Catching Up on The #SQLPASS Virtual Chapters

(Didn't realize until I was posting that this was my 100th post...whew!)

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A few months ago we purchased a new "smart" Blu-Ray player and one of its intriguing features was its built-in WiFi with pre-installed Internet apps like Amazon Video, YouTube, Vudu, etc. (Previously we had a 6-year-old "dumb" DVD player that was barely smart enough to eject its tray when you pushed the button).

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Interestingly, the limitations of these pre-installed apps became one of my frustrations as we started to use the player more and more.  I wanted to be able to view Pluralsight videos and TED Talks, and my wife wanted to watch Craftsy videos, and lacking customized applications we couldn't do so.

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After some searching on my laptop I found that TED Talks are available on YouTube!  Some more digging and I found a few PASS videos as well - and more intensive searching found that almost every single PASS Virtual Chapter has its own YouTube channel where they upload recordings of their presentations!

Add captionhttp://www.sqlpass.org/images/chapterlogos/logo_pass_vc.png

Below I have lifted the list of PASS Virtual Chapters (current as of May 2016) and the descriptions provided by PASS.  I have gone through YouTube and found the link for each chapter's YouTube channel and listed them below.

(I apologize to any international readers but I have omitted the non-English speaking chapters as I don't have the language skills to properly search for their content.)

Chapter Name	Short Description	Virtual Chapter URL	YouTube Recordings
Application Development	Training and information for Application Developers	http://appdev.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/user/PASSappdev
Big Data	Discuss Big Data technologies & Hadoop-based systems	http://bigdata.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkOKmMW_LEsACOqE8C1RWdw
Business Analytics	The PASS Business Analytics Chapter provides virtual train...	http://bavc.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/user/PASSBAVC
Business Intelligence	Connecting BI Professionals globally	http://bi.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/user/PASSBIVC
Cloud	Enabling cloud knowledge sharing	http://cloud.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbM9EKPyh6G6F4gK_YOaC8Q
Data Architecture	Focusing on your data architecture concerns	http://dataarch.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoYaPVyNHzpt2cT6ZuO5APw
Data Science	Advanced Analytics, Machine Learning, Data Mining	http://datascience.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqB3xWdwjA9soFV6EOu7qfg
Database Administration	Forum for discussion on DBA topics	http://dba.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN-UYSZ3yERcsNVOcMGlrgg
DBA Fundamentals	Rock solid foundations!	http://fundamentals.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfo-suRFU3sBL5eOOv4XOVg
Excel Business Intelligence	Helping users achieve excellence in Excel	http://excelbivc.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXBjWCPexQTTGs-eChtmYA
Healthcare	Connecting SQL Server Pros in the healthcare industry	http://healthcare.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcLgVdylvd1Xonb6zoaqeWw
High Availability and Disaster Recovery	Reduce the risk and impact of system faults and outages	http://hadrvc.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVXM_bmBuTEln3K4GHeuBAQ
Hybrid	Cover all technologies and solutions that may be integrate...	http://oracle.sqlpass.org/	N/A
In Memory VC	Take advantage of the new In-Memory features	http://imvc.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTHLNg5xR_-2YJWTaJoqI2Q
Performance	Discuss SQL Server performance-related content	http://performance.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvLXc2p2itK-Na0ndF7CxBg
PowerShell	Learn and share best practices around PowerShell	http://powershell.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFX97evt_7Akx_R9ovfiSwQ
Professional Development	Join the conversation and share resources	http://professionaldevelopment.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDP2iCgt7rRu6zyvxwz4uug
Saturday Night SQL	Forum for discussion about BI and Databases	http://saturdaynightsql.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBWJHarYauw_-Wpv90cdGOQ
Security	Guidance and education on SQL Server security topics	http://security.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC77XLfCsUex0Rvt4M22xYig
Virtualization	Improving management of SQL Server in virtual environments	http://virtualization.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbX5pO6ligM2gyoQZW9i3Nw
Women in Technology	Forum for discussion of issues pertinent to WIT	http://wit.sqlpass.org/	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe2KECKcaYV37kDarDLhL6A

What I like to do is to "subscribe" to each of the relevant channels and that makes it easy for me to receive content on our Blu-Ray player (as well as on the YouTube app on my Android).

