And… Holy Cow!
Dreamforce was crazy awesome :) Yes, even for an extreme introvert like myself. It was just nice to be in a salesforce.com dedicated arena. Unfortunately I didn’t find the Foundation Hub, the space specifically for non-profits, until the last day or so. I likely would have had more people to gel with there.
Here are a couple things that I loved about the experience:
Dreamforce starts online with the salesforce community.
I wish I had been more active leading up to the conference, then I could have made more face to face connections on site. I still had a fantastic time chatting with training attendees and random salesforce bus riders, but finally meeting people that you interact virtually with is even more exciting to me.
Dreamforce becomes tangible on the plane ride.
There were several people on my flight out to San Fran, many of them wearing swag from previous years making their attendance obvious, and other discussing their travel plans which I and other attendees could overhear.
Dreamforce is an actual force.
It takes over much of San Fran in a way that I have never seen. Everyday no matter how early your first session, or late your last session, you will be in a sea of badge and swag wearers.
Dreamforce swag.
I’m not much of a “stuff” person, but this “stuff” was pretty awesome. Free tech tees that I can work from home in, biking socks for asking questions during a session, a multi charger for asking more questions, free salesforce books and cheat sheets, a bookbag and a water bottle for attending... I thought I had cleaned up pretty nicely, and then I read this article about David Liu, a blogger I occasionally follow, who got over 50 tees at Dreamforce! Maybe next time I will work the sales floor a bit more :)
Dreamforce donates.
Attendees were encouraged to bring canned goods for donation. You don’t have to fly in with it, there are plenty of store in walking distance where you can pick something up to donate.
Here are some high level tips for attending:
Save the swag.
Personally I wouldn’t use the swag at Dreamforce. Try finding your bag in a sea of identical bags either at the conference or at the baggage claim later on at the airport. Not to mention your water bottle, yuck… just save the swag for later.
Make room for swag.
Having said that, make sure you have room in your luggage for all of that potential swag you might get. I took the smallest suitcase I could find but then I ended up checking my salesforce bag stuffed with swag as luggage :) Good thing I flew southwest!
Airbnb.
Hotel prices in San Fran are nutz. I even thought the Airbnb prices were nutz, but nothing beats saving a few hundred a night on your room. And you’ll have a kitchen and hopefully a knowledgeable resource on transportation in San Fran.
Wear comfy shoes.
Don’t try to be cute. You will walk a ton, especially as a first timer who isn’t sure where the buses are, where the buildings are and if there will be seating in proximity to your next session.
Map out your schedule.
Its best to do this ahead of time. It takes time to walk from point A to point B, if your sessions are all over the place you may not make it in time. If you can do this while you schedule your sessions you can make sure that you won’t have to literally run to your next session.Give yourself 15 - 20 min since they release seats 10 min ahead of time.
Schedule early.
I loved most of my sessions but there were trainings that I really wished I could have gone to. Take note of the sessions you want to go to as they are announced and posted, and when the online scheduler opens up, have at it! But, don’t sweat it, you can catch recordings later.
Plan your lunch.
Try to plan for free lunch. Let’s face it, the conference is expensive, so any free stuff is welcomed and appreciated. They serve lunch “until it is gone”, so get there a few min before it starts and be ready to grab and go. I was pleasantly surprised that they had meals for all sorts of diets; gluten free, vegetarian, halal. Even if you don’t get something free, look at your schedule so that you know if you have time to get lunch somewhere 15 min away or if you have to make due with whatever is down the street.
Verify your session location.
Nothing is worse than standing in line for a session only to find that you are in the wrong line! Well I guess one thing is worse, getting situated in a session only to find out that it is the wrong one, and then having to pack up as quietly as possible and politely shuffle out of the row of seats… you get the idea. There are usually greeters at the door to each session. stop by and say hello to them, then ask them what’s next on the docket .
DF14 rocked! I went to some really great sessions and hands on trainings, I met some foreign friends, and fellow nonprofit workers. It was a great time. I hope to attend another Dreamforce in the future for another great experience.
Till next time...
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