Introduction I received some awesome responses from I Am Here To Help™! One of them was an email from Josh Breinlinger, founder of QwikTalk.com. Josh and I spoke on the phone later that day to discuss using QwikTalk’s platform to provide free support to folks with SQL Server-related questions. It’s Like #SQLHelp on the Phone! QwikTalk connects ...

Introduction I read a slogan yesterday and laughed out loud. Literally. Had I been drinking coffee at the time, I would have needed to clean my laptop screen. When the laughter subsided I realized the organization that created the slogan believes it to be true. At that point my community mentor instincts kicked in. I now see this as an ...

Introduction My friend and brother K. Brian Kelley (Blog | @kbriankelley | SQLPeople) recently wrote a meta-blog (blog about blogging) post entitled Don’t Wait to Start Blogging. Just before that, I received an email response to an earlier post (I Am Here To Help™) requesting advice on how to get started blogging. I directed the person asking me ...

Introduction This isn’t a trick. It’s not a gimmick. It’s not bait-and-switch. It is selfish; please allow me to explain: I Am Here To Help™ This has been my motto for the past few years. How can I serve you today? Are you thinking about starting a User Group and don’t know where to begin? I can help. Are you planning an event and encountering ...

Introduction I was chatting with my friend and business partner Brian Moran (@briancmoran) about PASS and shared how the PASS Summit 2004 was a turning point in my database professional career. Brian agreed with me that this is a compelling account of the good that can come from PASS and the SQL Server Community, and suggested I post this story. ...

Introduction This post is the forty-seventh part of a ramble-rant about the software business. The current posts in this series can be found on the series landing page. This post is about creation. Creating is Hard Work Building something from nothing is difficult, to say the least. But often it’s even more difficult to conceive an idea worth ...

Inspired by Grant Fritchey (Blog | @GFritchey), I am hosting a Google+ hangout tomorrow (9 Aug 2011) at 11:00 AM EDT. :{>

Last night, after the weekly planning call for the next SQLPeople event (no, it hasn’t been announced yet!), I was catching up on email and read Just a Myth from Seth Godin’s blog. We’ve been communicating with potential event sponsors and the response has been awesome. There’s a hunger for something fresh and new and different, and SQLPeople is ...

Introduction I just looked at the calendar and Wow! I have a lot of presentations and pre-cons coming up in the next few months. I blame Karla Landrum (Blog | @KarlaKay22 | SQLPeople) for the pre-cons – she started all this with her invitation for me to present a pre-con to SQL Saturday – Pensacola (thanks Karla!). Week-Long Presentations 17-21 ...

I am honored to present Designing an SSIS Framework to Hampton Roads SQL Server and SharePoint Users Group tomorrow, 20 Jul 2011! You can register here. Details: Infotec 100 Constitution Dr Virginia Beach, VA 23462 Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 6:30 PM (ET) If you read this blog and will be there, introduce yourself! I’m the fat ...