Debrief From The 2012 Recorded Future User Network Conference (Part One)

Originally posted by Bob Gourley on CTO Vision

Recorded Future held their annual user network conference in DC 16 Oct 2012.  This post is the first of a two part debrief on the event:

On The Ambiance: The event was packed. Standing room only. And it was packed with the right kinds of people. Government and Industry thought leaders, analysts and data scientists with real world responsibilities came together for a day of fast-paced sharing and interactions. It would be impossible to give justice to the many sidebar conversations: but they were all meaty and interesting since frequently the conversations were between people serving vastly different missions but sharing common needs for more insight on the world around them. This makes sharing of lessons learned, models and concepts of operation fun and mutually beneficial. And if you have an event that is both fun and mutually beneficial you have a recipe for an enduring community. So there is something magic happening here.

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A few thoughts on events claiming senior federal attendance…

Originally posted by Mark Amtower on Federal Direct

Federal executive and manager participation in any and all events is going to suffer significantly over the next few years as a result of the fallout from the GSA PBS fiasco and some other seemingly "over the top" events.

I have spoken to a few senior feds recently regarding the new guidelines for justifying both travel and event participation. In some instances, the justification for travel has become so onerous that it is easier to avoid the entire process even if the travel is truly work related.

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