Work, Learn, Play
/Well, I'm pooped. I'm so glad it's a three day weekend. This was a long week, and I was super-duper busy (yes, super duper). My company puts on an annual conference called Interact, so this year it was Responsys Interact 2013 (bet you couldn't have guessed that one). And guess who was selected to head to San Francisco to participate...me!
I packed my bags, and business casual clothes, and headed down to San Francisco on Tuesday morning. The conference was at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, which also happened to be where I was going to stay the night. So needless to say, I only saw the light of day once (for dinner just around the corner at Bluestem) between Tuesday and Thursday night. In fact, I didn't once step outside on Wednesday. Now that I think about it, that's sad. But that just goes to show how busy I was that week. I bounced between attending presentations, doing actual work, and talking with clients or co-workers.
Responsys Interact 2013 Signage
Interact
Although I was busy, I'm glad I went. Not to toot my company's own horn, but we really pulled off quite a professional and well-run conference. We had some great speakers, shared some important industry trends and best practices, and had fun.
There were some great speakers at the conference. The first being Burt Jacobs, the co-founder of Life is Good. His message was: Optimism Can Take You Anywhere. His positive attitude, and free spirit, was very inspiring. I also enjoyed learning about the company, and the positive impact is has on community.
Another inspiration was Captain “Sully” Sullenberger's speech, Inspiration in the Face of a Crisis. Yes, that's right, we had Captain Sully at our conference. I was shocked and amazed at his story of landing the plane, flight 1549, on the frigid Hudson River. At the end, the last passenger to get off the plane stood up and also spoke. Simply incredible. I get goosebumps thinking about it. He left us all with a important message about passion for your work, trust, and commit to always reaching for the highest standards.
Another fun thing about the conference was the concert on Wednesday night. Honestly, at first I was unimpressed with who they decided to play. Who is this Michael Franti guy? Eh, a one hit wonder...but he turned out great. He came out on the floor with everyone and danced with us, and really got us jumping, dancing, and putting our hands in the air. You probably know him from the song, Say Hey (I Love You).
Check out all of us dancing and singing along with Michael Franti in my iPhone video to the right. >>
Another cool thing, was the guy that was drawing caricatures of folks at the reception - check mine out, or his blog.
After all this learning and entertainment, I was bushed. I returned home late on Thursday night. But I'm very glad I got to attend this awesome event. Go Responsys!
