CiscoLive is coming soon and I am working to get the inside scoop on what this all-digital event will be for the attendees. In my last post, I mentioned the contests that were coming – you can check that out here. Since then, the official CiscoLive announcement was published. You can read all about it here.
While you are there, notice that the virtual hat design contest is already looking for submissions. For anyone new to CiscoLive, the hat is a keepsake that you get when attending the Customer Appreciation Event. Of course, there is no in-person event this year so even the hat is going digital. But this year Cisco is looking to the attendees to design the hat. The winning design will be featured as add-on to pictures on social media platforms. Plus, the winner will get a nice prize. If you have any artistic kids out there, give them a shot at designing the hat. Just think how cool it would be for their design to be advertised globally by Cisco.
While contests are nice, they are not the main reason to attend the event. The team at Cisco is working hard to get some really good content. One thing we already know is how the event will be organized. The CiscoLive website shows us that there will be four channels: Possibilities, Innovation, IT Heroes, and IT Leadership. This means that there are only four stations available during the live event. While not all the details have been worked out, I can tell you that each channel will have some great speakers. For instance, we know that Susie Wee is a true innovator with what she is doing with the DevNet program – she would be a great speaker for the Innovation channel. IT Heroes will have the real technical people – could Tim Szigeti be handling one of the sessions in this channel? Of course, the IT Leadership channel will be designed for management. Chuck Robbins and his reports will be featured here. But it will not be just Cisco staff in these channels. The team is working hard to get special guest speakers and even some musical guests.
The event is still a few weeks away but more information is coming. Soon, Cisco will release the session catalog so everyone that registers will be able to pick their sessions. The catalog is more about knowing the content of the sessions as you will be able to channel surf. For instance, if you registered for an IT Heroes session but you find that it is not what you thought it would be, feel free to go to another channel like Possibilities. One thing to note though: only registered attendees will be able to channel surf so if you have not already done so head over to the site to register for the event. If you do not register, then you will only get to see the Innovation channel. The CiscoLive store is open and has some great merchandise. Cisco is stating that any merchandise ordered by May 20 will arrive in time to wear during the event.
It is time to start making preparations for the event. From what I have seen, there will be a lot of information available while watching the event. All this on-screen information means that a small screen may not be enough. If you can, use two monitors so you can watch the video on one while interacting on the other. Besides video content, there will be a chat feature for most of the channels as well access to other things like a virtual social media lounge where you will be able to see the top tweeters. To get on that list, just make sure to add #CiscoLive to your social media posts on your favorite social media sites. You may even get a prize for a great tweet. I am definitely looking forward to this event.