“Come in, sit down, I want to show you something cool.”
This (paraphrased) is what Kevin Kline(@kekline) shared as part of the Summit 2012 Women In Technology panel. While the session was intended to talk about how we can bring more women in to technology careers, it really struck me as a fantastic descriptor of the SQL Server community in general. Many fields and groups invite people in, but there’s some “thing” about the SQL Server community that makes it the most open and supportive technology community I’ve ever had the pleasure to participate in, and I think it’s this desire to share that sits at the core of our success.
The Summit is built on this sharing mindset. From the speakers to the board members to the participants, the people who put this on are volunteers. Hundreds of professionals hope to be selected to speak at this event, even if just for a lightening talk, because they have something cool to share. People hang out in the halls just to talk about what can help the next guy out. What’s especially noticeable is how the community reaches out to the first timers. I know some folks were a little adverse to wearing those ribbons, but if you had a first timer ribbon, alumni of the convention would reach out and make sure you were welcome.
It seems that typically, people hoard knowledge as a means of job security and a way to emphasize their superiority over others. With SQL Server, it’s more that we want others to have the fun we’re having. We work in tech because it’s fun and cool and share our knowledge so others can see the cool stuff we do. Because when all is said and done, if we’re all having fun, we’re all going further.
So come in, sit down, and let me show you something cool.
(This month’s T-SQL Tuesday is brought to you by Chris Yates(@YatesSQL).