Today is the first day of Dreamforce and San Francisco is abuzz. The city is always a great place to be, but it’s even cooler with over 100k of my closest friends. But, not everyone can be here in-person this week. Perhaps you are one of them. If so, this post is for you.
Nearly every Salesforce blog (including Admin Hero) has published at least one article explaining why you need to be at Dreamforce this year. Want to know a little secret? The reasons are the same every year!
Various circumstances prevent community members from attending. Just a few years ago, my employer cancelled all business trips and made me cancel everything related to Dreamforce. To add salt to the wound, they made me do this the day before I was scheduled to fly into San Francisco.
I get it. Not everyone can attend. And that is okay because you can still partake in the fun from the comfort of your office chair! Here’s how.
Get Social
Choose the social channel you want to engage in and spend your time there. For me, Twitter is my social network of choice – especially during Dreamforce. Consider following the Salesforce MVPs and Salesforce employees for fun updates and posts.
The Salesforce Success Community is the other primary social channel that I would recommend. Dreamforce has moved to the Success Community this year which means that you don’t need to be registered to engage in many conversations related to the conference. Join some of the public Dreamforce groups to see what others are posting. See all of the public Dreamforce groups at the bottom of this page.
Block Off Your Calendar
Every year, the primary keynotes are streamed live via the Dreamforce website. Keep a watchful eye for details around which keynotes will be streamed and when then immediately reserve that time on your calendar.
I would even encourage you to reserve some time to engage on social media and the success community as well. Don’t feel bad about sitting at your computer replying to tweets or commenting on the community Chatter feed. Just because you are not there in person doesn’t mean that you can’t partake in the knowledge sharing.
Should office distractions be of concern, reserve a conference room or head down to the local coffee shop for a few hours to enjoy a cup of Joe in a distraction free environment – and do it with no shame.
Watch Live
Salesforce will be live streaming specific content during the week. The streaming content includes keynotes and interviews of special guests. While the breakout sessions are generally not live streamed, you’ll be able to still see some of the awesome content being provided at the event.
This is a great way to watch some live content and interact with the conference while at your desk! Here is the live broadcast schedule.
Watch On-Demand
All breakout sessions as of 2015 will be video recorded! This is a huge update. In the past, if a session was recorded, the recording only included audio and slides. This was generally fine unless there was a really animated presenter. Video recordings will add a whole new element to the content.
One tip I want to provide here. Just because the content is recorded doesn’t mean that you can’t reach out the presenters. I would recommend doing this for any session content you find on the Dreamforce channel. Many presenters provide their Twitter handle on their intro slides. Reach out to these folks with questions or comments as a way of creating your own Q&A session.
Crank Up the Music
One of the downsides to being in the office is that you won’t be able to attend the Dreamforce Gala. Don’t let that upset you though. Instead, have a desk concert! Rock out to to some of the best Dreamforce bands on Spotify while answering emails or even invite some co-works to your desk for an afternoon dance party!
Admin Hero 