I’ve just stepped on the train from Gothenburg and SQL Saturday #536, where I had the honor of giving a talk about consolidation with SQL Server 2016.

This SQL Saturday was organized by Mikael Wedham, a very friendly and exceedingly knowledgeable Swede. He had managed quite an amazing lineup with speakers this year: John Q. Martin, Erland Sommarskog, Mark Broadbent and Cathrine Wilhelmsen just to mention a few. As events go, this one was a small-to-mid-sized event. I think I heard Mikael say that about 90 were registered and about 15-20 were no-shows. I’m sorry to see so many no-shows, especially as this is an all-volunteer event all around, but then I was very happy to see everybody else that DID show up and make the event spectacular.

This was my first SQL Saturday presentation despite having giving talks and such for almost 20 years. I had the privilege of going first, meaning that I could relax and attend other sessions after mine. I’ve been to PASS Summit twice, and I’m going there this year as well, but I’ve had a surprisingly hard time getting to know new people there. Here it felt like I stepped into the legendary SQL family right through the door, and I’m very happy so stay that I’ve made quite a few new aquaintances.

Listening to the attendees mingling about made it clear that the SQL Saturday is very much a social event; some people seemed to know each other from other PASS events, and some were at their very first. The feeling among the attendees were one of friendly curiosity, and everywhere I went I heard fragments of interesting conversations and people sharing their knowledge.

And that’s what the community is about - sharing knowledge. That’s why I’m very happy to be part of it and very happy to get the oportunity to share some of the knowledge I’ve spent 20 years accumulating. The IT landscape is always changing rapidly, but I’m here, now, during *this* change, and I intend to do what I can to help others. Come join me!