Rob Chartier ~ Contemplation... : User Groups

Microsoft IT Pro and Developer Community in Vancouver

Rob Chartier — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:24:00 GMT

Recently, I have been receiving more and more emails asking about the local Microsoft community scene. I noticed more people emailing me directly so I just decided to post up an item to quickly cover it.

Essentially, there are a few key groups that you need to know about:

1. .NET
Name: .netBC Users Group
URL: http://netbc.ca/
Contact: Medhat Elmasry

2. Sql Server
Name:VanPASS (Vancouver PASS Chapter) (PASS == Professional Association for Sql Server)
URL: http://www.vanpass.com/
Contact: Scott Stauffer or Richard Baumet

3. IT Pro (General)
Name: VanTug (which is now free!)
URL: http://www.vantug.com/
Contact: Graham Jones

4. Small Business Server
Name: Vancouver Small Business Server User Group
URL: http://www.vansbs.com/
Contact: Jasminder Rai

Aside from User Groups there are of course two major events which are typically planned either once a year or every 18 months. The first is the big event which I personally put on:

5. Vancouver Technology Festival
URL: http://www.vancouvertechfest.ca
Contact: Rob Chartier
Schedule: About once a year

And finally JR from DevTeach has decided to bring his event to Vancouver as well:

URL: http://www.devteach.com
Contact: Jean-Rene Roy
Schedule: About every 18 months

If you feel your group or event should be on this list, let me know!

DevTeach Vancouver – Open Call for Sessions & Early Registration

Rob Chartier — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 22:33:00 GMT

This is a call out to all the Vancouverites who want to participate in DevTeach. This is the first year it is being held in Vancouver and is really a premier event for us in Vancouver. If you want to give a presentation for the event be sure to hit http://www.devteach.com and submit your session abstracts in the next few weeks.

For those that are considering the event to attend, make sure you register early. The price will go up, so get your budget requests in early!

So what the heck is DevTeach?

A New Breed of Conference

DevTeach stands for Developers Teaching and SQLTeach for SQL Teaching. It is a conference done by developers for developers. It offers the elements of an international conference and the elements of a community event. Sessions include both presentation material and, whenever possible, hands-on training. Read more about their mission here: http://www.devteach.com/vision.aspx

Vancouver Technology Festival - 1 week left...

Rob Chartier — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 22:25:00 GMT

We are in the final week before the Vancouver TechFest kicks off. If you live in Vancouver or are traveling near here be sure to drop us a visit and watch some of our top notch presenters.