I received an email from Autodesk customer Donovan about this AU Connect and it got my curiosity peaked. So I decided to dive in and check it out before I got distracted by something else as I can sometimes be like a crow spotting shiny objects.
I have to admit it when I first received the email about AU Connect I was skeptical about what it was. AU is short for Autodesk University and the largest CAD event and will be in Orlando Florida the first week of December. The email about AU Connect was emailed to all current registered Autodesk University attendees. It is actually a hosted social networking solution being implemented for a large event by Leverage Software. The web site states you can browse your network of people and request introductions, schedule meetings, and share ideas with others. Quite interesting.
This might be a nice way to form groups of people instead of what usually occurs of not knowing who is attending and then on the fly getting a group together to chat or do something. With over 4000 people attending it would be nice to get more focused and manage activities and chats as well as meet new people. I have held a Geek Fest at AU events in the past but it is always a difficult thing to organize but perhaps this AU Connect might allow me to see who is attending, what their interests are and then setup a time for a get together. It also might help people network with people they might not have met otherwise. People tend to gravitate among those they already know at an event when in reality it is the perfect place to make new contacts and friends.
So I filled out my AU Connect profile.
Set my meeting preferences.
And then looked at the People Map showing people who matched my filter criteria.
One thing I found funny and accurate is fellow CAD freak, blogger, and friend Jimmy Bergmark of Sweden was listed as the closest match to my profile.
Now I will check the page frequently and schedule some get togethers for AU. Hopefully I will get more time discussing CAD, cool geek stuff, and have some fun with fellow AU'ers many new that I have not met in the past.
I hope to see you there and if so get on my people map!
Cheers,
Shaan
