Once again, the time has come for me to apologize for my mysterious disappearance. As some of you know, I was out at the 2006 RSA convention for the week working sixteen hour days. Needless to say, the quantity of my blogging suffered as a result of the work overload.
I remember, as a starry-eyed pup, going to my first RSA show back in 1998 (I think it was the year with the Viking theme) and expecting that the show would be something bigger than life. I was disappointed in the technical content then, just as I was disappointed in it this time around. While it is always interesting to see the new technologies and startups and it's always nice to see friends, the discussions were just as disappointing this year as they have been in years past. In fact, when I saw the Bruce Schneier's restaurant guide, I was at the point where I would say that the conference "jumped the shark". But then I started thinking, and I had a revelation... All this time, I've been getting something valuable from the show, but I haven't stopped to appreciate it.
As always, the discussions and panels fell short of my expectations, the vendors didn't offer much that's new, and the parties were loud and "not my scene". But judging the show in this way isn't fair: how much justice can you do to a topic in an hour? How many new and groundbreaking products are there likely to be at any trade show? What did I expect? No, in my opinion, the value of the conference is in the relationships that are made and perpetuated. For example, the Microsoft Blogger luncheon was a high-point - a number of talented, motivated, and interesting people were there sharing their experiences, trading tips and techniques, and talking about security. More personally, I was able to connect with old friends (some of which I haven't seen in years), make new friends (like the Microsoft engineer whose table we stole at Tandoori) and deepen existing friendships (like having a chance to really connect with a "to remain nameless" - and therefore "stigma-free" - fellow Fantasy and Gaming connoisseur). In other words, the technical content is not the show's strength - the people attending it are.
So was it worth it? Absolutely. But not because of the keynotes, the workshops, or the expo floor. Did it jump the shark? Maybe. But it was "worth it" where it counts - which has nothing to do with the technical content.
Posted by Ed at February 20, 2006 09:25 AM