“Reminders work. At least on me.” I confessed in my previous CfP posting.

Well, guess what also works on me? Deadline extensions! I aim at making most (ehh, all) deadlines, but at times, I fail. And I have observed similar behaviour in others.

And therefore we have extended our CfP to 5 November 2008 (all fellow Europeans out there: “midnight 11/05/2008 PST” looks like mid May, but isn’t).

Some key points:

1. We’re looking at high quality presentations
2. We’re looking at innovation, i.e. *new* things
3. We’re looking at covering main areas of MySQL usage

Obviously, we want all three of the above. And despite the fact that we have 284 applications (a hundred more than at the same time last year), we still see some holes when it comes to some main areas of MySQL usage. So if you have recently innovated with MySQL in the Java area, or Windows, or combining MySQL with other Sun software such as GlassFish, NetBeans, OpenSolaris or OpenOffice, you may have a good chance at hitting a sweet spot.

Go propose!

Reminders work. At least on me. I try to Get Things Done (TM) efficiently, but slips do happen. And when they do, reminding me has a good chance to influence my priorities. I hope I’m not alone in this fallibility.

And therefore I want to remind you that you’ve still got two weeks to reply to our Call for Participation in the MySQL Conference and Expo in Santa Clara, California on 20-23 April 2009.

A few items to remember:

• We have plenty already, but we’re looking for more proposals. It does make our selection process harder (that’s when the Program Committee sits down and asks itself “what’s right for the conference and its participants”), but that’s a task that we are happy to work on.
• The theme of the conference is “Innovation Everywhere“, so put an emphasis on innovative proposals! Giuseppe has something to add on this.
• Look at Giuseppe Maxia’s suggestions on how to get your proposal accepted to the MySQL Conference 2009, or Baron Schwartz’s and Colin Charles’s respective suggestions from last year.
• This year, we will approve some sessions conditionally, meaning that the decisions we start making after the CfP has closed won’t necessarily be binary (accepted/rejected), so some of you may expect further contacts from us.

Looking forward to more proposals the upcoming two weeks. Why don’t you propose something innovative right now?

Innovation Everywhere! That’s the motto of the MySQL Conference & Expo 20-23 April 2009, in Santa Clara.

If April next year sounds like the distant future to you, then you’re evidently not planning to be a presenter. Since if you do plan to present, there’s a very close date relevant for you: 22 October 2008. That’s when the Call for Papers closes.

If you’re an innocent bystander and don’t plan on presenting, you may still enjoy lurking at the MySQL Conference Website, for instance looking at some of the full-length keynote videos already posted from the 2008 conference.

On the other hand, if you’re serious about presenting, there are three blog entries to start from, beyond the Call for Participation itself:

• Baron Schwartz’s “How to get your session accepted to MySQL Conference“. OK, so his header says 2008, but the tips are as valid as ever: Be different. Be specific. Be advanced. Be basic. Be hoarse. Be credible. Be free!
• Colin Charles’s List of 10. A similar list as Baron’s. Read it with care, as Colin’s our Program Chair for 2009!
• Giuseppe Maxia’s How to get your proposal accepted to the MySQL Users Conference 2009. This is updated for 2009. Approaching the same topic as Baron and Colin, I like Giuseppe’s tips:
  1. Make sure you know the subject you propose.
  2. Always assume that someone else has proposed the same topic.
  3. A good abstract is not too short.
  4. A good abstract is not too long.
  5. Don’t even try to advertise your company in a proposal.
  6. Read the posts by Baron and Colin again.

Finally, do note a point that Giuseppe makes: We will accept some proposals conditionally. If that happens, we will inform the authors that we need more material before the final acceptance. If the material is not provided, we replace the session with some other proposal. This is the most fair way we could think of to give everybody an equal chance to compete on merits when it comes to the final choices!

Looking forward to your proposals, and to meeting with you at the MySQL UC in a bit more than half a year!