... the folks with the blogs, anyway. Check any Autodesk-oriented blog within the past and next week, and you'll read about what works and doesn't work, at Autodesk University. There are definitely some good things to know, but I'll stand by my old standby - don't be shy!
Across the table at lunch, ahead or behind you in the food line, the next seat in class or lab. Strangers. They don't have to be. You don't know them. You can. All it takes is to open up and say hi.
It sounds cliche to say that everybody there is interested in the same subject. But really, it's a MASSIVE understatement. We're all interested to the point that we travelled, some of the crowd halfway around the planet, to be there. In many cases, we're there out of our own pocket. Yer darned right we're interested! Get us started, and the hard part is to shut us up.
So you really have nothing to lose, and you will gain many things: insights, friends, connections, recognition, respect from, respect for... and wait a sec, here...
I was wrong, you do have some things to lose. Boredom, certainly. The whole thing is much more fun when you participate. I used to be a generally shy type. I lost that at AU and now I apply this tip to any situation I find myself, and it's like I said, the hard part is to shut me up ;-) So how about that, the cure for shyness is not being shy. Nerd-zen!
See you there - and say hi to the big guy in black. No, the other one... Did you just say to yourself, "BOTH?" You're ready for AU!
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