Category Archives: Dreamforce

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Bonny Hinners

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This is the seventh post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce Bonny Hinners, the leader of the Bay Area Salesforce Nonprofit User Group.

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What’s your job title? Independent Consultant.  (EFD – So how’s that relationship with your boss?)

What does that mean you do?  I work with nonprofits and for-profits to build out custom solutions in Salesforce that are unique to their business needs from clicks to code, primarily groups that want a local resource here in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I am fortunate to have worked on some terrific projects including a resource management application with a children’s museum and a clienteling solution with a for-profit service provider.   (EFD – All that, and you also lead the Bay Area Nonprofit User Group…kudos to you!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? Since 2004, that’s when I got my very first developer org and started learning about the capabilities.  I have continued using it for creating and testing customized business solutions.  Everyone should have a free developer org to explore new features and to try out new customizations and code.  (EFD – 2004, that would have been the 2nd year for Dreamforce, if I’m not mistaken.)

Bacon or sausage? Can’t I have both? Don’t make me decide.

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Who you know–it’s all about the users and how well you know them. You have to understand users’ needs to provide them with the best solutions.  You also have to know the Salesforce community and how to turn to them for inspiration and feedback.  The community can really help you to learn new skills so you can provide better solutions for the end users.  (EFD – Users, users, users….why is it always all about the users? It’s NOT!  It’s all about the community!)

How did our relationship start, and when?  I had the pleasure of meeting you shortly after you became an MVP and was delighted to work with you on a Dreamforce 2013 session! That session was all about encouraging administrators to join their local user groups and showing them how to make good use of the Success Community and Power of Us Hub.  (EFD – So that would have been Spring, 2013, and my very first time presenting at Dreamforce was that session with you!)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I have a degree in Computer Science and I do trapeze! (EFD – Computer Science? That’s not too surprising, but trapeze? Do you mean swinging and flying high above the ground?)

You can find Bonny on Twitter, and please read her blog too!

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Steve Molis

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This is the fifth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now…since it seems very appropriate for Dreamforce week, I introduce Mr. Answers, SteveMoForce, the one and only, Steve Molis.

                               

What’s your job title? Applications Developer.  (EFD – Where’s the word “Answers” or “Salesforce”?)

What does that mean you do?  I’m your basic IT/MIS Database Admin/Analyst/Developer who “inherited” SFDC back when we first adopted it in 2003.  Prior to that I was basically doing everything I am now, but in Lotus Domino instead of the Force.com Platform.   (EFD – Lotus what?  Didn’t they make something called 1-2-3?)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? I’ve been in the Salesforce ecosystem since September 4, 2003.  (EFD – Come on, Steve, can’t you give me the exact millisecond?)

Bacon or sausage? BACON!!!!! (Said in Benny from LEGO Movie “Spaceship!!” voice)

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  What you know…self-reliance can sometimes be the most valuable tool! No matter the circumstance, one’s brain will always be with them while the “who’s” might not always be available at the drop of a hat.  (EFD – Wait, you mean YOU might not always be out there answering questions in the Salesforce Community?  NOOOOO!!!!  Say it ain’t so!)

How did our relationship start, and when? I’m a gentleman, I never kiss and tell.  (EFD – Ok, Steve.  I’m almost a gentleman, so I might spill the beans.  Too bad I don’t really remember!  I know you helped me out with some answers when I was brand new on Salesforce, and sharing a room with you at Dreamforce 2014 was a blast. Oops…that’s how rumors get started.)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I was a stand-up comic. (EFD – WAS???  You still are.  But back then, did you have your own “Safe Habbah” statement for explicit language?)

You can find Steve on Twitter.

What Would You Do?

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If you had the chance to do something (that you do every year) and help a great cause at the same time, would you do it?

Yes, that was a rhetorical question, but do me a favor, answer it anyway.

My answer would be a resounding ‘yes’. I try to give back to the Salesforce community every chance I get. So when Cirrus Insight emailed to tell me I was their weekly winner of a free Dreamforce pass, my thoughts immediately turned to helping others.  I didn’t need the pass to Dreamforce. I was already registered and would be attending. I could give the pass to someone who wants to attend, but that would only be helping one person.

