Liza With A "Z"

Rocking the Red Carpet at DEMO

As I stepped onto the long red carpet connecting the conference to the
pavilion, I confessed to the man beside me that the long red carpet
made me uneasy. I joked that I was glad to see there were no paparazzi.
He asked me why.

I love taking photos of others, and I obviously enjoy attention, but I
don’t enjoy having my photo taken. To combat this fear, lately I do it
as much as possible. Thanks to kind photographer friends, I am less
scared of the camera, and sometimes, if I am really enjoying myself, I
hardly notice the camera’s presence. The “faux red carpet”, however, was a
new challenge.

So when a virtual stranger suggested we enjoy our red carpet stroll
and offered his arm, I agreed. Why not, I said, let’s pretend that
there are flashing cameras, that we are dressed in our finest
clothing, and let’s revel in our stardom. I loved it and was dismayed
when the carpet ended. Inside the pavilion we toasted to our red
carpet moment and, only then, did we finally introduce ourselves and
talk business.

There is joy to be had in these small encounters. We think of
“conferences” as uber-networking sessions, but if you open your eyes,
you’ll find endless opportunities to get to know others beyond their
titles.

Isn’t this what counts? Isn’t this why we get on planes at the
crack of dawn, cram onto hotel shuttles, and sit with strangers over
coffee long after we have finished our buffet breakfasts? If these
“moments” did not matter, teleconferences would make conferences
irrelevant.

Would you rather do business with someone who can rock the “faux

red carpet” or someone who only shows you their professional

side and a slidedeck? You know my answer, but what do you think?

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What's Next For Chris Shipley?

Chris Shipley, founder of Demo Conference

Image by Robert Scoble via Flickr

Chris Shipley ananounced some pretty amazing news on the Guidewire Group blog during DEMO 2009. I included an excerpt, below, but I encourage you all to take a look at the full post for more information:

Today, Guidewire Group is taking advantage of this unique economic environment to launch new initiatives that will deliver on this promise: the Guidewire Assessment Framework, Studio G, and Innovate!100.- Chris Shipley, guidewiregroup.com, Guidewire Group, Sep 2009

My first DEMO experience exceeded my expectations in many ways, much of which is due to the culture Chris Shipley has promoted at DEMO. While Chris leaving DEMO marks the end of an era for many, my hope is that the values and community she created will continue to flourish.Best of luck to Matt Marshall as he takes the reigns - if Matt's dancing skills are any indication of his future at DEMO, he is off to a great start.

I can't wait to see what Chris Shipley and the Guidewire Group have up their sleeves. My bet: the best is yet to come.