You know what, I miss in-person events, so that is what I’m going to write about this week. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying these virtual events. I can literally attend any event in the world now with everything being virtual and watch any event later because it’s all recorded! However, there is just something missing from virtual events. Maybe it’s the lack of networking, in-person interactions, or the fact that I have to provide my own food for these virtual events, but regardless I miss them.
Disclaimer: I’m also a responsible person, so I’m not planning or attending any of these in person events any time soon. I just miss them dearly.
As an event coordinator, I’m used to planning and attending events. In my opinion, I’m paid to have fun. Obviously, just like any job, it isn’t all fun and games, but you get to see all of your hard work come to fruition and enjoy it. It’s usually assumed that being an event coordinator or planner is a very creative job, and it is, but it also takes someone who is highly organized and able to multitask. Events have a lot of moving pieces and require a lot of people to understand their roles in producing a successful event. I miss working with all of these different people, having these different interactions. You don’t realize how important minor human interaction is until you have been staying at home almost 5 months religiously.
I miss seeing other people’s hard work too. I enjoyed observing others work, the details they included and seeing how they implemented their skills. I like observing what their event team or coordinator produced and what I can take back to my events. Also, networking didn’t always feel like networking, as it does now being online. There is a real push to sell yourself and your company online. While in person, conversation flows more naturally, and you could be talking to someone not at all about work related topics and next thing you know you have your next client or they plug you in somewhere.
Also there was always a change of scenery! I miss scoping out event venues, going new places, trying new things. Yes, I can show up to every event now in pjs, sweat pants, or jeans and a college tee, but it just doesn’t feel the same. Additionally, I get distracted a lot and I mean A LOT when I’m attending these virtual events. I’m getting emails, pings, calendar reminders all showing up on my screen while I’m trying to pay attention or take notes. And because speakers can’t gauge audiences anymore, they either talk too slow, fast, explain things differently and don’t crack as many jokes (I’m a sucker for a good dad or lame joke. Have you ever been on the Disney Jungle Cruise ride? I live for the jokes on that ride). I love people watching during breaks and lunches, scoping out the audience members, trying to find people I might know or should know. I feel full after an event (metaphorically and literally because there is usually food present).
Obviously we’ve been having virtual events for a while now and luckily they are running more smoothly and getting better as time goes on. Sooner or later we will start to have hybrid events or events that have to follow social distancing protocols. And then finally, who knows how long down the road, we will be able to have those full out events. But until then, I will be sitting in front of my computer screen attending these virtual events as I snack on goat cheese and crackers.
MK Partner’s Event
Now that I’m done ranting and I said I wasn’t going to talk about any events this week, I’m going to talk about our company’s event this upcoming week! On Friday, August 14th MK Partners is hosting a “Let’s Build” Livestream event on Youtube! People attending will be able to pitch each other ideas for potential projects. MK Partners will pick one, and run through all the preliminary legwork. This is a 3 part event, with the next event taking place on the following Friday. They will be doing all of the primary legwork during the first event so that they can get straight to building in episode 2! Tune in to learn what to ask, what to consider, and how to plan your next Salesforce build!
Recap
Last week was all for the admins! Virtual Admin Sprint: User Training and Enablement taught admins about blending Salesforce training with enablement to get those supercharged adoptions, resulting in less support questions. #PHXSFWIT — Formulas and Life Hacks for the Everyday Admin with Steve Molis was for the admins who wanted to learn about formulas and every day hacks. This event happened again just on the following day in Salesforce with Steve Mo!
Then our only event that wasn’t for admins was How to Build a “Reopening for Business” Bot in Just 30 Minutes. The Salesforce guest speaker taught us how to create this bot and how to use it to communicate with customers and the public about day-to-day changing operations. Did you attend any of these events? Tweet us @mkpartners and let us know your thoughts!
Also, make sure to let us know if you think there are any events worth mentioning and what event you are excited about this upcoming week. And, as always, we will see you in the cloud.
