Category Archives: Events

Splash Mountain Syndrome – It’s not what you think

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A couple months ago my friend Christopher asked his friends about getting comfortable with public speaking. I’ve told this story to small crowds from time to time, but never put it all out there… so here is how I contracted Splash Mountain Syndrome, and what it meant to my public speaking career.

Most of my readers are familiar with Impostor Syndrome, where you doubt you’re good enough to do your job or tell your story, or that there must be someone better out there. Most if not all of us in tech have dealt with this at one time or another, feeling like the turtle on the fencepost.

Image via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Splash_Mountain_at_Disneyland.JPG (This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)

We’re going to Disneyland

Well, to explain what I experienced in my speaking career at Cisco, we have to go back to spring 2003. I was between jobs, and had gone down to Southern California to spend a weekend with a lady I was interested in. We went to the grand opening of Amoeba Records Hollywood, and also made my first trip to Disneyland.

She stood in line for nearly an hour with me for the Winnie the Pooh ride, so when she wanted to go on Splash Mountain, I figured I shouldn’t start letting her down quite so early in the relationship. So we went to Splash Mountain. The line was faster there for some reason.

As we went up on the ride to the top, I wondered if it was too late to back out. Maybe hop out at the basketball court and walk down, and probably get kicked out of the park. As we got closer to the mouth of the mountain, it became clear that I had no option but to hold on for dear life and deal with it. And as we emerged into the light, my legs clamped on the log car, I closed my eyes, and dropped.

As we walked away, I asked my companion if she’d heard a noise like a small rodent being strangled. “Yes,” she said. “That was you.”

How this applies to public speaking

I can say that it was more distance than drop ride disappointment that kept that from being a long term relationship, but similar feelings happened almost every time I got ready to travel for a speaking engagement.

I’d be eager to sign up for an event, whether a partner conference or partner sales event, Strata+Hadoop World, or Cisco Live. But the closer it got, even if I already had my presentation pretty much committed to memory, I’d start to think I made a terrible mistake, that I would dread the whole trip, that I’d get my first heckler, or that I should just let someone in marketing handle it.

The dread would intensify as I was packing, probably because even after six years of work travel, I still sucked at packing efficiently (I’m still not that great, despite lots of YouTube videos). But I’d still finish up the packing, with a laptop bag heavier than my clothing and coffee bag, and head off to Seattle or Atlanta or Manhattan or Las Vegas or Denver or wherever.

Of course, I’d do fine, entertain people with the fairly unique mix of facts, experience, humor, cultural references, and sarcasm that I became known for, and get good feedback afterward. We’d find a good restaurant for dinner, and then move on to the next adventure.

But the next time a trip came up, I’d go through the same cycle. At least I didn’t make the noise again.

As Martha Stewart would say, it’s a good thing

I think it was a good thing. I’ve seen speakers who are way too comfortable and lose their edge, their connection with the audience, or even their talk track. We’ve all been in sessions where the speaker is there because of title and clout rather than their scintillating message and delivery; I wonder how many of those people have lost Splash Mountain.

Splash Mountain Syndrome helped keep me on my toes, and definitely made sure that I didn’t get so comfortable with my content that I went into autopilot and lost audiences and credibility. It still led to an uncomfortable hour or more leading up to my trips, but I came out of it stronger and more confident.

Have you experienced anything like Splash Mountain Syndrome? Have any tips for people preparing for pulbic speaking? Share in the comments if you’d be so kind.

I didn’t think I’d be able to say this so soon… (He’s baaack at Tech Field Day!)

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As many of my readers know by now, my time at Cisco came to an end last month. When I decided to leave Disney and come to Cisco 6 1/2 years ago, there were two main things I knew I would miss about being in the “real world” — Disney cast member discounts, and being a Tech Field Day delegate.

Well, there’s no change on the Disney discount front, but this week I’ll be back as a TFD delegate for Tech Field Day 22 the latter half of this week.

Riding in the limo at SFD5 in 2014 – four of the five people pictured will be at TFD22 this week with me

How did you get to this point?

