Karol Kaczmarek

WPC 2010 has already ended. It was a really great time which I could spend not only meeting and networking with Microsoft Partners, but also working with other members of WPC Student Team. These students came from 13 countries located on 5 continents and it makes me very happy and optimistic seeing how easily we could communicate and collaborate in spite of all cultural differences which surely existed between us.

Microsoft Worldwide Partners Conference is place where we had a chance to network, improve our skills and knowledge and also have fun trying out state-of-the-art electronical devices.

During keynotes, in front of 13 000 people in Verizon Center performed the most famous people from the industry (e.g. Steve Ballmer and outside of it (Bill Clinton). We also had our “5 minutes” showing up on a stage for a while

Apart from keynotes, there were also smaller sessions related to main conference tracks which I was writing about earlier. On the last day I decided to participate in one of them, about “Getting Things Done”, as I am a big fan of this philosophy and use it for managing my everyday work.

When I came into session room I couldn’t believe that on the stage was David Allen – Father and biggest guru of GTD – It was really awesome. It goes without saying that I couldn’t refrain from taking a photo with him I guess I should smile more though

Apart from keynotes and sessions (and hands-on-lab which I even didn’t have time to participate in), Kimberly Voltero set up for us a bunch of meetings with highly ranked people from Microsoft which once again gave us opportunity to network and discuss about imagine cup, certifications and other our and their concerns.

All these things I am writing about sound probably quite serious and they in some part are, but I am convinced everyone here had really nice time going out every evening to some parties (although I would rather call them very pleasant meetings ), sightseeing and having fun together.

All in all last few days I spent in Washington, D.C. were really amazing and I hope I will have a chance to meet at least part of those guys I met here next year at WPC 2011 in Los Angeles

Today I will head down to the south of US, to Florida to hang out and do some sightseeing during next two weeks. It will be my first time traveling alone in foreign country. There is a lot of concerns about it, a lot of advantages and disadvantages. It’s always nice to visit new places with friends, but traveling alone gives you a lot of new possibilities. You can do whatever you want, go wherever you want and it is definitely easier and more often to socialize with locals – I simply always wanted to see how is it to be a “lonely” traveler
Now I will have a chance

I attach some nice pics from the conference, hope it reflects the atmosphere here and you will enjoy it!