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 | | | From The President | |
 Spring is here, and change is in the air. The same is true here at INETA. As April arrives, we begin with wishes of wellness for our current President Amanda Murphy. Amanda, who is stepping down to focus more time on her family, has been a tremendous influence on INETA and the entire .Net community. As DeAnn Hollis said, "The heart of a volunteer is not measured in size, but by the depth of the commitment to make a difference in the lives of others." And this is definitely true for Amanda Murphy. The depth of her commitment has been considerable, and is her desire to help grow and nurture the .Net community. We here at INETA are going to miss Amanda's dedication and volunteer spirit, and we wish her nothing but the best in the future. Amanda, thank you for all that you have done for the community.
In keeping with the theme of change, we would also like to welcome David Silverlight to the Board of Directors. David, who previously held the title of Assistant VP of Technology, will be extremely busy as the new Marketing Director. David has been a tremendous volunteer in the South Florida .Net community for years, and we are very happy to have him join us in our quest to build a better community in all of North America. Welcome aboard David!
Finally, as you might have guessed by my writing this article, I will be attempting to fill the very large shoes that Amanda has left behind. In my previous position as VP of Technology, we had been working on some great new resources for the community that we hope to unveil very soon. To continue this work, we are very fortunate that Rob Zelt will be stepping into the role of VP of Technology. Rob has tremendous foresight and an inspiring view on how we can use technology to better help the community. We are lucky to have such a great leader to take over that position.
We, the board of INETA, are committed to working as a team to help give you the resources you need to help bring quality content and community spirit to your meetings. We hope to share these ideas with you in the coming months by using this space to highlight what each of our areas are working on to provide ways to better serve the community. Starting in May, the title of this article will change from "From the President" to "Thoughts from the Board." We hope you like this change, and we welcome your comments.
Daniel Egan
President, INETA NorAm
daniel.egan@ineta.org
INETA - The Face of .NET |
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| | | New Just-In-Time Birds-of-a-Feather Sessions Announced for TechEd 2008 | |
There will be a new and exciting type of
Just-In-Time Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) session at TechEd 2008 in Orlando, FL on Wednesday evening June 4th in addition to the regular BOF sessions. This new type of BOF sessions will provide an opportunity for attendees to have a more impromptu informal discussion. Additional details on the logistics will be provided in the May INETA newsletter. Voting for regular BOF sessions ends on Mon 4/7/2008 so get on-line and
vote for your favorite sessions! As recently announced there is a new program to recognize individuals who help make the BOF sessions a success this year. Session moderator submission is now closed, but there is still an opportunity to sign up to host three sessions and get the following special BOF Volunteer Package including: - A TechEd 2008 Day Pass allowing access to all conference sessions, hands-on labs, meals, etc. on Wednesday 6/4/2008 (20 available on a first-come, first-served basis).
- Special BOF t-shirt.
- From all the volunteers, five of their user groups will get an extra INETA speaker between now and the end of 2008
- Technology book from a major publisher.
- Attend a special lunch on Wednesday 6/4/2008 for an informal discussion with some technology experts like INETA speakers and individuals from the Microsoft product teams.
- Attend the BOF Reception before the start of the Wednesday evening sessions and have access to the
Green Room during the sessions.
What is my role as a Host? As a session host you oversee the logistics of a session including introducing the moderator, making any announcements, and ensure the session runs smoothly. Details will be provided at the event. Contact us at noram.bofhelp@ineta.org to volunteer and make the BOF sessions a success! |
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| | | TechEd Registration |  |  | The last few
Tech·Ed events have sold out. Don't miss out on this year's keynote from Bill Gates followed by more than 615 learning events
The event is June 3-6, 2008. Sign up as quickly as you can to insure your place at this incredible event! Register by April 4 and save US$200
Stop by the INETA booth and let us know what user group you represent. |
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| | | INETA North America Board of Directors Membership Position | |
Nominations Now Being Accepted for an INETA North America Board of Directors PositionAfter over 6 years of volunteering with INETA, Chris Wallace has decided to step down as VP of membership. Chris, thank you for your many years of service. Chris's shoes will clearly be hard to fill, but we will begin this month by taking nominations for this position.
If you, or somebody that you know, would like to get involved with INETA at the Board level, this is an opportunity that does not come along everyday.
The INETA NorAm Board of Directors has an opening for an individual focusing on membership for the organization. General responsibilities will include:
- Develop and maintain short and long term strategic plans for membership.
- Develop and monitor annual budgets for membership.
- Oversee volunteers working on membership.
- Oversee the Membership Mentors who are the liaisons with the INETA user groups.
- Oversee the approval of user groups applying for INETA membership.
- Work on maintaining and expanding INETA membership.
