This year marks my first year attending re:Invent. It has been on my bucket list for a very long time and to have the opportunity to go, with support from my AWS Partner – Cevo Australia, leaves me incredibly grateful. A huge shoutout to my leadership team for supporting me and affording me the chance to experience re:Invent in all its glory!
First Timer’s Advice:
- Shoes must be soft – expect to be on your feet for up to 10 hours a day and expect a step count to topple 15,000 steps each day – no sweat
- Hydrate and then hydrate more
- Chapsticks are your lips best friend
- The distances between venues is huge – expect 30-40 mins just walking between venues
- Google maps walking estimates is wrong – 20 minutes equals 30 mins in reality – people walk really slow in these parts and take up the whole footpath
- Venues themselves can offer shortcuts – cut through venues to reduce distance wherever possible
- Wear noise cancelling headphones if sensitive to noise
- People – make your experience about people – sessions can be watched on Youtube later – except for chalk talks and some other sessions which are not recorded – attend those ones
- Bring with you Berocca or equivalent supplements to keep up energy and help fight fatigue
- Eat meals – prioritise this over attending sessions
- Pay attention to breakfast times – they change on some days and finish early – 08:30 on Tuesday!
- Community Hub – breakfast closes at 10:00am – great quality food and it’s free!
- Lunch is between 12:00 and 1:30pm – there is nothing left after 1pm!
- Take time to decompress – utilise the sensory rooms and Community Hub to get some time away from the crowds and noise
- Attend events to avoid paying for dinner and start eating early
- It is really tough to get to sleep due to all the stimulation – use the events to tire you out and avoid excessive alcohol – you will dehydrate
- Talk to as many strangers as you can – join random tables
- Ask questions – this is the time to ask them – everyone is a stranger after all
- Note down people’s names as you meet them – this way you can tag them in posts
- Follow up with people when you get home and engage with new connections and their posts
- Ask people if they are speaking at any sessions or events, chalk talks or other opportunities – I met people, and we talked about all sorts of things then found out later they were speaking at an event I could have attended to support them
- Give back to the community – if a person mentions a unique problem they are trying to solve for, lean in and help where you can
- Attend the Game Days – they test your knowledge more that any other method in my opinion and you get to work with complete strangers
- Be yourself – immerse yourself in a space where you can truly be yourself with all walks of life attending
- Take the opportunity to do activities you would not have had the chance to do – hiking, ice hockey matches, helicopter rides, zip lines – you name it – Vegas has it!
Things I would Do Differently Next Time
We all have hindsight and there is something we can learn from past experiences. Personally, these are the things I reflect on that could be improved for next time.
Networking Early
Knowing the size and scale and anticipating this, I would begin my networking early. Reach out to all my key contacts and ask them if they are attending so we can catch up. I missed so many of my connections as I did not know they had attended and were not able to catch up. Finding out which events they were attending could have helped a lot.
Better Event Planning
I would have better ownership of the events to attend finding the most valuable ones to attend based on the demographic. I would lean in more to the community events to have more shared experiences with people. I put this down to exhaustion, however I recognise improvements could have been made on my own part to find the motivation.
Automate Tasks
Finding ways to automate my blog writing. My initial attempt at a template failed miserably as it did not align to the experience for me to write about. It took a lot of energy to write them and I could have done this better.
Team up with Marketing
I didn’t engage my marketing team as fully as I could have. Next time, I’ll plan ahead more effectively, and with automation, we could have published blog posts much more quickly. Another improvement is restarting my own blog. I had one in the past but let it fall off. By publishing directly to my blog and sharing with marketing, we could publish content simultaneously.
I also need to be more proactive on LinkedIn. I took many photos and met a lot of people, but I was slow to tag and share content to take advantage of the LinkedIn algorithm. I know I can do better in this area.
Conclusion
In conclusion, AWS re:Invent 2024 was an invaluable learning experience. Despite challenges, the key takeaways will help me plan better, network more effectively, and make the most of future events.
