when they last attended and has now been added to their SQLBits Bucket List!
Brain dump
It’s time to turn those scribbles into sense. Conferences can be hectic, even the most organized note takers can end up with frantically scribbled shorthand that become completely indecipherable once some time has passed (What does this squiggle mean again?).
It may be best to get to this ASAP while things are still fresh in your brain, but take an hour or so to sit down – with computer document at the ready – and unload all of your thoughts. Also it’s the dreaded time to decipher any notes you did take to make sure they are clear to you, you could even rewatch one of the videos while doing this). This will help preserve anything that was written down in haste for later reference!
Start sculpting a session to submit
You are in awe (Still) at the amount of amazing sessions we had this year and are just wishing that you had the nerve to jump on stage and present yourself? There is no time like the present to get straight into crafting a talk you’d like to present. Doing so before our call for speakers means you can perfect your knowledge, slides, abstract and title so when the time comes, you have full confidence in yourself. Chop, chop! Get to it…
Download presentation decks
If you didn’t know, the speaker slide decks are now available on our website, don’t have time to sit and watch some sessions back due to other commitments in the fast-paced world of data? Perfect you can download a bunch of speakers slides and skim read to see the really important bits and bobs.
Plus, taking a look at your favourite speaker’s session slides could just be that turning point to inspire you to submit to speak at SQLBits next year!
Keep in touch.
We can guarantee you caught up with friends or made a few new ones while you were at SQLBits. As we are all about community, we deem it super important to reach out to your conference buddies and check in on them. Conferences can cause burnout after such a long period of learning new things, so take a minute to send a ‘How are things?’ text to those you are missing post-SQLBits!
Oh, and look after yourself too!
Now, do you feel motivated to get back to learning and jump the gun on all the new and emerging technology? If you have any advice for other attendees on what they can do post-conference please make a blog, write a tweet, and tag us!