Holly's Helpful Hints: Why A BBCON Community? 3996

Holly's Helpful Hints: Why A BBCON Community?

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Happy Monday Community Awesomestars! I spent last week at a fabulous summit in beautiful Los Angeles and am feeling energized and inspired (which is probably why I'm inventing new words). While my extreme levels of introversion make summits and conferences really challenging, I absolutely love the collaborative learning and validating networking that happens at them. What I also love is that the collaborative learning and networking no longer stops when you get on a plane and head home, but rather moves online. Which brings me to the point of today's helpful hint:

Why we have a bbcon Community and why you should care (whether you're going to bbcon or not).

First, if you weren't aware, we have a bbcon Community. You can find it here. Second, while there is a ton of fantastic content available in the bbcon Community, I'm going to focus on three areas: Discussions, Blogs, and Meetups. For each area, I'll break down why it matters for people planning to attend bbcon and people not planning to attend. Here we go...

bbcon and BBU Day Discussions
Discussions extend a conference beyond the confines of its scheduled dates. For months leading up to the conference and for months afterwards, discussions can be used to further collaborative learning and encourage networking. They can also be fun! For example, right now we have a fantastic discussion going around what music will help get you excited for bbcon. Check it out here.

Now let me break this down.

Attending bbcon?
Yes, bbcon has an app and yes, the conversations in that app are AMAZING. However (and bbcon veterans will back me up), after the event is over, the bbcon app slowly falls back into dormancy. The bbcon (and Blackbaud University (BBU) Day) Community is here to help you continue to have amazing conversations and continue to collaborate long after bbcon is over. Did you have an aha moment at bbcon? Share it in the bbcon Community! Did you return to work and immediately implement some new idea from bbcon? Share it in the bbcon Community! Did you take a hilarious/awesome/amazing picture of something on your bbcon adventure? Share it in the bbcon Community! You see, while the bbcon app is designed to foster a sense of togetherness during the event, the bbcon Community is set-up to foster that togetherness all year long.

NOT Attending bbcon?
The bbcon and BBU day discussions are a way for you to be a part of the bbcon magic without traveling. Leading up to bbcon, you can find fun conversations and information in that area. After bbcon, you can share in the learning, by participating in discussions about "aha moments" and "actionable" learnings.

The bbcon Blog
The bbcon Blog is an amazing way to keep up to date on event announcements leading up to bbcon. It's also a way to learn more about speakers, panels, and how to make the most of the event.

Not attending bbcon? Missed a great panel?
Keep an eye on the bbcon blog for live blogging by some of your fellow community members! This is a great way to get a peak into bbcon from the comfort of your office or learn even more from the event!

Meetups
This is probably my favorite thing about the bbcon Community. bbcon is full of both official and unofficial events and meetups. Explore our meetup calendar and RSVP to events like product meetups, tourism outings, meals with fellow community members, parties, and more!

Attending bbcon and want to host a meetup?
That's what we're here for! Whether the meetup is something a little more serious like a regional user group or something fun like heading to the National Aquarium and humming the theme song from Finding Nemo to the clown fish, you can schedule, invite, and promote that meetup in the Community!

Not attending bbcon?
We're hosting a series of online meetups for you during bbcon as well! Check out the meetup calendar and RSVP for an online meetup! Do you have an idea for an online meetup? Share that in our bbcon discussions and we'll work on putting more together!

As always, thank you for reading!
And, just for fun, share your favorite generic conference/summit tip or trick in the comments below. If I get enough of them, I'll turn them into a post in the bbcon Community.

Interested in learning more about bbcon or need to register? Click here
Interested in learning more about BBU Day? Click here.
News Community News 09/25/2017 12:00pm EDT

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1 Comments
looking forward to seeing what you guys have in store for non-attenders this year...  :-)

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