Why You Have to Attend Dreamforce

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DF14 is just a couple of months away (at the time of writing [August] anyway - if you are reading this after October I’ve probably written a recap post on the event, so you should read that as well!).

If you’re still undecided (or you still haven’t managed to convince your boss), here’s a few reasons why the decision should be a no-brainer.

The Dev Zone

What can I say about the dev zone, aside from the fact that it gets better every year.  The opportunity for learning is incredible - there are loads of breakout sessions, multiple theatres running talks all day and free books (although these are very popular, so be prepared to queue). You’ll also bump into your friendly developer relations team and evangelists, ready and willing to shoot the breeze about all things Salesforce1.  Some people spend the whole event in the Dev Zone and more power to them - I have a bunch of partner sessions to attend when I’m at Dreamforce, so I only manage around 70% or so.

The Developer Keynote

This has been around for a couple of years now, and its always standing room only.  Its the place to find out about the latest features being launched for developers, and get a heads up on the direction for the next year or so.  Throw in a few demos from Dave Carroll, and its the perfect way to spend a couple of hours.

Networking

Anyone who’s anyone will be at Dreamforce, so its an excellent way to expand your network of connections. This also justifies your presence at any number of parties. If there are people you are keen to meet, following them on twitter and the Dreamforce application will give you a good idea of where they will be at a specific time, allowing you to casually bump into them and make that vital introduction.

Hands on Training

These sessions are always very popular, so if you fancy some instructor led app building with plenty of assistants to provide support, make sure to register as soon as the agenda builder goes live - they fill up in no time.

Its not that Expensive

For a limited time you can register for the bargain price of $899 at http://bit.ly/df14infblog  

Save Money Getting Certified

The weekend prior to Dreamforce there’s a bunch of certification-related training and cut-price exams available. If you aren’t certified then this can form the basis of your pitch to your boss - the savings are like money in the bank, and what better reward for passing a cert than attending the main event.

There’s more information and pricing at: http://www.salesforce.com/dreamforce/DF14/training.jsp

Give Back

There is always a volunteering event at Dreamforce - last year 2,700 bags were packed for Project Night Night.

My Session

Assuming I manage to keep on track, I’ll be giving a talk on Responsive Design with Visualforce and Twitter bootstrap, which I’m sure will be enormously popular and well attended.

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