- Participate in the planning and execution of membership related events such as Leadership Summits
- Serve as a Board member fulfilling general duties for strategic planning and running of the corporation.
General commitment is around 15-20 hours/month including regular bi-weekly Board conference calls and two expense-paid in-person weekend meetings per year. Nominations must be submitted by any user group leader of a user group that is a member of INETA or a current Board member. Nominations should include the individual's name, email address, phone number, description of why the individual is qualified for the position, as well as any supporting materials. Candidates are then interviewed by and voted on by the current Board members. Send nominations to
noram.secretary@ineta.orgno later than Friday 4/11/2008. Please direct any questions to
noram.secretary@ineta.org. |
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| | | User Group Above and Beyond | |
INETA recognizes what local user groups are doing in the community. This month, we are featuring two User groups that are stepping out in new directions. Congratulations to Second Life. NET and to Inland Empire .NET. You are truly taking community, commitment and recognition to new levels. INETA and the .NET community applaud your endeavors! Whether you are an avid Second Life member or just heard of it through the grapevine, it is hard to ignore the unique nature of this User Group. They hold their meetings "In-Word" every Saturday. If the term "In-World" is new to your techie vocabulary, it means that they actually hold their meetings within Second-Life where you can find your seat in a virtual auditorium in Microsoft's "Visual Studio Island" and view the presentation on a large screen. Not only is this one of the most unique models for holding user group meetings, but with over 500 members they are changing the model for what is the norm for a .NET User Group.
As you might imagine, a group such as this requires a team of dedicated enthusiasts, more than can be mentioned in the newsletter. We will at least start with recognizing at least a few of the folks that represent the leadership of the Second Life .NET User group: Tori Luka - Founder of the group
Zain Naboulsi - Zain, a.k.a "CSharp Writer" is the Microsoft DE and visionary who has helped the group to really spread it's wings
Chris Hart - former Wrox .NET editor creditted for working all odd hours to help the group thrive
Han Choi - responsible for the Second Life FaceBook Integration
Kyle "G", founder of
G2, a former aerospace engineer reponsible for developing a platform to manage and communicate with virtual worlds using .NET tools.
If you would like to learn more about the Second Life .NET User Group, please visit
SLDNUG.NetJames Johnson, President of the Inland Empire .NET User Group has started a program to reward active members of his user group with the Most Valuable Members awards. This is a model program that groups can use and show their members just how much their contributions are appreciated. Anyone involved in running a user group knows that success does not come from one person alone; rather it takes the dedicated efforts of several individuals to really make a user group thrive. James started his program to help show users how much their time is appreciated. As he puts it, "My user group was starting to take off, and I wanted the members and attendees to be even more involved. I started pondering on how to generate a sense of community within the group, to increase the membership of the group, and to generate some recognition for the Inland Empire .NET Developers.. So, based somewhat on David Silverlight's
Community Credit, James devised the Most Valuable Member (MVM) program. The
IEDOTNETUGmembers can tally up points for basic stuff they do for and with the User Group, and they not only earn some recognition, but they can also score a lot of cool swag. The first MVM awards will be held on July 8th, 2008 at the IEDOTNETUG's regular meeting room at Riverside Medical Clinic. Please continue to check the User Group's website as additional information becomes availableCongrats to James for kicking off this Awards program. Congrats to James for kicking off this Awards program.
Recognizing User Groups If you are involved with or know of a user group that is doing something unique and deserving of recognition for their efforts, please contact us so that we can recognize them in an upcoming INETA newsletter. |
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| | | Speaker's Corner: Breaking Through Your Greatest Fear | This month's Article will be the first in our monthly column aimed at helping us to become better public speakers. It addresses one of the most deep seeded fears that affects us as directly as User Group Leaders, the fear of pubic speaking. Each month, Marsha Freedman will offer her advice and wisdom on public speaking and communication skills to help us improve our presence as we lead our technical communities. Breaking Through Your Greatest Fear It's not death or spiders ...Did you know
The Book of Lists ranks the fear of public speaking as the number one fear in the U.S.? It's amazing that people are more afraid of speaking than dying! This brings to mind comedian Jerry Seinfeld's observation that, "Given a choice, at a funeral, most of us would rather be the one in the coffin than the one delivering the eulogy!"
Do you feel the same way? Has the fear of speaking before groups held you back from securing the position you deserve? Has a lack of confidence kept you from speaking up at business or community meetings? It's common for me to hear "Yes" in response to these questions, even among clients already in top positions.
Madame Marie Currie said, "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." So, let's talk about some of the fears or concerns you may have regarding speaking before groups and come up with viable solutions.
Fear #1: "I'm afraid I'll forget what I'm going to say."
This is probably one of the most common fears I hear expressed in every workshop and coaching session I conduct. It's especially prevalent in the over-40 group. The solution? Preparation, preparation, preparation!
