Archives for February 2013

Demo Mastery for the Technology Evangelist

In the same way that the finest presentations involve much more than the simple relaying of information, the finest software demos are much more than just presenting features. REMEMBER: The goal of a demo is to INSPIRE the audience to use the software/technology, not to teach them every nuance of software/technology. I've spent the last 10 years learning how to give good presentations and to give good software demonstrations. Here are several tips to take your software demonstration from informative to masterful: 1. Know your audience Whenever you start a demo, make sure you have a good … [Read more...]

Demo Mastery for the Technology Evangelist

In the same way that the finest presentations involve much more than the simple relaying of information, the finest software demos are much more than just presenting features. REMEMBER: The goal of a demo is to INSPIRE the audience to use the software/technology, not to teach them every nuance of software/technology. I've spent the last 10 years learning how to give good presentations and to give good software demonstrations. Here are several tips to take your software demonstration from informative to masterful: 1. Know your audience Whenever you start a demo, make sure you have a … [Read more...]

Hurray! I Have One of the Top 1% most viewed LinkedIn Profiles

I just got this email from LinkedIn about my profile (that's http://www.linkedin.com/in/kekline in clear text).   Hi Kevin, Recently, LinkedIn reached a new milestone: 200 million members. But this isn't just our achievement to celebrate — it's also yours. I want to personally thank you for being part of our community. Your journey is part of our journey, and we're delighted and humbled when we hear stories of how our members are using LinkedIn to connect, learn, and find opportunity. All of us come to work each day focused on our shared mission of connecting the world's … [Read more...]

Vegas in October 2012

I was attending the SQL Connections event with my colleagues at SQL Sentry.  Below is, from closest to furthest, Greg Gonzalez, Andy Kelly, and Peter Shire.  It was an amazing party limo, literally a stretch Hummer with interior disco lighting.The beautiful fountains of the Bellagio.From left to right, Aaron Bertrand, me, and Peter Shire. … [Read more...]

What’s It Like on a SQLCruise?

I always seem to get a question or two along the lines of "What's it like on a SQLCruise?" as I present at various conferences, SQL Saturdays, and user group meetings.  Since we just finished up the 2013 Miami SQLCruise, I thought it'd be a good time to recap so that you can judge for yourself if you'd ever want to do it yourself.  Personally, I think that Tim Ford (Twitter | Blog), together with his wife Amy, are doing better than ever in making the cruise both a top-quality learning experience and fantastic social experience.  I've heard from many attendees that they learned enough in the … [Read more...]

What’s It Like on a SQLCruise?

I always seem to get a question or two along the lines of "What's it like on a SQLCruise?" as I present at various conferences, SQL Saturdays, and user group meetings.  Since we just finished up the 2013 Miami SQLCruise, I thought it'd be a good time to recap so that you can judge for yourself if you'd ever want to do it yourself.  Personally, I think that Tim Ford (Twitter | Blog), together with his wife Amy, are doing better than ever in making the cruise both a top-quality learning experience and fantastic social experience.  I've heard from many attendees that they learned enough in the … [Read more...]