Essential Tips to Navigate the First Virtual Dreamforce

'Dreamforce and Moscone Center' are like crossword and clues. It's impossible to imagine one without the other. However, in 2020 we have seen that just about anything is possible. and Salesforce is firing up its iconic Dreamforce user conference, albeit reimagined. ‘Dreamforce to You’ will be a free virtual event that spans from Nov. 12 through December and includes keynote sessions, live events and even personal consultations with customers.

Dreamforce 2019 and its predecessors were a different ball game altogether. In fact when the conference is round the corner, SF newspapers send out announcements on traffic updates, road closures and public transport advisories! The latest edition was a forest-themed escapade in the heart of San Francisco that saw 171,000 people from 120+ countries managing their packed calendar to attend as many from 60 keynotes and 2700+ sessions. Every DF comes with practical tips on how to maneuver the campus, building your agenda, bookmarking your favorite sessions and also not miss out on fun while you are there. This year however, 'DF to You' is coming in to your homes and that means making sure you are devoid of distractions, planned your calendar and made yourself available for 6 weeks of learning, networking, giving back and having fun.

The registrations have already begun. As of now, the items on the calendar are keynote on Dec 2 and a four day learning event from Dec 14-17.

As a first step, make sure you have registered for the event (if you have not already). This ensures that you get the timely notifications of upcoming events. When a notification arrives, please ensure that you have added events of interest in your calendar. It might seem easier to attend the sessions of your choice without traveling or sprinting from one conference room to another but what we must avoid is adding one more parallel channel to the already existing work calls.

Next, make sure you stick to the schedule that you have built for yourselves. It is easier to skip a session because we know in the back of our mind that these are being recorded. Attending a live session gives us the discipline to listen and absorb more than listening to a recording. That's an opinion I'm sure many would agree to. If you have a group of colleagues or friends who are interested in the sessions, it will be a good idea to form a chat group where you can exchange thoughts as you listen in. Of course, there might be live chat sessions in the event page itself but your own small group gives a feeling of togetherness.

Attending a virtual Dreamforce was never in my bucket list but as the saying goes, "when fishermen cannot go to sea, they repair nets" or in the case of millions of trailblazers, "the sea comes to the fishermen". Hope you make the best out of Dreamforce for You.