DevDays! DevDays! DevDays!

Yes!  Wow, I just did DevDays in Washington DC – my first actual event and it was a total blast!  Over 400 people were there, everyone learning together – different backgrounds, skill sets, and more, but the energy was flowing.  It was great to see all the work in action – we’ve been building this event for a few months, but it isn’t real in our world.  It is only real in the real world, with real people experiencing it.  And the only feedback is the real feedback, the feedback I get from customers… and it was good feedback!  So that was very exciting.  It seems both tracks were a hit, delivering great Smart Client and Web Security content.  I know how much work goes into building an event like this, but I did not how much work went into actually putting on the individual event.  Now I know, and huge kudos to all the presenters, MSFT folks, and the community and partners for working hard to make the event a success.  Really, these types of days, 6:30AM – 6PM are just fabulous when everyone is there for the common educational cause, and gets to come away excited.  Even late in the day, I saw lots of smiling faces, lots of shocked looks, and applause as Don Awalt really put the finishing touches on the day with the “Whidbey” demo fest… everyone just loved it, and I got to go home happy knowing that I think we are walking down the right path.

A few additional notes -- make sure to keep a look at DotNet Rocks , Carl and Rory took some time out on Thursday to do a special interview with Jay Roxe, Chris Flores and myself, talking a bit more indepth about what DevDays has to offer.  If the abstracts weren't enough, this is a great way to see what you could gain by attending... Also, I'm sitting here in LA, excited about hitting up DevDays tomorrow -- if you are there, make sure to say hello!