Have note cards and number them in case they drop. The use of PowerPoint bullets will help guide you as well. Have your introduction and conclusion memorized, as you want to make a powerful first and final impression.
If you don't have notes or PowerPoint bullets and blank out, say to an audience member seated near you, "I must be having a senior moment. What was my last point?" If you're under 40, say, "I must be having a brain freeze. Would you please remind me of my last point?" Say either of these without making a big deal about it. With a smile on your face, thank the person who rescues you, and continue calmly. It's not the end of the world!
Everyone forgets at times, even me. I once stood before a group and forgot the name of my own company! It seemed like an hour before I could recall it, when, in reality, it was no more than several seconds. I didn't act as if it was a big deal, so no one else thought it was either. Trust me, at the end of the workshop, no one in that room remembered the lapse but me.
Fear #2: What if I mispronounce or trip up on a word?
If during rehearsal you find yourself having trouble, find an alternative word. If there isn't an appropriate replacement, as often happens with technological words, spell it out phonetically for yourself on an index card. Shortly before you get to that particular word in your presentation, glance at the card.
Remember not to focus on mispronouncing the word prior to the presentation. If you do, a self-fulfilling prophecy forms and you may do just that - mispronounce it.
Worst case scenario? If you mess up, correct yourself and then continue as if nothing happened. No one will notice but you. The last thing you want to do, if and when you make a mistake of any kind, is hold up a magnifying glass and say, "Hey, everyone; if you didn't already notice, guess, what? I made a mistake!" Remember, we all make mistakes; we're imperfect beings.
Take the example of Alicia Keyes. At a music award ceremony, she tripped on the stage before millions of TV viewers. I don't think anything you could do would be as embarrassing as that! Instead of running off in tears, she stood up proudly, broke into a rendition of her song "Fallin'" and received a standing ovation from the audience.
What the audience was really saying was "Wow! I don't know if I would have had the guts to do what you did." By recouping gracefully, as she did, you may even go up in the audience's estimation of you.
Fear #3: What if the audience appears confused?It's possible that your information is too complex for the group to understand. If you'll be presenting to an external audience, do research on the group first. This way, you can find out how much they already know. If you assume, you may be way off target.
If the audience is internal, keep in mind that not all areas of an organization have equal needs or interests. As an example, if you have a detailed presentation full of numbers, tables and graphs for the folks in finance, and you present the same one for the human resources department, they may not be engaged or even understand the information.
Another reason for confusion is that you may be presenting too much information at one time. Think in terms of making three points. If the information is new and complex, consider stopping after each point to take questions, rather than waiting for the end. This reduces confusion and helps to maintain the audience's attention.
Fear #4: What if I can't answer a question?Anticipate all questions people could ask and practice responses. If there are others in your department who can assist, ask them to go over your list. Perhaps you overlooked something. If you receive a question that you aren't qualified to respond to, perhaps someone else present can respond. This makes you appear humble, and it's flattering to the person who you asked to help.
If neither you nor anyone else present can answer the question, respond with a smile on your face and a look of confidence. Say, "I appreciate your question. As I don't have the correct answer, I'll be happy to take your name and contact information, and get back to you." Don't look flustered or confused. No one knows the answer to everything. Be sure you contact the person within 24 hours. He or she will be very impressed that you followed through with your promise.
Solutions exist for every fearThe next time you have the opportunity to speak before a group, remember that there's a viable solution for each of your fears. Also, the more often you speak, the easier it becomes. I challenge you to turn your greatest fear into your greatest asset. Once you do that, your professional success and confidence level will soar!
About the author
Marsha Freedman, MS, is a trainer, coach, professional speaker and university communication instructor. She is producer of the Powerful Presentations CD program and author of a workbook on presentation anxiety. Contact her at
mfreedman@xprself.com. Her Web site is
http://www.xprself.com. |
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| | | CodeZone | Wrox/Wileyhas provided
Professional LINQ, by Scott Klein and the Silverlight team has provided
First Look: Microsoft Silverlight 2, by Laurence Moroney. INETA would like to thank both groups for their gracious donations to INETA. If you are a user group leader and your group is not registered in
CodeZone, we encourge you to do so.
| As part of the current
CodeZone shipment, INETA has partnered with two groups to bring you bonus books.> |  |
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| | | User Group Specials | |
Every month we will announce promotions for INETA User Group leaders. This month, we have a really tremendous offer to tell you about regarding Microsoft Live Meeting. Microsoft Live Meeting Offer We are delighted to be able to announce that in collaboration with Microsoft, INETA is now able to offer a free LiveMeeting account to each INETA User Group worldwide. We hope that this will prove to be invaluable to user group leaders in helping to run successful meetings, especially when it is not possible to get all of their members to attend the same location at the same time.
