The 2010 ESRI Federal User Conference is fast approaching. As one of the larger geospatially-oriented events to occur each year in my neck of the woods, I make it a point to attend. Over the last few years, the conference has grown in attendance and content and it’s always a good place to meet up with people.
I go primarily because I do a lot of consulting to the federal government. ESRI makes it very easy for federal employees to attend as well by giving them free admission and admission is relatively inexpensive for state/local users. I have, however, had a recurring conversation with some of my friends at the local ESRI office that I think the audience for the FedUC is broader than is suggested by the name. The FedUC, in my opinion, has the potential to be a full East Coast user conference. As much as I like going to San Diego, I like the FedUC because it tends to be more focused and down-to-business.
So, my question is this: If you are a state/local government or educational user of ESRI tools, will you be attending the FedUC? If so, what is attracting you to it and what do you expect to get out of it?
(This is similar to a question I asked on Twitter but 140 characters is rather limiting for this.)
I plan to attend and meet a number of tweeps face to face. I think I am suppose to give two ‘state perspective’ presentations, but can’t recall for sure. I should check on those after the holidays.
I will likely be attending – I’ve been hitting the FedUC every year for many years now.
FedUC is rapidly becoming the East-Coast version of their West-Coast International UC, it’s been growing from one year to the next, with ever-more diverse attendance and character to presentations and content.