BbWorld: Don’t Just Attend, Lead

I’m just back from the IMS Global conference and this is the time of year that I usually turn my attention to the ANGEL User Conference (AUC). Getting my report cards ready, checking on our progress in key product, service and support areas, and getting excited about sharing some big updates and announcements with the client community. 

This year I’m doing all of those things, but a little differently given that there will of course be no AUC 2010. Instead, BbWorld will be the forum where all of our collective eLearning tribes, to borrow from Seth Godin’s 2009 keynote, come together to share their experiences and insights and hear more about what Blackboard has in mind for the road ahead.

Last year, AUC and BbWorld came at an exciting but anxious time. ANGEL clients had lots of questions about what would happen with the product line, support organization and service levels. Since then, you’ve seen our commitment to support and product maintenance. You’ve seen numerous ANGEL personnel blend into key positions within the combined company. You’ve seen similar commitments made to open standards.  And you know the platform will be supported through 2014. So we’ve answered your questions and will continue to make progress on those that remain, including product roadmap, transition planning, and longer term expectations on pricing practices.

To further your view into that progress, we need a special forum for you. And at BbWorld 2010 we’ll have one. At BbWorld, we’ll also share more on what the Blackboard community is like and how you can contribute to it.  And we’ll be looking for your feedback, because your input helps drive the course for improving and what comes next. Like AUC, BbWorld is a big part of how Blackboard listens, then changes. 

BbWorld registration opens this week, but don’t just attend the event. Lead it. To be successful, clients of all tribes – Blackboard, WebCT, and especially ANGEL this year – have to make the event their own. We are extending the Call for Proposals, so now’s the time to think about the great work happening at your shop or someone else’s, and commit to sharing that work with your peers.

I know July seems a long way off, especially in areas still buried in snow, but the quality of the BbWorld experience depends on quite a few of you raising your hands now to help drive the event. I’ll start working on my BbWorld presentation soon, and I hope to see you there. Both in the audience and at the head of the room leading key sessions.