In May 2014, I posted a two part post on storage vendors (“These 3 hot new trends” part 1 and part 2) from Storage Field Day 5, my last full event as a delegate. A month later, I moved to San Francisco for most of a week thanks to TFD sponsors, to participate in my second Cisco Live event and to interview for a position with Cisco.

I was offered the job the day I got home from the event, and a little under a month later I got badged at Building 9 and began the 6+ year adventure in mega-vendor sales engineering. But as a vendor, I wasn’t terribly welcome among the Tech Field Day delegations, although I was still invited to the parties, and managed to qualify for the roundtable at SNIA’s Storage Developer Conference in 2017. I did continue my participation with Interop over the years, leaving my Cisco ears (instead of my Disney ears) at home, and even attending a Cisco briefing during one of the events, in the former Playboy Club at the Palms in Las Vegas.

What is Tech Field Day? Do I need a ham radio?

If you’re new to Tech Field Day, the idea is pretty much the same as it’s been for over ten years, even if the participation venue has moved from conference rooms to Zoom. Stephen Foskett, founder of Tech Field Day and Gestalt IT, brings together independent analysts, practitioners, geeks, and javelin catchers to meet with companies producing something in the tech sphere.

From the huge established names (like Dell, HPE, Cisco) to companies just coming out of stealth and talking to the public for the first time, you get to see companies facing unstaged questions in realtime, discussing the product or service, the decisions behind them, and how people who might actually use the product or service see it rather than how the company’s marketing and PR team want it to be seen.

And unlike most press conferences and analyst events, anyone on the planet (pretty much) can tune in, watch and learn, and pose their own questions through social media to be answered. There’s no registration required, no event fees, and if you missed a company you can go back and watch within a couple of days.

Pro-tip: If, like me, you’re on the tech job market, Tech Field Day’s archives can be a great resource for learning about companies you might be interested in working for. Just go to the main page and search for a company name. Not everyone is in there, but you can get a good feel for the companies that are, from what they do and how they’ve evolved over the years to how well they understand their product and the market they’re competing in.

So what’s different for you this time?

Tech Field Day 9 in Austin, Texas (June 2013)

After five full delegate events in person, and seven roundtable/TFD Extra events (details), I’ll be back as a different kind of delegate, for obvious reasons. TFD22 looks to be the largest event yet, with twenty-five delegates. No, really, 25 delegates. The nine presenting companies will be split up into early and late shfits to accommodate delegates from around the world, and since none of us are traveling to an in-person location, we can focus on presentations in our own time zones… and some of us will be hopping onto the other shift’s events as well.

The early shift, for my European and Eastern colleagues, will feature Commvault, Veeam, VMware, Quantum, and Red Hat. Their sessions run from 5-10am Pacific, and while I’d love to see them live, I’m not sure 5am is a time I believe in just yet.

You’ll find me in the late shift (11am-3pm Pacific), meeting with MemVerge, Riverbed (who I last visited here in Sunnyvale for SFD2), Illumio, and oddly enough, Cisco. I only see three names among the other 24 who I’ve shared TFD events with, but about half of them are in my online circles and I’m looking forward to meeting the others.

If you’d like to watch along with us, check out the TFD page for livestreams on several platforms starting Wednesday morning, December 9th. You can click on this garishly-large TFD logo to get there if you like. And if you miss the sessions you wanted to watch, they’ll be posted on the same link within a couple of days for you to watch at no cost.

Feel free to follow along on Twitter and ask your questions – tag with the hashtag #TFD22 and the delegates will try to relay your questions to the presenters.

Summer Conference Gadget Guide: 2019 Edition ft. Aer SF, Vapur, RAVpower, Anker, ZMI, Native Union, and more

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For the last couple of years I’ve brought you recommendations for preparing for your summer conference season. For the first time since 2013 I will not be at Cisco Live, but I will be back at Interop in Las Vegas in May, and will probably have a late August visit for the Cisco sales kickoff.

Items that I discuss here may have referral or affiliate links. These usually provide a modest monetary benefit to me, which (perhaps obviously) goes back into items to review for the blogs here and at rsts11travel.com. You can also check out the “support” page to see other ways to support rsts11.

Personal comforts

A couple of perennial tips that have saved me a lot of inconvenience outside of the technical side of things may help you too.

