Hi all! I have been invited to the Community Ninja Blog to write about Microsoft Build 2022, thanks for the invite Ronen Ariely! I'm a BizApps MVP, who usually likes to write about the technology I'm working with and different challenges I encounter during my working days, as I create Power Platform and Dynamics 365 based solutions for customers or ISV solutions for AppSource. I also like to write about news related to Microsoft technologies and to highlight other people, their community work and stories. STORIES is what I and the reviewers team have lined up for you! Build stories from the community, which we will tell here on the blog. Build 2022 turned out to be an adventure, the stories will tell and for me, looks like I became a ninja.
Who could have known Build 2022 could be such an adventure!?
Call for Writers
When I saw Ronen's Call for Writers I immediately responded to it. Since I had planned to write a Build 2022 post on my own, I thought I might as well write for the Community Ninjas too. All of a sudden we spoke and I was a part of the reviews team. At the same time as I experienced Build virtually, I began to write. I soon realized I wanted to tell stories not only from my own perspective, but also to include other people's Build experience. So I scheduled some meetings right after the event, to gather the stories about Build 2022. When I had talked to my community friends, I realized there was so much to be highlighted. Brilliant insights and tips from Build of course, but there was more to tell. Not only Build from a technical perspective, but also other aspects. Those other aspects, that is what this blog is all about, I have learned. I had to give Ronen a heads-up, this was not going to be a short post from my side. Luckily, Ronen was positive about making the review post into something else than just one post, and so the story begin... This is not the Microsoft Build 2022 Book of News (which you should not miss by the way), it is the Microsoft Build 2022 Book of Reviews.
Say hello to the Microsoft Build 2022 Book of Reviews!
You need to be a bit patient first though, I like to start telling stories from the very beginning and where to better begin than with the beginning of Microsoft Build as a conference. (I know Ronen told you a bit about it in his previous post, see this as an extension to that).
From Anaheim, California, to a digital venue and regional spotlights
If you have been around for a while, lucky you, you know the full history. If not, let's look at where it all started. Mainly targeting professional developers, the first Microsoft Build conference was held in 2011 in Anaheim, California, came with a cost and a maximum number of attendees. It has been a popular event over the years, even sold out in one minute 2016. Ronen mentioned this is his last post, but in case you missed it, you can find more history of the Microsoft Build conference in Wikipedia.
A lot has happened since that first Build conference. Build 2022 was held free of charge and virtually for the third time. This year it was not only a virtual, but a hybrid event, enabling an in-person experience through five regional spotlights (France, Germany, Japan, Latin America, and UK). Right before the keynote, the virtual attendees could feel the excitement that was in the air, one could hear the joyful audience cheering loudly as the hosts said hello from their respectively regional spotlight. For me, I have had the pleasure to speak with two community friends, who both attended in-person at the UK regional spotlight.
Build 2022 also had a digital venue, mybuild.microsoft.com, for people all over the world to be able to attend. It was available in 6 languages, had 30 choices for closed captioning and sessions could be watched in 9 different audio tracks. Sign language could be switched on, if preferred. It also allowed you to build your own schedule and save sessions in a digital backpack, available for up to 90 days after the event, which is perfect, because who has the possibility to attend all sessions right away?!
The community about Microsoft Build 2022
NOW we will start to talk about the interesting part. What did the community think of the event? How was it like to attend at one of the regional spotlights? The Community Ninja Blog has some stories lined up for you, Build stories from participant as well as speaker (subject matter expert) point of view. In order to find out what the community thought about Build 2022, I wanted to talk to people who participated on-site as well as virtually. I have stories from the UK regional spotlight. Perhaps next year I can find people from all the different regional spotlights to tell me their stories! Would be really cool to have the total picture of how it was like at each and every one of those spotlights!
This will be just a sneak peak of what we have lined up for you, the real Build Stories! Full stories to come another day, until then, these are words describing Build 2022 that I got as answer, asking different people about what words they would use to describe the event.
Exciting, reassuring, visionary, fun, impressive, community, energizing, future
Pretty nice words, right!? People attending from a regional spotlight used energizing and community as words to the describe the event and mentioned the part of meeting with friends they had not seen for a long while and the great feeling just being there for the informative, spontaneous conversations and interactions. About being able to participate in sessions as a subject matter expert in the UK regional spotlight, MVP Vesa Nopanen says:
"Cool is kind of an understatement"
He also mentions how they had managed to create “large event vibes” even though it was not a huge audience on-site (a few hundred people). Using lots of screens playing MS Build sessions, Build texts and graphics, different floors dedicated to different zones, e.g. Connection Zone on one floor and one floor for the Main stage.
For MVP Andrew Bibby, who also attended in-person at the UK regional spotlight, it was a busy day, which started with rehearsals and preparations and then he participated in no less than three sessions. He learned a lot about running a professional event and had a great time co-presenting with community friends.
“It was a fun experience, it was a long day but I am really glad that I did it.”
Virtual attendees found the event exciting even though not participating in-person. These event are always full of exciting announcements. MVP Olena Grischenko, Australia, watched Build from home and mentions that Build is her absolute favorite conference of the year.
“In general I love the Build conference because it’s dev things!”
MVP Natraj Yegnaraman, Australia, also watched Build sessions from home. He signed up for two different private previews during Build and has several sessions to highlight, mentioning that even if he knows about the content, he likes to watch certain sessions, in case you have missed something or just to reinforce your knowledge.
Below is a picture from the Microsoft Build 2022 UK regional spotlight. I got it from Vesa Nopanen. At the UK regional spotlight, you could experience Build both indoors, on several different floors, as well as gather and hang out with community friends outdoors and at the same time follow the Build sessions.
Microsoft Build has evolved
Microsoft Build as an event has evolved! Not only to include low code and collaboration concepts as well nowadays, but also from being held in a specific city and come with a cost to providing a digital venue with the world as an audience and regional spotlights as an alternative.
After talking to people who attended Build 2022 in one of the regional spotlights, it seems making Build a hybrid event turned out successfully. Perhaps, in the future we will see this concept expanded to additional regional spotlights? Giving more people the choice to attend in-person or virtually. To be able to watch sessions on-demand when it fits your life schedule is a great option for anyone trying to optimize and make your life puzzle work.
We will soon publish more Build 2022 stories from each one of the mentioned people in this post as well as stories from other people as we reveal what’s in the Microsoft Build Book of Reviews.
Stay tuned!