Occupy BACON: Let’s Do This. (Sessions & Discount)

It’s Possible that Maybe I Added Something to Their Banner Image 🙂
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Year One Was Great, So I’m Speaking Again – San Jose CA, May 7-9

I really enjoyed the inaugural PASS Business Analytics Conference, aka PASS BACON, last year.  Before that, I’d never been to a conference that was even remotely aimed at “my kind of people.”  That all changed for me last year.  I think we have found our home.

THIS is the kind of conference we need – one that’s accessible without heavy technology expertise.  One where Business Impact take center stage, and the only pre-requisite is that you enjoy working with data.  (And it helps if you don’t flinch at the word “Microsoft.”)

Which suits us Excel folks to a tee, doesn’t it?  They might as well put us on the front page.  But an explicit mention of Excel would scare off those other people – the non-Excel people (that we outnumber 100 to 1).  Honestly I think we should just take this thing over.  You know, like…  Occupy BACON.  (Brief pause while I replace the previously-bland title of this post with precisely that).

Putting my time where my mouth is, this year I am “doubling down” and presenting two sessions – a full-day “pre-con” and a “regular” session – see below for details.  AND I’m in discussions about presenting a third session as well, stay tuned on that.

Last Year’s Referral Champion Wants to Repeat!

A little bird told us that last year, more people signed up for PASS BACON using the P3 Adaptive discount code than any other discount code.

Pretty cool, eh?  Anyway, there’s a discount code again this year, but I’ve been slow to share it.  Let’s pretend we did that to give all those “non-Excel” websites a head start, given that whole “100 to 1 outnumber” thing (in reality I have just been swamped).

$150 Off When You Register With This Code

All righty then, here’s the code:

BASB5O

No, I don’t receive “kickbacks” from registrations that use this code.  But if enough people use it, that bolsters our cause by showing them how relevant we are.  And…  I don’t mind winning meaningless contests either.  Meaningless victories are the easiest to brag about since typically there are no hurt feelings.

Partial List of 2014’s Relevant/Interesting Sessions

Here’s something I did last year that people seemed to appreciate, so I’ll do it again this year.  I combed through the 70+ sessions currently posted and pulled out a bunch that caught my eye.  Certainly not a complete list, and definitely biased by the interests of Yours Truly, but a list this long is a Very Good Sign indeed.

I’ve loosely categorized them as:

1. How-To – training on how to use tools, techniques, etc.
2. Strategy – how to implement a successful analytics/reporting strategy in your org (especially a Power Pivot and/or Power BI strategy).  How to sell it to others, cultural best practices, etc.
3. Hybrid – a blend of the two above.
4. Crazy Aussie – Grant Paisley.

And yes, the first two sessions in my list are MY sessions.  Click the links in the left column for full abstracts.

Code and Link (Again)

In case you don’t want to scroll back up, here they are again:

BASB5O

Hope to see you there!  I’ll try to organize some sort of “meetup” as the event gets closer.  We’ll take over a restaurant or something.