First, break in your shoes in advance. I often think about new shoes before an event that will involve a lot of walking. Having learned the hard way, I now start buying, and breaking in, new shoes at least a couple of weeks ahead of an event. Your feet will be much more comfortable with a few 5000-10000 step days rather than days at a trade show where you might break 5000 steps in an hour. While you’re at it, make sure you have a spare charger for your fitness tracker, and put it in your laptop bag now.

Second, bring a sturdy but convenient-to-carry water bottle (or buy one once you get there). There will be water everywhere you go, but those little 8 ounce plastic cups only go so far, especially if you stroll down the Las Vegas strip. Whether you choose something like the metal H2GO FORCE 17oz ($20ish at Amazon, a personal favorite since it fits in my Saturn Sky’s DDMWorks cupholders), the Vapur Element roll-up water bottles (from $12 at Amazon), or Nomader’s collapsible reinforced water bottle ($25 at Amazon), you’ll be prepared to refill and stay hydrated indoors or out. Many of the Strip hotels sell the H2GO Force or one like it in their gift shops for around $25 (I have one from Delano, and one from a Ritz-Carlton outside Vegas).

You can also choose to reuse a substantial bottle. On my last three-day trip I bought a $5 bottle of Evian in an airport shop and just refilled it along my journey. It fit nicely in my backpack bottle sleeve, and I recycled it when I got home.

Third, if you’re planning to get a lot of swag at the trade show or conference, consider printing a prepaid label and bringing a USPS flat rate box. You can get the boxes free at most US Postal Service post offices, or from their website. You can even get postage for the flat rate box at the post office if you prefer not to print at home. Maybe do two, and if you don’t need both, you can cancel for a (delayed) refund when you get home.

And fourth, consider bringing (or buying on site) some portable relatively-weatherpoof snacks and beverage additives if you’re into those things. Some granola or cereal bars, instant beverages, or even an electrolyte like Drinkwel’s LyteShow (which I use along with LyteCaps when traveling as well as at home).

Power to the People

The most important thing for me during a conference is power. I usually have a laptop, a phone, and a tablet, and sometimes more than one of each, but I’m rarely seated near a wall outlet. I generally carry an enhanced extension cord and a battery pack to support my device needs.

Last year I recommended the Anker 26800 USB-C Power Delivery Battery Pack ($120 at Amazon with USB-PD wall charger and cables plus travel pouch included) and the ZMI 20000 USB-C Power Delivery Battery Pack ($70 at Amazon with cables and storage pouch included, rapid charger currently $20 at Amazon). I also suggested the Native Union SMART HUB BRIDGE extension cord which gives two AC outlets and 5.4V of USB charging across four ports, up to 3A per port, including 15W USB-C ($55 at Amazon).

Any of those would still be a good choice this year, and the prices have remained consistent. But this year I have two devices to suggest in addition.

If you have a Macbook, a USB-C Chromebook, or another small Ultrabook other than Dell, the two packs and the charger above will charge your device nicely. Unfortunately, Dell has quirky power delivery support, so the Anker will not charge at all, and the ZMI will give a slow charge warning. Better than nothing, but I’ve found some new options.

The RAVpower PD Pioneer 20100mAh battery pack, currently $56 at Amazon before a $4 instant coupon, provides 45W of power over USB-C Power Delivery, as well as supporting 18W quick charge on the USB-A port. I’ve tested it with my XPS 13 9370, and it charges nicely. It also rapid-charges my iPad Pro 12.9 (2015) at ~28W, which is excellent as well. If you’re charging a laptop with USB-C, you won’t have use of the USB-A charging port, but for smaller devices you can double-up. Charging input on USB-C is 30W, which means you can recharge in 3.5 hours. [Disclosure: RAVpower provided me with a free unit of this pack to test, and I reviewed it on their Facebook group May 8.]

I’ve also added the Anker PowerStrip Pad and PowerPort Cube to my travel complement. Neither of these will charge the XPS laptops, but they have AC outlets for the Dell charger.

The PowerStrip Pad ($36 at Amazon) has a 5 foot attached cord, two AC outlets, 2 switchable USB-A “IQ” 12W (5V 2.4A) smart charging ports, and a USB-C Power Delivery port that offers 30W (20V 1.5A or 15V 2A). The USB-C port will rapid charge iPhone 8 and later.