What I decided to do was to hold an auction with proceeds benefiting Project Night Night. I thought that could help many people. One lucky person would still be able to attend Dreamforce, and many homeless children could get a NightNight pack from Project Night Night.

Do you still need a pass to Dreamforce? Do you want to help children have sweeter dreams at the same time? If you answered yes to both questions, please go here: DF15Pass for Project Night Night and place your bid. The high bid, at the time I published this blog post was $500.  To see the current high bid, follow me on Twitter and search for #DF15PassProjectNight2XHIGHBID.  The bidding closes at 11:59 PM on Saturday, August 8, 2015.

If you happened to answer the first question with a no, please visit Project Night Night and consider making a donation.

Thanks!

Top 10 Reasons to Attend Dreamforce 2015

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Here’s my top 10 reasons why you should attend Dreamforce updated for 2015:

10: Networking…its a fabulous place to meet people who think and act like you. Don’t be scared, introduce yourself! You could very well be talking to your next coworker or manager, or even discover a solution to a challenge you have been facing! (Don’t forget to bring plenty of business cards!)

9: Exercise…with all the sessions and activities spread out over Moscone’s 3 buildings as well as a half a dozen or so hotels in the area, you might end up dropping a few pounds from all the walking you’ll do. (Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, and charge up your Fitbit!)

8: Knowledge…Keynote sessions, hands-on training sessions, breakout sessions, even pre-conference training session…who knows what all you could learn! Even without knowing who the keynote or breakout session speakers are, or who the special guests during Marc Benioff’s keynote will be, I’m 100% certain you will learn a lot! (Be sure to take notes – on paper, on your phone, or on your iPad.  Whatever your note-taking device of choice is, keep it handy! You’ll need it!)

7: Awesome…yes, be prepared to hear that word quite a lot. Many will describe the event as Awesome or Outstanding. (Guilty as charged, Your Honor.)

6: Get Social…That’s right, Dreamforce isn’t really just an 8 to 5 event. Social gatherings, dinners, parties and even concerts await the adventurous soul. After Dreamforce, be sure to hook up with your local user group, so you can keep the Dreamforce feeling all year long!  And if that’s not enough, keep an eye out on the Success Community and Twitter for amazing community-driven regional events like Midwest Dreamin’, Forcelandia, and Snowforce.

5: Charity…Don’t just take things away from Dreamforce, give things away! Give back some of your time to help out great causes. Look for the Salesforce Foundation volunteer events and GIVE! Give like there’s no tomorrow! Because if you don’t, for some people who rely on the organizations Salesforce & Dreamforce support, there may not be a tomorrow!

4: Swag…who doesn’t like a freebie?  T-shirts, portable charges, stress balls, t-shirts, pens….you name it, someone is probably giving it away, just for stopping by their booth and letting them scan your badge.  Some things are a random drawing, others, just yours for the taking.

3: Partners…be sure to carve out time to visit the Cloud Expos. Many AppExchange partners will be there to give you live demos, great reasons why you need to extend your Salesforce org outside the box, and pick up some cool swag along the way. You can also connect with Salesforce experts, interact firsthand with Salesforce products, and hear success stories shared by customers at the Salesforce Campground.

2: Rub elbows with the elite…the MVPs and User Group Leaders. Those people are almost overly passionate about the Salesforce ecosystem, but guess what? They are people too, and love helping others gain knowledge and overcome challenges!

And my number 1 reason to attend Dreamforce this year:

1: Community…What’s that? It’s the culmination of all of the other top items rolled into one neat little package. It’s that intangible benefit you get from being part of a group that is fast approaching two million strong. It’s that awesome feeling you get when racing between sessions with over 100,000 of your closest friends. It is Salesforce…it is Dreamforce. And its AWESOME!!!

Dreamforce 2014 – A look back

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It’s been a month now since I returned from Dreamforce. A month of attempting (rather unsuccessfully) to get caught up on missed sleep. A month of seeing Salesforce Community activity slow down some, a month of trying to remember all the priorities I had at work before I left for Dreamforce. It’s an ideal time to close out my Dreamforce experience with a brief summary of what I took away from it all.

1. The Salesforce Community still ROCKS! There were dozens and dozens of community-led sessions…and from all the conversations I was involved in, they were all well received by their respective audiences.

