Tag Archives: Conferences

Word cloud from session titles

Why should you attend M365 Twin Cities?

Why should you participate in the community? Like ours, and many others. User groups, meetups, conferences and the like. We just missed the last outdoor Power BI meetup for 2023, but they’ll be back – probably at Surly again – until then, indoor places

What is it?

Our event this coming Saturday November 11th: It’s a day of free training on topics in, around, and tangential to Microsoft’s M365: Teams, SharePoint, Planner, OneDrive, Viva, Azure, Power Platform, and more. The word cloud above is from session titles that will be presented on Saturday.

10 rooms, 4 time slots, 34 sessions. In person only. No recordings or online availability. Come mix it up with folks from all over the Upper Midwest – organizations big and small. We’ll have donuts and pizza.

Free Content

A number of us just returned from 365EduCon Chicago – the most recent in a handful of larger conferences and education opportunities that can require a substantial investment from employers and attendees. Community events like Community Days and our M365 Twin Cities event are FREE or have nominal fees. Community Days events are fantastic opportunities to learn – for the cost of your time – and have other benefits as well.

Come and hear from many of the same presenters you’ll see at the larger events. Get the latest news on what’s coming, what’s been released, what’s changed, best practices, case studies, and more.

Access to Presenters

Do you have questions about a certain topic? Check the schedule to see what’s being presented and who’s going to be on-site presenting. Even if they’re not talking about your topic, they might be a SME (subject matter expert) that can answer questions about something you’re working on or stuck on.

Networking

It’s not just about building a network for when you make your next job hop. It’s about building a peer group for the job you’re in. Sharing findings, best practices, what works, what doesn’t, etc.

Talk to people. Seriously as good as the content will be, the best thing you can do is talk to folks. Get outside your comfort zone a bit.

As of today: closing in on 400 registrations which will likely yield about 250 folks on site the day of the event.

Socks and LEGO

Vendors and sponsors love to give stuff away. There’s always swag. 🙂 Socks are still all the rage – I don’t understand why – but they are. Stickers and can koozies, pens, and more. Come and check out the assortment.

Links and more reading

Conference Schedule 2020

OK. Apparently I need to re-up my blog game as last year’s “conference schedule” post is only a few posts down on my site. It is time to get things ramped up again with a bunch of conferences to attend and present at, with lots of news and platform changes, and tons of great information out there. So here’s what’s coming up so far:

April 2-3 – North American Collaboration Summit 2020 – aka “SharePointalooza”, Branson, MO

This is PAIT Group and Microsoft MVP Mark Rackley’s event. He does a fantastic job pulling together a multi-day workshop and conference event down in Branson that includes over 60 speakers including Microsoft folks, MVPs and MCMs. If you’re from the upper Midwest, this is a drivable event and one that in addition to all the great content and networking, gives those of us living in Winter wonderland a taste of the Spring weather to come. If you want a more personal-sized event that’s not as overwhelming as some larger events but still gets awesome content, speakers, and networking, check it out! Come for the content and networking – and get the weather as a bonus!

Save $50 using coupon code: “PRESTON”. Registration starts at $100.
NEW – Save 50% using coupon code: “SPSTC” 

April 13-17 – SharePoint Fest D.C. – Washington, D.C.

SharePoint Fest is a great opportunity for a week of intense training with 2 days of workshops, 3 days of sessions, and lots of opportunities to network with speakers, sponsors, and attendees. We usually see 3 SharePoint Fest events throughout the year and this is the first, with Seattle in late Summer and Chicago in December.

Join us for great Spring event in D.C.! If you do, use the code PRESTON100 when signing up for $100 off your registration.

Preston

April 19 – 23 – MicroConf – Minneapolis, MN

I’m just attending this one – no speaking. I’m really excited to check it out though as this is a conference that’s been around for a few years and had rave reviews from others in the community. It’s been in Vegas for a while and just this year is moving to Minneapolis – where one of the founders is from and conveniently is where I’m also located – so hard to pass up the opportunity to check it out. If you’re an entrepreneur or are thinking about it, make sure to check this out. They’re also expanding to more regional events going forward.

May 19-21 – SharePoint Conference – Las Vegas, NV

Still the premier Microsoft produced and partnered event focused on Office365, SharePoint, and all the tech that extends and supports it. Expect to see big announcements, lots of product team presenters, big names in the community and executives from the Microsoft teams that bring you these great tools.

Use code “PRESTON” when registering to save $50.

