TechEd India 2012 is just 48 hours away and I have been receiving lots of requests regarding how SQL enthusiasts can maximize their time they’ll be spending at TechEd India 2012. Trust me – TechEd is the biggest Tech Event in India and it is much larger in magnitude than we can imagine. There are plenty of tracks there and lots of things to do. Honestly, we need clone ourselves multiple times to completely cover the event.

However, I am going to talk about SQL enthusiasts only right now. In this post, I’ll share a few things they can do in this big event. But before I start talking about specific things, there is one thing which is a must – Keynote. There are amazing Keynotes planned every single day at TechEd India 2012. One should not miss them at all.

Social Media

I am a big believer of the social media. I am everywhere - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and GPlus. I suggest you follow the tag #TechEdIn as well as contribute at the healthy conversation going on right now. You may want to follow a few of the SQL Server enthusiasts who are also attending events like TechEd India. This way, you will know where they are and you can contribute along with them. For a good start, you can follow all the speakers who are presenting at the event. I have linked all the speakers’ names with their respective Twitter accounts.

Networking

Do not stop meeting new people. Introduce yourself. Catch the speakers after their sessions. Meet other SQL experts and discuss SQL as well as life aside SQL. The best way to start the communication is to talk about something new. Here are a few lines I usually use when I have to break the ice:

• SQL Server 2012 is just released and I have installed it.
• How many SQL Server sessions are you going to attend? I am going to attend _________
• I am a big fan of SQL Server.

Sessions

Agenda Day 1

• T-SQL Rediscovered with SQL Server 2012 - Jacob Sebastian
• Catapult your data with SQL Server 2012 integration services - Praveen Srivatsa
• Processing Big Data with SQL Server 2012 and Hadoop  - Stephan Forte
• SQL Server Misconceptions and Resolution – A Practical Perspective – Pinal Dave and Vinod Kumar
• Securing with ContainedDB in SQL Server 2012  - Pranab Majumdar

Agenda Day 2

• Hand-on-Lab – Exploring Power View with SQL Server 2012 – Ravi S. Maniam
• Hand-on-Lab - SQL Server 2012 – AlwaysOn Availability Groups  - Amit Ganguli

Agenda Day 3

• Peeling SQL Server like an Onion: Internals Debunked  - Vinod Kumar
• Speed Up! – Parallel Processes and Unparalleled Performance  - Pinal Dave
• Keeping Your Database Available – ‘AlwaysOn’  - Balmukund Lakhani
• Lesser Known Facts of SQL Server Backup and Restore  - Amit Banerjee
• Top five reasons why you want SQL Server 2012 BI - Praveen Srivatsa

Product Booth and Event Partners

There will be a dedicated SQL Server booth at the event. I suggest you stop by there and do communication with SQL Server Experts. Additionally there will be booths of various event partners. Stop by their booth and see if they have a product which can help your career. I know that Pluralsight has recently released my course on their online learning site and if that interests you, you can talk about the subject with them.

Bring Your Camera

Make a list of the people you want to meet. Follow them on Twitter or send them an email and know their location. Introduce yourself, meet them and have your conversation. Do not forget to take a photo with them and later on, share the photo on social media. It would be nice to send an email to everyone with attached high resolution images if you have their email address.

After-hours parties

After-hours parties are not always about eating and meeting friends but sometimes, they are very informative. Last time I ended up meeting an SQL expert, and we end up talking for long hours on various aspects of SQL Server. After 4 hours, we figured out that he stays in the same apartment complex as mine and since we have had an excellent friendship, he has then become our family friend. So, my advice is that you start to seek out who is meeting where in the evening and see if you can get invited to the parties. Make new friends but never lose mutual respect by doing something silly.

Meet Me

I will be at the event for three days straight. I will be around the SQL tracks. Please stop by and introduce yourself. I would like to meet you and talk to you. Meeting folks from the Community is very important as we all speak the same language at the end of the day – SQL Server.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)