2. There will never, EVER be a ‘First Ever Admin Keynote’, but you can bet your last dollar that there will be a 2nd Annual Admin Keynote. (Safe Harbor applies here…remember, this blog is full of my opinion, and nothing more!)

3. The Developer Zone was cool, just like it has been before, but the Admin Zone took things up a notch, and put Admins on everyone’s radar. My prediction for Dreamforce 2015: an expanded Admin Zone – more space for Hero Booths, for conversation, for Theater Sessions, and yes, for coffee!

4. There’s even more focus on Analytics and Big Data. The Analytics Cloud and Project Wave…wow! Love the speed, robustness and flexibility of insights at the speed of thought!

5. A hackathon…done right. I had the pleasure of hanging out in the hackathon for a while simply observing and talking to people. Tons of awesome ideas & apps being built by plenty of great people. I’m thrilled that the prize money was spread out this year.

6. The Marc and Parker Q & A session – its a must attend. Having the opportunity to ask the founders a question is awesome, but what I think is even better is hearing them respond to the questions being asked. It solidifies the customer focus that salesforce.com has by demonstrating it from the top down!

So that’s my take on the highlights from Dreamforce 2014. I’d love to hear yours!

The Dreamforce Hackathon…from an outsiders point of view

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So a certain person (who shall remain nameless) managed to get me into the Dreamforce Hackathon for a couple hours….it was quite the enlightening experience. I saw many things:

I saw Adam Seligman…live and in the flesh. I’ve been connected to him through Twitter and the Success Community for a few years, but never had the pleasure of shaking his hand, until now.

I saw Reid Carlberg…I’ve met him before, but it was great to see him again….same goes for Josh Birk.

I saw Pat Patterson…never had the pleasure in person, and can never say that about him again!

I saw April Nassi, but of course she’d be there! She’s the queen of the Developer Community!

But enough about people. That’s not what the Hackathon is about.

It’s about creativity and passion.

I saw plenty of that. There were dozens upon dozens of teams of developers coding away at what could become the next best thing since sliced bread. There were men and women of every shape, size, color and ethnic background, all striving towards the same goal…building a great App. It was an awesome thing to witness.

One other thing I noticed there, besides people eating and coding, coding and coding, sleeping and coding (or perhaps dreaming about coding) was another fine example of what the Salesforce community is all about. It’s people helping people, sharing ideas, sharing knowledge.

Sure, this is a competition, and a few people are going to win some serious cash, and others will just leave the Hackathon with a cool new App, and some sleep deprivation, but from the outside looking in, it’s all awesome, and has inspired me to dig into the world of the Developers.

One last thing, before I close out this post:

I hope the Dreamforce Hackathon continues for many years to come!

Are You Dreamforce Ready?

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One week.
7 days.
168 hours.

Yeah, its that time. The time salesforce.com fanatics look forward to all year long. The time when over 100,000 of your closests friends make the annual pilgrimage to San Francisco. The time when people all around the world are asking the same question:

Are you Dreamforce ready?

I’m not sure if I’m really ready for Dreamforce, but ready or not, its almost here. Here are some of the things I’m most looking forward to:

The Admin Keynote: Its an hour-long session featuring some fascinating tales of superheroic acts performed by ordinary Admins. Wednesday, 9am in Moscone West.

The Admin Zone, and the Developer Zone: Side-by-side, in complete harmony, helping to solidify the notion that Admins need Developers as much as Developers need Adkins…and that they are equally as important to the success of an organization.

Marc Benioff’s Keynote: Always inspiring, always exciting, always includes some awesome special guests.

Project Wave: Based on reading session descriptions, this sounds like the next generation of Salesforce Analytics. I hope I’m right, because I’m an Analytics geek at heart!

Live Podcasts: Mike Gerholdt, The ButtonClick Admin himself, now an Admin Evangelist with Salesforce.com…alway shares great tips. The guys from Arkus, Justin Edelstein and Jason Atwood…listening to them is always thought provoking. I wonder who else is on tap?

With so much goodness packed into 4 days, it can be very difficult to figure out what sessions to attend, and where to hang out between sessions. Aside from what I’ve already mentioned, don’t forget to save time to visit the expo hall to see what’s new with the awesome partners in the house. Be sure to make time on your schedule to hang out with the Community, the MVPs and user group leaders, as they staff the Hero Booths in the Admin Zone to help others get their questions answered.

