Republished from TheAccidentalGeek.com
It doesn’t seem like it was all that long ago that I was walking down the halls at the Mandalay Bay convention center and seeing the DotNetNuke OpenForce registration booth for the first time. Last year was definitely an exciting time to be at OpenForce. It was our first conference so no-one was quite certain what to expect. The one thing I can say for sure is that it everyone who I spoke with, came away with a renewed sense of excitement and energy.
We are once again in the final stretch for the OpenForce conference. Speakers are making the final tweaks to what I am certain will be another set of outstanding presentations. Exhibitors are busy making last minute updates to their booths. Most of the planning is complete and we are just wrapping up the last little details.
This year promises to be even more exciting than last year. Vendors have embraced this conference as an opportunity to show off their DotNetNuke wares and to reach out to the broader .Net community. Not only do we have more exhibitors this year, but we also have more sponsors. Vendors both large and small have donated prizes for Wednesday night’s gathering. With more than $65K in prizes to be given out (which doesn’t even count the new Harley Davidson being given out by DevConnections), Wednesday night’s gala is definitely shaping up to be this year’s must attend event.
Even with all the details which are already known, I suspect that the biggest news at this years conference will be the announcements that are scheduled to take place at the event. Everywhere I turn I hear people talking about all the big announcements that are being planned for OpenForce. PDC has certainly set the tone this week with all the new announcements coming out of Microsoft. I suspect that OpenForce will continue this fall trend. I have heard rumors that Active Modules, R2i, Engage Software, Penton Media and others have DotNetNuke related announcements planned for the conference. I also know that DotNetNuke Corp. has a few big announcements of our own to make which will certainly have a positive impact on the community. I expect that some of the announcements at the conference will be talked about for months to come, both within the DotNetNuke community and within the broader .Net community as well.
So my only question to you is – why haven’t you registered yet? This event only happens once a year. Trust me, these announcements won’t be nearly as exciting reading about them, as they will be hearing them first hand in a packed room with hundreds of other DotNetNuke enthusiasts. Who knows, you might be riding home on a brand new Harley Davidson with an MSDN Premium Subscription (VSTS 2008 Team Suite) in one hand and a shiny new copy of DMX 5 in the other (ok, maybe you should just pack those in your luggage since you’ll need both hands on the handlebars). So stop reading my blog (ok, maybe read just a bit more, and possibly even leave a comment) and immediately go a register for the conference. Trust me. Unlike everything else in Las Vegas, OpenForce is a sure thing. You won’t be disappointed.