Category Lotusphere
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I say MY first Lotusphere 2008 (LP08 for short) post because my cohort in crime, Ed Brill, has already beaten me to the punch with his first post . And as he mentioned, I am writing this first post to gather ideas for my track as I have done in years past - yes, I am honored to have been asked to head up the Best Practices track once again (among other things), and I have most gladly accepted.

But before I get to that, let me go ahead and let you know a couple of things. First, (as Ed mentioned) the Call for Abstracts will go out earlier this year than in years past - you should expect to see that call for abstracts sometime around mid August. Second, we'll accept abstracts until around the middle-to-end of September, and then the content team will begin working through them to build tracks containing the high-quality content you've grown to expect and appreciate.

Now let's talk about my favorite subject - Best Practices. I am beginning to put my thoughts together about themes or target topics that I want for this year's track, and this is a great time for you, my esteemed audience (and target attendees) to help "shape my head" regarding what you want to see. So, let me give you some things to help guide you in your suggestions.

First, here's last year's (Lotusphere 2007) track description. This year's track description will be something similar, but for those of you who are new to Lotusphere, this will let you know the general idea of the Best Practices track.

Audience: Business and IT managers, application developers, system administrators and integrators

You slave away every day, honing those mad geek skillz so that you can be the best geek possible. However, you know there's probably a better, quicker, more elegant way to do what you do - there always is. The Best Practices track is your chance to learn from the best of the best the proven ways to do what you do better than ever before. This track is by the best geeks in the field, for the geeks in the field - and this is your opportunity to learn their secret code ninja ways to bring your mad skillz to a new level. So, be the best you can be, and spend this week picking the brains of the best there is.

Now that you know what the track is about, let me give you some other points to think about:

• First, remember that this is the year of Notes/Domino 8. I imagine it will be everywhere at LP08. Traditionally, the Best Practices track has been focused on the "widely deployed" releases of our products - so for instance last year we focused on Notes/Domino 6.x and 7.x, plus the related products. Since LP08 is about Notes/Domino 8, do you want to see more "new" product content in the Best Practices track?
• We have many new products out besides Notes/Domino 8 - Quickr, Connections, Sametime, Portal, etc. Do you want to see some Best Practices sessions around these products as well?
• Each year we have added more and more admin content to the Best Practices track - last year it was almost a 50-50 split between dev and admin - and I must say that the admin sessions are consistently packed, and consistently get great reviews. Is the 50-50 mix a good ratio? It seemed to work well last year, but I am open to input.
• Last year we added more "generic" Best Practices content - things like low-fidelity prototyping, UI design, business controls, project management, and so on. These sessions seemed to be pretty popular. Did you like these sessions? Do you want to see these types of sessions again in the mix? More? Less?
• We are going to continue to push for a great deal of new content this year, just like last year. What "new" stuff do you want to see covered?
• And finally, the "catch-all" question: What else do you want to suggest for the Best Practices track - do you have any other ideas I haven't mentioned? I'm open to anything and everything at this point!

That should get you started, and give you some stuff to think about. Your input means a great deal to me, and I promise to give each and every suggestion careful consideration. The Best Practices track has been one of, if not (arguably) the most popular tracks at Lotusphere, each year of its existence - and it is because of you, and your input and participation, that it has done so. With your help, this year's Best Practices track will once again be the best Lotusphere has to offer.

Thanks in advance for your input - I can't wait to see what you're thinking! In the coming weeks I'll make some suggestions to help you craft and submit your abstracts - so stay tuned!

Rock
**Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go straight upwards. --Fred Hoyle