Each INETA region will be sending out account instructions to the user group leaders in each of their areas so look for upcoming announcements. A LiveMeeting account will be provided to a single user group leader in each group specifically for use within their user group and for the benefit of their user group. Only that user group leader will be able to schedule meetings, although of course any of the group members will be able to join and even run them once set up. Please note that although each group will receive a LiveMeeting account with its many benefits, a telephone conferencing facility will not be provided - groups may use their own if they have one, and LiveMeeting has the ability to provide audio conferencing through any PC which has a speaker and microphone. Some of the many advantages that your LiveMeeting account will provide include: - - The ability to share both audio and video with anyone connected to the internet who has the LiveMeeting client software - a free download - installed.
- The ability to present both Powerpoint presentations and anything on your desktop to the meeting attendees.
- The ability to collaborate on documents and other content.
- The ability to record presentations and events and make them available for review at a later date and time.
You can find out much more about LiveMeeting by going to
http://www.livemeeting.com |
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| | | Upcoming INETA Speakers Bureau Local Events | |
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| | | Upcoming Regional Events | |
 Devconnections Conferences and Expos
When: April 20-23, 2008
Where: Orlando, FL
Another great way to keep your career up to speed is by attending the
Devconnections Conferences and Expos. Keynote speakers for the spring conference include
Norman Guadagno, Director of Product Marketing for VS Team System;
Scott Guthrie, General manager, .NET Developer Platform;
Tom Rizzo, Director of SharePoint and Office Server; and
Quentin Clark, General Manager of the Database Engine group.
DevTeach
When: May 12-16, 2008
Where: Toronto, Canada The User Groups Rebate program is back in 2008. We are offering $50 off the registration cost to all members of user groups registered with INETA, Pass, Culminis or the Universal Thread User Group Meeting Tracker or any active user group. To benefit of this rebate, members need to enter a rebate code when processing their registration.
User group leaders can request this rebate code good for 50$ off the registration by sending an email to jrroy@DevTeach.com. User Group must be registered with INETA, PASS, Culminis or the Universal Thread User Group Meeting Tracker or have meeting schedule spring 2008.
INETA Community Leadership Summit
When: Monday, June 2nd 2008
Where: At TechEd in Orlando, FL If you are a leadership Team Member of an INETA user group, or would like to learn more about becoming one, you are invited to attend the INETA Community Leadership Summit on Monday June 2nd, 2008 at Tech Ed. The event will take place in the late afternoon and early evening. The gathering will provide an opportunity to network with other user group leaders from across North America and around the world.
INETA Birds of a Feather Sessions at Tech Ed
When: June 3rd-6th
Where: At TechEd, Orlando, Florida Are you thinking about going to Tech·Ed in Orlando this June? Do you have topics you'd like to discuss with other attendees? According to some of last year's attendees, BOFs were
one of the 3 best things about Tech·Ed 2007. While it may seem far in the future, it's time to start thinking about topics for the
Birds of a Feather sessions at
Tech·Ed Developers in June. With the conference now split into two consecutive Tech·Ed events this year, INETA is organizing the Birds-of-a-Feather sessions at Tech·Ed 2008 Developers in Orlando June 3-6, 2008. Our sister organization,
Culminis, is organizing the
BOF sessions at Tech·Ed IT Professionals, which is also in Orlando and runs from June 10-13. |
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| | | A Word from the Marketing Team | |
As somebody who has been involved in user groups and development communities for many years now, it never ceases to amaze me at how technology continues to grow; and right alongside it are the User Groups and members who make our community thrive. For any given technology, there is never a shortage of people to evangelize it for no other reason than their love of the technology itself. When you attend events like TechEd, you have a chance to see what is on the bleeding edge in our field, but you can also meet with the Rock Stars that you may have only heard of or read about.
One thing that I think makes our industry a bit tighter and closer to our hearts is that, when it comes down to it, the Rock Stars in our communities are developers just like you and me. They became Rock Stars because they truly love what they do and they are always happy to discuss the technologies that they love. I can't think of too many arenas like ours, where you can have a chance to speak face to face with the people who are truly shaping our industry and the future.
I personally find the discussions outside of the sessions to be as valuable as the sessions themselves - if not more so. So, if you are fortunate enough to be joining us at TechEd, I will make one recommendation to take you one step further into the arena. And that is - I strongly urge you to host some of the Birds of a Feather sessions. If you have a particular topic that you would like to explore in serious detail, hosting a BOF session on that topic will be an invaluable addition to your Tech-Ed experience. David Silverlight
Vice-President of Marketing, INETA NorAm
david.silverlight@ineta.org
Community-Credit.com
INETA - The Face of .NET
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| | | Contacting INETA North America | |
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