WHAT a privilege to be able to go to two BPC’s in a row, and be invited to speak the second time.  BPC11 has just wrapped up and the crowds are headed home.

Venue : Phwoar!  What a setting!  Torrey Pines Hilton in San Diego.  Nice!  You do things in style Bill.  You are a shining example of how to live a first class life.

Sessions : My tracks were SharePoint Business Governance, Team Site Security for Site Owners and Effective End User Training, the slidedecks are on SlideShare. ( They are not the same as the previous conference’s decks, there are changes everywhere).   All 3 were very well attended, and well received judging by the feedback I was given by the delegates.  Thank you to my regulars who followed me faithfully, you made a huge difference to the experience.  Someone wanted a copy of the permissions cheatsheet, but I didn’t see her again.  If you were the one looking for it, please email me and I will gladly send it to you.

The two most controversial topics of the conference by far were My Sites and permissions management.  There were many a heated discussion about this.  What a pity we couldn’t spend an entire day workshopping both to get them sorted out once and for all.  I think poor Brett Lonsdale was ready to hit me over the head by the end of his session.  But if it’s any consolation Brett, I believe DeliverPoint is a fabulous product!!!  Well done.  You’ll be hearing from me.

The business tracks did extremely well this year and it looks like the delegates were happy with the advice they got from everybody.

There was also a 5 author book signing session where copies of their respective books where given away.  That was pretty unique.  Well done to Marsee at O’Reilly for organising that.

Size : The conference was a bit smaller than last year, but it gave everyone the opportunity to really talk to each other and take their time in getting answers and getting to know people.  It was as usual a fantastic networking opportunity.  It was great for me to be able to spend so much time with the delegates and learn about challenges in other countries and industries.  It also afforded me the opportunity to spend more time with some of the speakers and organizers and share ideas and knowledge on all things SharePoint, events and running a business.  Thanks for all the advice guys, you know who you are.  I’ve got some great ideas to work on in the next 6 months thanks to your advice.

Tweets : Read all the tweets from the event.  And as per usual, the top tweeter was me. 😉 You can’t say I don’t share information huh! 🙂  Drill down into the archive if you like.

Fun : There were various SharePinting activities every night – standard practice at the conferences.  Being invited for a cocktail evening in the Presidential Suite was certainly a highlight and before we knew it, ShareShower was born!  Then we decided to get double the people in, the giggling and laughing lasted half an hour.

We also had our version of Angry Birds – now known as Angry Pandas.  See what happens when the booth babes get bored… Bill has got quite the aim though.  Pity the sound isn’t working on the clip, but you don’t really need it.

The silliness continued during the dinners with Mark Rackley and Jennifer Mason making all kinds of slips that can’t really be mentioned on paper – good times guys.  Good times.  Mark is now an established South African speaker who has “Howzit” and my name down to a T.  Good job!

Susan Hanley and I had a bidding war on an XBOX Kinect that someone wanted to just give away. But unfortunately, I lost.  Next time Sue, next time! 😉  But see you on Facebook so long, hehe.

Check out the rest of the photos on Facebook.

New Friends, Old Friends : It is such a privilege to be part of a global community like this one.  Seeing all the old faces felt like a family reunion.  Meeting incredible new people made it even more special.  Got a ton of business cards to follow up on.

My Favourite Part : All the hugs.  I felt the love, ten times a day.  *Wonderful*

Thank You : To Bill English and Ben Curry for inviting me.  And to Reed and Pam for organising everything.

Sunset : Over the Pacific.

[Been sitting here keeping an eye on the clock so I can get an early night.  All happy that it’s only 10:00 – only to turn around and see the clock in the room that says 00:00AM!  Great!  Time zone not adjusted on my laptop. Goodnight y’all].