The Virtual Chapter websites listed above do have archives of the recording of their meetings as well, but they aren't centralized and they are only available from a regular web browser as opposed to a custom app on your TV or phone.

There are also several other useful  YouTube channels I recommend:

• TED Talks - https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksDirector

• TEDx Talks (from local TEDx events) - https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDxTalks

• SQLSentry (vendor tools but also a *lot* of non-brand SQL material) - https://www.youtube.com/user/SQLSentry

• Brent Ozar Unlimited (Weekly "Office Hours" and other training videos) - https://www.youtube.com/user/BrentOzar

• PASSTV (official PASS functions such as videos from Summit) - https://www.youtube.com/user/SQLPASSTV

• TechEd North America (Microsoft's admin/architecture conference) - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B8GuZPEnvFGiSKpjIVKKg

• Ntirety (my employer) - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC42FtgrqDGBU27WKqYqwvg

• HOSTING (our parent company) - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCavSm--VAVf33w5rn5gQ6mg

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Can't beat free info - it's free, and it's info!

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Hope this helps!

Another Source of Knowledge

It started with a tweet from one the many members of the #sqlfamily who always has something meaningful to say, Jes Borland (blog/@grrl_geek):

The referenced link is http://www.ted.com/talks/celeste_headlee_10_ways_to_have_a_better_conversation.

I followed Jes's advice, paused the other items I was working on, and watched the talk.  It was a nice tight eleven minutes on how to be present in the moment, paying attention to those around you and interacting with them in a more meaningful way.

I was not formerly familiar with the speaker Celeste Headlee (blog/@CelesteHeadlee), a public radio talk host, but after listening to her talk I could definitely listen to her again - she spoke very clearly and made her points without much fluff.

I'm sure some people will tune out right there, thinking they would never agree with a public radio host or her agenda - my take has always been that it is worth giving any speaker at least two chances.  If I have listened to you speak/present/etc. twice (anyone can have a bad day) and both times you have failed to hold my interest (on topics in which I am interested) I will discount then you as a speaker - at least as a speaker I would be interested in listening to.

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While I enjoyed this particular talk, it reminded me of something I used to really enjoy doing and have all but stopped over the last couple years.

I tripped over TED talks online five or six years ago, back when I still worked in an on-site office.  I don't remember how - probably from Twitter or Facebook - but I discovered this wide array of free recordings that I could listen to on my breaks or when I had a free few minutes.  As a full-time work-from-home these last few years I have not handled my workday in the same way (I eat lunch with my family now for example) and have not watched talks in the same way I used to.

TED is a nonprofit organization that puts on a series of conferences on Technology, Entertainment, and Design.  The talks given at the conferences are by practice 18 minutes or less (although some do run longer), with many talks being around ten minutes long.

The conferences themselves aren't cheap (and as such I have never been in person) - TED2017 in Vancouver next year has a registration cost of US$8500 - but the real treasure trove are the talks themselves, posted online for free on TED's website (and often on YouTube) after a reasonable time has passed.

TED talks are given by an amazing array of speakers from all different backgrounds, from industry leaders like Bill Gates and Richard Branson to intellectuals like Sir Ken Robinson and Dan Gilbert to entertainers like Apollo Robbins and Ze Frank.

You can search the talks by topic or speaker or length, or you can watch one of the curated playlists of talks to see talks related to one another on a given subject.

A sidebar to the TED conferences and talks is TEDx, TEDx is an offshoot of the parent conference where local staff organize an event that is a combination of TED-style talks from local/regional speakers and airings of national TED talks.  The best comparison I can make for SQL Server is to think of TEDx as TED's SQL Saturday - not entirely accurate but close.  TEDx talks are also available for viewing for free at ted.com.

Another benefit of a resource like this is to a speaker (or a potential speaker, which is about everyone).  You can learn a lot about speaking to an audience from simply watching other people present, and these talks are great examples.

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At the end of the day, you probably won't learn anything directly about SQL Server from seeking out things like TED talks, but you will learn a lot about the world around you, and remember Knowledge is Power!

http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2014/09/06/schoolhouse-rock-a-trojan-horse-of-knowledge-and-power/jcr:content/body/inlineimage.img.800.jpg/47000010.cached.jpg

(Whoa...flashback...)

Hope this helps!