Excuse me, Your Excitement is Showing!

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I’ve found that some people seem to be getting just a little excited about Dreamforce, and why not? It’s just a few weeks away!

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You think it’s amazing now, Brian? Wait till you hear them speak!

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Great point, Alex! Partners are people too!

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Always thinking of ways to give back, Marc. Thanks for all you do! Don’t worry about packing those canned goods for your trip, you can buy them on your walk to Moscone!

The excitement is building… Anyone who is anyone will be at Dreamforce. Have you registered yet?

Dreamforce

See you there!

The Making of Dreamforce

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The Making of Dreamforce

I had the pleasure of chatting with both Marissa Kraines and Catherine Simmons about a month ago, and by chatting, I mean talking in a real, live telephone conversation and with both of them at the same time!  I was curious what it really took to make Dreamforce the awesome event that it is, and they were more than willing to share with me.

Let’s start with a brief introduction of the two “special guests” on this post:

Catherine Simmons

catherine_simmons

https://twitter.com/fabmissc

She started working for salesforce.com in 2008 in the London office, moved to San Francisco and the Dreamforce team in 2010. This year will be her seventh Dreamforce, and her fifth as part of the team putting the event together.  Catherine is the Senior Director of Strategic Events, is focused on Dreamforce all the time, and along with a huge team, responsible for the execution and strategy for the event.

Marissa Kraines 

marissa_Kraines

https://twitter.com/MarissaLK85

Marissa has been with salesforce.com just a little over a year, and she is the Senior Manager of Social and Content Marketing.  Prior to joining salesforce.com she was an MBA student at the University of Texas (Austin) and had an internship in product marketing with the Service Cloud.

We all know Dreamforce is a massive event, taking up a lot of resources in San Francisco. I was curious to know when planning starts for each year and what all is involved in the process. Catherine and Marissa both indicated that planning for Dreamforce is an ongoing process that overlaps year after year.  There’s not really a “start” date for any given year’s event. I asked the obvious question: Are there plans to move the event from San Francisco? The good news is that salesforce.com is very committed to San Francisco, and I’m told that Moscone is booked for the event all the way out to beyond 2020!

With Catherine being 100% Dreamforce, 100% of the time, I wondered how many other people are responsible for the event. Catherine’s response to that really didn’t surprise me. She said, “Dreamforce touches everyone at salesforce.com, and it’s non-negotiable.”  Those people whose job it is to produce the event – marketing, operations, etc. numbers around 20 with another 20 or so full-time contract employees, and infrastructure people including people from the George P. Johnson agency takes the total into the hundreds.  “And by the way, the George P. Johnson agency is also a salesforce.com customer”, says Simmons.

So my next logical question was how many people actually “work” the event, from registration and check-in, to helping people find their way, to those people on the street corners waving the clipboards that read “Dreamforce Questions?”   Catherine tells me that those people are all subcontracted out by George P. Johnson and number in the hundreds.

I was curious how Keynote Speakers and musical guests are decided upon.  Those decisions are made based on who will be inspiring to the audience and who can tell a great, relevant story. Of course, sometimes it also depends on who can be available at the right time. Elizabeth Pinkham, Senior Vice President for Strategic Events, and Lynn Vojvodich, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, and their teams are ultimately drive those decisions.

My final question to Marissa and Catherine:   Are there any “unsung heroes” who should be acknowledged for their contributions and efforts towards the making of Dreamforce?  Once again, the answer I received did not surprise me one bit.  “The entire team deserves the credit! We are like a family, to drink wine with at the end of the day, to give high fives to, etc., and that extends to the George P. Johnson agency too.”

So…there you have it. That’s how Dreamforce is made.

I still think it’s a lot of Hollywood magic, combined with smoke and mirrors!

Just a Little Dreamforce Excitement!

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There’s a great deal of excitement found in this Facebook post from Cheryl Feldman

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And this was before Cheryl found out she was named a Salesforce.com MVP!
Cheryl and 14 others were named MVPs for the Summer ’14 class, and 22 current MVPs were given the honor again. Check out all that excitement here: Summer ’14 MVPs .