Like Ripples In A Pond

... OK, it's a bit of a cheesy title, but I think it accurately captures how my friends and colleagues in the SAS user world have been escalating their desire to understand and engage in the world of social media. I've been fighting the good fight in terms of spreading this message both internally and externally for close to a year now and it's great to see so many people listening and diving right in! I’m not so arrogant as to think it’s because of me, but it sure is nice to think I may have contributed in some small way. Consequently, those ripples just keep spreading further and further.

This week, I thought I would share a few stories which unambiguously wave the flag of utilitarian social media usage in a SAS context high in the sky. These are some of the ways in which we can all benefit from engaging and networking in these spaces, especially as SAS users and supporters.

Many of you are aware that we have LinkedIn and Facebook groups which serve as rallying points for city-based SAS users. Whether you're from Halifax or Victoria, a data mining practitioner or a health-based SAS user, there's a group for you! These are fantastic resources for connecting with other SAS users with similar interests and aptitudes in your area. In recent weeks I've had a couple of interesting exchanges in the LinkedIn groups.

The Health User Group is one which is near and dear to my heart. When I started working at SAS Canada over 3 years ago, it was the first user group which I completely 'owned': I worked with an executive committee of our customers to craft a thematic agenda, identified likely attendees and presented at the event. Little did I know then how fortunate I was: that particular user group is still one of the easiest to work with and one of the most engaged. At any rate, I posed a question: was there any specific topic or theme that the LinkedIn group wanted to explore at the April 1st meeting? Much to my delight, not only was there a response, but an offer to present as well! I couldn't be more thrilled; it's exactly this type of support, dialogue and engagement which really puts the proof in the pudding in terms of the value of these spaces. It’s all about giving SAS users what they want and what they need, and the easiest way is to simply ask them. Although I haven't yet met the guest speaker in person, I’m thrilled that I now have a new enthusiastic contact willing to share with the SAS user community.

I was also fortunate enough to travel to the home of SAS in Cary, North Carolina last week. I always return extremely energized and focused on my work and this time would prove no different. I was there to meet with development teams on the topic of the burgeoning SAS Canada Community Site, the development of which I've alluded to previously in other posts. The conversation was more than stimulating, and I even managed to wriggle onto a panel discussion at this year's SAS Global Forum. The topic: leveraging social media within the user group community. Right in my sweet spot, methinks! I do hope some of you will be there to help stimulate the discussion or at the very least, point and heckle. There's still lots of time to register and to take advantage of some pretty amazing discounts... and to prepare yourselves for the (in)famous Canada Night Out. I recommend plenty of rest, lots of fluids, and visualization techniques: focus on your glass being full, and it will be, courtesy of yours truly.

Finally, allow me to share the story of a brand new SAS user who was unsure what to do with his newfound SAS Certification (by the way, there's no better time to write your certification exam then at SAS Global Forum at a 15% discount). This individual reached out to me through a private LinkedIn message and I was able to connect him with two very generous, long-time SAS users who promptly offered to mentor him in how to best leverage his certification. This is nothing short of amazing post-graduation care, and offered by members of the greater SAS community no less!

It would be remiss of me to not acknowledge that Valentine's Day falls on this upcoming Monday. If you're like me, you've already taken care of your cards, flowers, chocolates, rings, and gifts... and you're praying it's enough to please. What did I miss? What did I forget? How did I screw this up? I'm grateful to Dave Thomas of New Marketing Labs for reminding me of one of my gaps through this video. Thanks, Dave, you’ve saved Valentine’s Day.

In the coming weeks: I'll take a closer look at some of the amazing presentations and activities that I'll be attending at SAS Global Forum and I'll also shine a spotlight on the upcoming user group season: who's been secured to speak? Where? When? All in good time, my friends, all in good time.

Until then...

That's the LAST Time I Hit Snooze On My Alarm Clock

Hello, SAS-ites everywhere! Allow me to be the first to wish you a very happy 2011... wait, you say that would've been appropriate a month ago? Where the heck was I, you ask? Now settle down, no need to get all worked up! The holiday season is a time for family, friends and food... and I certainly enjoyed all three of those, in spades, as I hope you did as well. Let's just say my 2011 'snooze' button was engaged more than a few times in early January... Still a long face? Sigh, okay...

