Good Riddance 2020

Normally I’d write a “Happy xxxx” blog post at the start of the new year, but this time I’m just glad the previous year is over. It has been a remarkable year to say the least. Focusing on the Data Community, I think I’ll remember 2020 for two reasons:

• The rise of the virtual event. Because in-person events were no longer safe, many events quickly converted to a virtual event. There are some ups and downs:
  • as an attendee you can attend events you previously couldn’t, because of budget constraints, physical distance or whatever reason. As a speaker, I had the opportunity to speak at some events which I couldn’t have done if they were in-person. You can literally reach people all over the world with virtual events.
  • I assume running a virtual event costs less than an actual conference.
  • They are, well, virtual. There’s no real opportunity to talk to people and hang out. Not everyone needs this, and that’s fine, but other people do.
  • Live virtual events can be prone to failures, such as a bad Internet connection or bad sound quality. Pre-recorded events take away whatever little interactivity there was left.
• The demise of PASS. The writing was on the wall, but 2020 managed to bring the PASS organization to its knees. I’m sad to see it go; it offered many opportunities to many people, it was the backbone behind the SQLSaturdays and speaking on the PASS Summit was on my bucket list. But maybe something else will emerge. Something that is perhaps more flexible and more agile. Something to watch out for in this space is DataSaturdays. On a related note, SQLSaturday Vienna is still on track, but you might have to re-register.

Personally I hope in-person conferences will come back, but I’m not sure if this will happen in 2021. That being said, I wish everyone the best for 2021.

Stay safe and healthy!