Thoughts on the European SharePoint Best Practices Conference

Lots of folks have blogged about their experiences already at the European SharePoint Best Practices Conference. It was, without question, one of the best organized and most well-received events I have ever attended. I can’t say enough about the fantastic job Steve, Zoe and the rest of the crew at Combined Knowledge did putting this event together. As far as I could tell, everything ran smoothly and all the attendees got their money’s worth and then some. Then venue was fantastic, positioned between the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, and the rooms were big enough that, except for the opening keynote, everyone had a seat. A special thanks to the "girls in red" who made sure all us confused "experts" got to where we were going and didn’t want for anything. You gals rock!

From a speaker’s perspective it was fun to hang out with all my US and European buddies (the list is far too long to print here – you know who you are) and share our thoughts on all things SharePoint. We had some great "discussions" in the speaker’s lounge between sessions and got to trade a few well-intentioned punches at the expert panels. Andrew Woodward and I finally got a chance to share our thoughts in person on TDD and Unit Testing for a SharePoint Podshow. The UK gang always makes me feel at home and I even think they’ve adopted me as an honorary Londoner (sans the hat, of course) – so long as I continue to praise their beer I should remain in their good graces 🙂

Speaking of which, I had a great time giving all the first-timers from the States the grand tour of London. We hit all the usual tourist spots along with a few out-of-the-way places that I happen to know. I think I was at least moderately successful in dispelling the myth that you can’t get good food in England. And I believe I also managed to make a few converts to the consumption of real and proper ale. Our feet are sore, our heads hurt from all the partying, and I think we could use about a month’s worth of sleep, but in the end a grand time was had by all.

Let’s do it again next year!