I have to say, I really got a lot out of HIMSS09. Last year was my first HIMSS; in fact, I had just joined HCI’s editorial staff a few weeks earlier. So naturally, the conference was a bit of a blur.
This year, however, it was a different story. I chose educational sessions that featured CIO speakers, I was better prepared for the vendor meetings, and I was able to recognize (and approach) some of the people who’ve been featured in our publication, which led to some great discussions.
There was also the fact that HCI’s Innovator Awards reception was a big hit; the organizers hit it out of the park in terms of the location, the food, the music and the casual atmosphere. Great job to all the planners!
But my favorite part of this year’s HIMSS was definitely the HCI blogger dinner. On Tuesday night, a group of about a dozen people gathered at a nice Italian restaurant to enjoy a meal and actually get to speak with each other live and in-person. I really enjoyed meeting some my fellow bloggers face-to-face and hearing more about what makes each of them such interesting individuals.
Before the dinner, I had so many questions: Will Joe Bormel show up with graphs and charts? Does Pam Arlotto really look as young as her photo? Is Rich Temple as happy as he looks in the mug shot? Not only were these questions answered (no, yes and yes), but I also got to meet CIOs Dale Sanders and Mark Harvey, both of whom were great guys, and I got to speak further with Tim Tolan, who is also every bit as pleasant as he appears in his photo.
I was also lucky enough to meet two more bloggers over the course of the event: Travis Gathright and Drex DeFord (at least, I think that imposter was Drex).
All in all, it was a good show. But what meant more to me than anything else was finally being able to have exchanges with people that didn’t involve typing. Looking forward to meeting more of you in the future!
