The Best KScope I've Been to

OK, so KScope17 was my first KScope, don’t be petty about it. I also know that it’s been already a month, but I’ve been doing a lot and didn’t have time to write. A week after KScope we’ve been to a family vacation in Alaska, then I went to a concert in Seattle (Counting Crows and Matchbox Twenty), then some work backlog…

Anyway, here I am, writing about the best KScope I’ve been to. In fact, it’s one of the best conferences I’ve been to ever. I’ve heard about KScope a long time ago, but coming from Israel to a conference in the US is really tough (especially when coming to OOW as well). It costs a lot and requires a long time away from home.

However, from Canada, it’s not that bad. at least the flights are easy and relatively cheap. I managed to find a cheap flight to Austin, and planned on renting a car anyway, so adding 1.5 hours driving from Austin to San Antonio and back wasn’t really a big deal.

People always say that KScope is one of the best conferences out there, but you really have to be there to get it. It’s quite a big conference (I think they said about 2000 people), but not too big to get lost and miss everyone (which might happen at OOW). Everything is happening in a single location and feels intimate.
Since it’s an important and greatly appreciated conference, you can find quite a lot of interesting and important people there. The ACE dinner was quite big and I had the chance to finally meet people face to face (great people such as Sabine Heimsath, Erik van Roon, Jim Czuprynski, Kent Graziano, Lori Lorusso and more) and chat with people who I haven’t seen for a while (like Heli Helskyaho, Debra Lilley, Maria Colgan, Jennifer Nicholson, Zohar Elkayam and more). With such a lineup of speakers, the content has to be excellent, right? Yes, it was! And I also talked to quite a lot of people to come and take part in our BCOUG events here in Vancouver (and they said they will come, so now they will have to).
And lastly, the after-conference activities. Happy hour every afternoon, the Oracle ACE dinner, and of course, the Wednesday party. All was just perfect. On the second day I thought “wow, this conference is SO well organized, it’s amazing”. I still think that, and I was very impressed with everything.
So thank you, the ODTUG people, all the organizers, the staff, the volunteers and everyone who was and is involved in this conference. Thanks for the great conference, and thanks for choosing my session.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it next year. Disney World in Orlando does seem great (especially with the kids), but we have lots of plans this year (visiting Israel probably around March, then probably another family vacation sometime in July). What I can say for sure, it that this was not my last KScope.