The PowerPort Cube ($26 at Amazon) offers a 5 foot attached cord, three AC outlets, and three 18W (5V 3.6A) max USB-A ports. For the newer Apple devices or your computers, you’d want to use an AC charger with this one, but you’ll have room away from the wall to plug in with either of these extension options.

 

By the way, If you’re traveling with an IOS device like the iPhone 8 or anything newer,  by the way, I highly recommend Anker’s PowerLine II USB-C to Lightning charging cables. The 3ft version is $16 on Amazon, available in black or white, and sturdier than the Apple cable while still being MFI certified and ready to rapid-charge even your largest iPad Pro. The 6ft version is coming in June for about $20, and gives the same sturdiness and power potential with twice the length.

If you’re looking for a wall charger to supplement the above extensions (and charge up the batteries and your devices), check out my review of the Anker PowerLine II cable. There are six adapters listed there that I’ve personally used. You might have one or more already, and that post may give you an idea of what to look for if you choose to get something else.

With current prices, those six suggested power adapters are:

Where Do I Put All This Stuff?

I have no shortage of luggage, from a Waterford Executive Folio (from $89 direct from the maker) for my iPad, to my checked-bag Samsonite 8-wheelers. But I’m finding that my regular travel fits well with a couple of pretty easy choices.

First, for a laptop bag I’m still liking the Solo Duane 15.6 Hybrid. It’s a briefcase-style bag that holds 15.6″ laptops (including my Thinkpad P51 juggernaut) along with an iPad (like the 12.9 I use as a daily driver with a keyboard case) and power adapters, chargers, magazines, and other gadgets. It converts from briefcase to messenger bag (with detachable strap) to backpack (with stowable straps) and fits under most airline seats. I have the slate one ($50 at Amazon) but the gray one is only $37 as I write this.

My sub-1-week preference remains the AER SF Travel Pack. The new version (Travel Pack 2, $230 direct from the maker) has some additional features, but I still find the original to be great for up to a week of carefully curated clothing and toiletries. There’s a laundry or shoe pocket in the bottom, laptop sleeve that easily handles even the Thinkpad mentioned above, a lot of useful pockets, and straps to keep everything together.

Where do we go from here?

Off to a conference, of course!

If you’re looking for an accessory suggestion that’s not covered above, leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do.

And by way of additional disclosure, while I do get a commission from Amazon on many of the items above (unless mentioned as “from the maker”), I am not recommending anything I have not personally purchased (or otherwise received) and used for travel purposes. Also, no vendor has paid for, previewed, or requested inclusion in this post. It’s all based on what will be in my luggage (or what will be my luggage) this summer and fall.

Travel tips and links for your summer conference season – 2018 edition

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After a relatively sedentary winter/spring, I’ve started traveling again, and will be headed to Cisco Live in Orlando next month as well as the Cisco global sales kickoff in August in Las Vegas if all goes well.

2014-05-19 rob-smh-clus

Disclosure: I work for Cisco and will be attending Cisco Live as an employee and speaker. however, nothing in this post is endorsed, reviewed, or even necessarily noticed by my employer or the event staff.

I posted some tips and tricks a year ago on rsts11travel, with a focus on Las Vegas. A lot of the advice there is still relevant. In this post I’ll focus on hotel promotions you should look into, as well as some new product recommendations (with affiliate links, so you can help with my gadget addiction and hosting fees).

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Quick take: A conversation with Opengear at Cisco Live US in Las Vegas

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Some more content will be coming as work changes settle in, but I wanted to share this video with my readers.

I’ve been a fan of Opengear for many years, and they sponsored the Tech Field Day Xtra at Cisco Live US 2013 in Orlando that made it possible for me to attend my first CLUS event.

Having met with them at the last few Interop events, and covering the new infrastructure manager box with Ethernet switching built-in, I was pleased to be invited to talk with them for a couple of video features around the Opengear story, the evolution of console server/terminal server technology, and some more general technology perspectives.

The first video was posted today… I’ll update this post with others as they come out. And hopefully I’ll be seeing many of you at Cisco Live US 2018, going back to Orlando.