5 SharePoint Conference 2014 Photo Ops at SPC14

Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2014 is shaping up to be one of those conferences you're going to kick yourself for not attending.

We've heard a lot about sessions and what you can learn at SPC14. What else is going on?

Thanks to Joel Oleson, who has taken the "social" in social media and collaboration to heart, you can find out all the events coming up during the conference at his Collabshow site. 

Here are five that you're going to want to have your smartphone camera ready for.

#1:President Bill Clinton Is In the Building

President Clinton and SharePoint? Yes, I admit, it's a bit of a stretch. 

The jokers on Twitter have already had their fun with it, so anything we could say would be nothing new.

The former leader of the free world will be around only to give the keynote, but heck, that's the biggest name ever to speak at a SharePoint conference.

No, Jeff Teper, "the father of SharePoint," doesn't count.

#2: SPC14 InfoPath Funeral

What other technology conference has the creativity and coolness to hold a funeral for a part of its technology?

To quote from the invitation: "The InfoPath funeral is a great opportunity to gather with other SharePoint folks who were impacted both by the lack of direction by this team, or have built their careers on this software. ... Join me as we carry the InfoPath coffin through the exhibit hall and Rest In Peace… InfoPath in the community area."

My advice: Follow the hash tag #InfoPathFuneral on Twitter and look sober and somber on March 4.

#3: SPC14 and Nascar

People will say, Why didn't you mention AvePoint's Red Party  and Metalogix's Best of Breed Awards? 

Well, they're potentially super events.

But for me, the bigger curiosity is the Neudesic party at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

I mean, a ride-along in a NASCAR car? (I don't even know if that's how you say it, but for those who us who only know that the cars have numbers that stand for drivers we don't know, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime gig.)

True, photo ops will be easier at the more glitzy parties I just mentioned, but either way, you're going to be, as they say, in the moment.

#4: SPC14 Flash Mob

By a certain age—say, 10--you already know if you'd do something like this or not.

Needless to say, even if you're just observing, you'll want to have your smartphone in hand when a bunch of total strangers descend and start singing and dancing about SharePoint.

Of all things.

#5: SharePoint and Office 365

Yes, all of us know that the speakers "will" put their slides up on the conference site. Whatever.

We've seen quite a few of you at previous conferences holding up that smartphone to snap a shot of the screen.

Whether it's the perfect quote to use on the CIO to justify a custom solution or that screen shot of the dialog box you keep forgetting how to get to because you have to drill down so far to find it--this is a great photo op.

And if, for example, you were in the same room as Scott Guthrie in his red shirt, and he had something extraordinarily helpful about Windows Azure up on the screen, well, it would be nice to sock that photo away on your smartphone, wouldn't it?

And, after all, that's why you're here in the first place, right?