I have seen a few posts recently about other conferences (Adobe Max and Community Server Developer Conference) that made me think hard about how we have positioned the OpenForce conferences this year.  I remember in past years that events like JavaOne developed a reputation for being nothing more than giant sales and marketing event put on by Sun.  This is a trap that I hope we never fall into with the OpenForce conference.  Our goal from the very beginning has been to create an event where the community could come together and share our experiences and learn from other experts in the community. 

While I know that the community is interested in where we are going with the DotNetNuke and how DotNetNuke Corp plays into the big picture, I also know that few people want to spend their hard-earned cash just so they can sit through a marketing pitch.  Our challenge this year and beyond is to make sure we keep the focus where it belongs - on you - the community.  We worked very hard this year to attract some of the superstars in the community to come and speak at the conference.  Our goal was not only to get great speakers (which I think we have done), but also to make sure that we covered topics that would be relevant to our entire community - not just developers and not just people from North America.

If we ever lose sight of where our focus should be, I hope that someone from the community reminds us of why we created this conference in the first place.  This doesn't mean that we won't tell the community about some of the features we have planned or about some of the community support services that DotNetNuke Corp. offers, but we do not want that to become the focus of the event.

Our OpenForce events would not have been possible without the support and backing of both SDN and DevConnections.  They have allowed us to focus on getting the content right, while they did the heavy lifting on the logistics side of the house.  Even though a lot of effort has gone into preparing for both of these conferences, we know that we can do better.  Next year we look forward to streamlining our processes to identify speakers earlier, to expand the number of sessions and tracks that we offer, and to attract even more attendees and sponsors.

If you are attending OpenForce '07 next week, feel free to stop by the DotNetNuke Corp booth (booth #736), we would love to meet you and chat.  Yes, we may actually show you some of what we are planning for DotNetNuke 5.0, but we know you won't mind.