....breakfast and conversations.....

 I'll start with some photos - as I took them in an attempt to share a 'f'eel' for the conference and I also need to catch-up somewhat!

Left - Vint Cerf and Charlie Rose in conversation Sunday 15th.  Right - the 'emerald city' image that Stephen Abrams used in his Presidential opening.

Left - Mt Ranier viewed from West Coast reception in 35^th floor No. 2 Union Square,Sunday evening. Right - Rapt audience at the International Reception in the 35th floor of the Sheraton Hotel on Monday evening.  Both literal and professional heights and views.  BTW I learnt something important - you don't pronounce Ranier as 'Rainiere' but as 'Reneer'! 

Monday morning began at 7am with the Knowledge Management Division Roundtable: What's new in KM? breakfast meeting.  Great breakfast but not quite such a great meeting...... ok if you wanted to hear about Sharepoint experiences, but otherwise the real benefit came from sharing the table with interested and various people, and hearing comments from the Information Wrangler from Linden Lab (Sarah Dilling) and hearing first-hand Sharepoint development experience from Heather O'Daniel. 

9.00 - 10.30am I attended the SLA Tech Zone: Bringing Social Media into the Workplace.  It was an ‘at terminal' session led by Thomas Dopko (from Down Jones & Company) who is an energetic and enthusiastic trainer.  We used del.icio.us as an example for group sharing.  We set up accounts (those who didn't already have one) and tagged favourite sites, then shared them. It worked well as a quick way of demonstrating the potential.

An underlining thread of the Conference is the ‘green theme', with an emphasis on web-based presentation links and no handouts.  Also there are recycle bins in several locations on every floor (all 6).  The Washington Branch (Conference planners) have also arranged for SLA water bottles (choice of pink, purple, green, turquoise) so that there is no need for delegates to get through thousands of plastic bottles during the week - instead we can refill the SLA bottles from the numerous water fountains.  It's part of a organisation-wide drive to minimise SLA's carbon footprint.

The INFO-EXPO is huge with over 445 booths (stands to me and ?you) and numerous exhibitors to inform, accost, interest, and entice you. This is also the first time that I have seen a moveable exhibitor - as follows (photos of both companies because I didn't want to be accused of partiality)......

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Different conversations abound - stimulating, challenging and always educational.   One minute I can be chatting to en ex-US Navy intelligence officer who is now a librarian, and the next to a research librarian with a specialism in competitive intelligence who is using her skills is a new business that she and her husband have started trading in fabric.  As most delegates seem to wear their badges regardless of whether they are in the vicinity of the Convention Centre, and most carry their noticeable light-grey SLA conference bag (made from 62% recycled materials you'll be glad to learn), it is easy to track the sea of librarians that pour out of sessions into other meeting rooms, or across Seattle.  It also makes it easy to start up conversations: in the hotel lift where you can chat to a San Franciscan hill-walker; outside the very first Starbucks near Pike's market you bump into librarians buying Pike's Place Roast; and near the famous fish stall you see librarians enjoying the fish-tossing show!

Left photo - first ever Starbucks down by Pike's Place Market. There is a continual queue (oops should say 'lin'e cos I'm in Seattle after all!) to buy drinks and beakers etc, and there is usually a van parked in front so now chance of an uninterrupted full-frontal photo.  Right photo - corner pianist (not something you see everywhere - although maybe an organist of some sort) who jams away and has a range of cd's for sale on the top of the intrument.