SPC_SpeakerBanners_PRESTON

May 30 – SharePoint Saturday Twin Cities [New Name??] – Minneapolis, MN

One of the biggest and best SharePoint Saturday events around. We’ve been going for over 10 yrs with over 20 events. It’s not just about SharePoint anymore. We cover Office365, Microsoft365, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, the Power Platform, Azure, and lots of other platforms and apps that support and extend the O365 space. The last few years we’ve been averaging about 400 attendees and have a wonderful collection of sponsors and volunteer speakers from the local area, region, greater US and sometimes international folks. Join us for a wonderful free event!

No need for a coupon code because it’s FREE !!

July 22-23 – Enterprise Rising Conference 2020 – Minneapolis, MN

This is another local entrepreneur and startup conference here in the Twin Cities doing a lot to bring the startup community here together.

August 24-28 – SharePoint Fest Seattle – Washington, D.C.

More info will be available as we get closer.

September 21-25 – Microsoft Ignite – New Orleans, LA

It moved! Both the date and location. Microsoft’s ultimate tech conference event. More info as we get closer but you can pre-register already.

TBD – Fall – SharePoint Saturday Twin Cities – Minneapolis, MN

Just want to keep this on your radar. We won’t have a date until after our Spring event but we will be back for the Fall with lots of info and announcements fresh from Ignite.

Back at it: Spring Conference Schedule

Well, it’s been a nice little break for a few months, but time to ramp it up again:

North American Collaboration Summit, aka ‘SharePointalooza’

Preston - PowerApps New Approaches to the Traditional SharePoint List View

Branson, MO – March 14-15

http://www.collabsummit.org/ – Use code: Microsoft

 

SharePoint Saturday Twin Cities

Bloomington, MN – April 6

www.spstc.com
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sharepoint-saturday-twin-cities-spring-2019-tickets-55007874032

What? You’d like to sponsor? Awesome! Contact me at sponsors@spstc.com

 

SharePoint Fest DC

DC19Banner728x90SPSTC15
Washington D.C. – April 29 – May 3
https://www.sharepointfest.com/DC/ – Use code: SPSTC15

https://www.sharepointfest.com/DC/index.php/ourspeakers

 

The SharePoint Conference

Wes Preston-Preston Social Banner-254
Las Vegas, NV – May 21-23

https://sharepointna.com – Use Speaker Code: PRESTON when you register.

https://sharepointna.com/#!/speaker/Wes%20Preston/1913

Spring and More, Conferences Galore!

As SharePoint and Office 365 continue to evolve, the SharePoint community seems to be as strong as ever. There are a bunch of conferences coming up over the next few months. Here are a few notable ones:

March 2-3 – North American Collaboration Summit – Branson, MO
Better hurry up if you want to make this one. There are a ton of great speakers in town for this one as it’s just before the MVP Summit in Redmond. So catch these folks while you can. It is a great value for your time and a nice little escape from Winter for a few days.
FYI – It *is* drivable from the Twin Cities – we’ve done it a few times. Smile
Discount Code: COLLABSUMMIT50

March 26-30 – SharePoint Fest – Washington DC
A quality SharePoint, Office 365, Azure, and Microsoft Teams event offered several times a year between DC, Seattle (August), and Chicago (December). These folks do a great job. They’ve been doing this ‘series’ for a few years and they just seem to get better. They’ve recently switched to a longer 5-day format that includes 2 days of workshops and 3 days of sessions. Be sure to check them out. I’ll be doing a workshop and 3 sessions at the DC event.
Discount Code: PrestonDC100

April 7 – SharePoint Saturday Omaha – Omaha, NE

April 14th – SharePoint Saturday Twin Cities – Minneapolis, MN
Back for our Spring event with registration just opening up today.
FREE

May 5 – SharePoint Saturday Chicago Suburbs – Chicago, IL

May 21-23 – SharePoint Conference North America – Las Vegas, NV
Note: This is NOT a Microsoft-run event like previous ‘SPC’ events, but it IS Microsoft sponsored, backed, and endorsed. There will be a LOT of product group folks attending and speaking in addition to plenty of community-recognized experts, MVPs, etc.
Discount Code: https://t.co/K9n43i1UOr

And of course there continue to be SharePoint Saturday (SPS) events throughout the US and the world. Please remember, not all SPS events are listed on the SPSEvents site – Including OURS – for a variety of reasons. So keep up to date with your local and regional groups so you don’t miss out on a great event!

So much information, so little time. Hope to cross paths with you at some of these!