My outtake on The 1st Annual Home Server Show meet up…

Posted on June 30, 2011 Updated on July 2, 2011

As a member of The Home Server Show forums I had the privilege to attend the 1st Annual Home Server Show listener meet up in Ft. Atkinson, WI this past Saturday, June 25th.  I have never been a part of an online group like this one.  I have to say that it is definitely the people in the group that make the experience great. 

The location of the meet up was perfect for me and seem to work well for others as well. I think that having the meet up in a small town is much better then trying to meet in a place such as Madison, WI.  Although we may have gotten more walk-ins from the ad in the local newspaper. 

From my experience in a community that only exist online or at least starts online can only get to a certain point before it becomes stagnant.  However, with something like a meet up, at least for the community members that are able to attend, you get to take the community relationship to the next step.  Face to face.  I think we all had ideas of what kind of person; both physical and vocal, would be behind the many different handles from the forums.  It took a little while to get use to talking to each other in person. But on the other hand the experience was just like Jim had said “It feels like I have known some of you for a long time yet I am seeing you for the first time”.  The meet up added a great deal of personalization and helped build some great relationships taking the community of The Home Server Show Forums to the next level.  I feel more engaged and more excited about Windows Home Server then ever before.

Constructive feedback is always a good thing.  Since this is going to be a annual event I would love to be continue to be involved more and more each year.  Jim and I talked to others during our Home Tech Podcast live recording session about what else could be done to make the meet up better.  There were some great ideas about doing video introductions as people enter the room.  Having members discuss certain technologies as it pertains to Windows Home Server as well as either pre-recorded or live overviews of members builds.  There was also some talk of doing some hands-on work.  For me the hands on part would be the best part of what might be yet to come in the second annual meet up next year.  The idea of so many minds that are all focused on a single task with a Windows Home Server mindset would be a awesome experience.  I would also like to have a developer present to talk or possibly walk through some basics of how to develop an add-in for Windows Home Server 2011.  This is something that I am working on with my brothers and we are learning a great deal but it is a slow walk down the road to a finished product.  I believe that getting some hands-on with a developer could really jumpstart our development effort and at the very least spark other members to look into developing for the Windows Home Server 2011 platform.

A meet up is no small effort.  Dave and Jim did a great job of putting the meet up together.  There was plenty of gear to look at both from Dave and Jim as well as other members.  There was also the daunting task of broadcasting a live Home Server Show podcasts.  This brought the whole thing together as were were able to talk to Mario from Drobo (big shout out to Drobo Robotics, Inc for sponsoring the meet up) and get a chance to be a voice on the podcasts.  I was a bit scared to bring my own hardware because as we all know weird things can happen and as a father of two on a budget I didn’t feel I could afford to risk something happening in transit.  I will be sure to bring several pictures of my setup next time so I can share and answer any questions other members may have.

I am very much looking forward to the 2nd Annual Home Server Show meet up. 

Head on over to The Home Server Show Blog and Forums for more info.

Let me know if you have any questions.