Allow my first real words in 2011 to be a heartfelt apology; as the incomparable Nina Simone sang, I've 'been gone too long'... although I sure hope it ends up better for me than it did for her poor fella in the song! You guys are a forgiving, accomodating audience, aren't you?

To tell you the truth, part of my silence can be easily explained. I've been extremely focused on some potentially exciting news out of SAS Canada, especially for Canadian SAS users. Details are currently being finalized around a dynamic new forum for SAS support: the (still-to-be-named) SAS Canada Community Site!

What the heck is this, you might ask? Truthfully I'd be glad if you did ask (I'm not sure how I'd introduce the concept otherwise) as it gives me the opportunity to start talking about it in a lot more detail. The Community Site grew out of the ever-increasing primacy of social media as a delivery method for pertinent, useful information. Whether it's catching up on news, tweeting out an intriguing white paper, networking with other business professionals or developing our online persona through blogs and discussion forums, the number of SAS users who are helping to provide valuable, useful content to the world through this channel continues to grow. News and other information is now instantly accessible to all: for example, by the time I finish this blog post, my RSS feed will have populated with another 50-75 articles to read... and over the course of the evening I'll try to finish all of them!

Our first steps in social media were tentative and small: slowly but surely, SAS Canada has been increasing our presence in a few of the more popular networking spaces. If you search for your local user group in LinkedIn or Facebook, you'll find a community of SAS users ready and willing to connect and collaborate. You'll also find us all over Twitter: I myself tweet quite actively as do many other SAS staff members. We're comfortable in these spaces, we're motivated to share with you and we have something valuable to say. We're ready to take it to the next level and that's what the Community Site is all about. Canadian SAS users and SAS Canada staff will be posting original thought-leadership, collaborating in order to get the best out of their SAS applications, networking to business advantage and leveraging their knowledge in order to increase their online profiles. Blogs, discussion forums, instructor videos, course follow-ups: all this and much, much more will be headed your way over the next year.

You may be saying to yourself, "I've avoided social media and not noticed that I'm missing anything up until this point: why bother now"? A much more common question - and one that I've heard quite often over these last 6 months - is "who has the time to get involved"? It's this second question I'd like to address ; hopefully, I'll be able to quell your reservations and perhaps encourage you to consider joining us in the near future.

I myself do find the amount of information out there to be overwhelming at times. After all, we all have careers, commitments and concerns outside of work which rightly occupy much of our time. However I see this as a challenge, not a limitation. I can recall that 16 years ago during my undergraduate work at U of T (whoops, just dated myself!), I obtained my first email address (which is still active today: and yes, it's embarassing, so no, I'm not telling!). Getting in the habit of checking this new networking/information source took some time, but today - like most of you, I would wager - it almost feels like I check it in my sleep! Just as we all adapted to using email as a new, quicker and broader form of communication, so too is social media impacting the way we interact with each other today. I hope you'll take the same plunge with the SAS Canada Community Site that I did with email all those years ago. I think you'll find that you not only do have the time to get involved, you'll want to contribute to the community. Ultimately, you'll benefit greatly benefit from the information you gather and the connections that you make.

I'm being a little careful with exactly how much information I give out: I'm really excited about this, but I've learned to temper my big mouth with a little patience. The site will be shaping up over the next few months - I'll have updates for you, have no fear - and I hope to have it up and running by early spring. We'll need some beta-testers as well: a few people have already stepped forward, but I'm always interested in more opinions... so if you'd like to be a tester, just let me know in the comments or send me an email.

I'm glad to have found my online voice once again. I must admit I did miss writing, even if it's just to hear myself 'speak'. I'm very much looking forward to what 2011 will bring, in particular, I anticipate getting to know many of you much better and that prospect makes me grin from ear to ear.

Coming up soon: the spring 2011 user group schedule has been (almost) finalized: curious about when the next meeting is happening in your area? What about the agenda? I'll have details to come... plus, a few stories of my recent experiences with SAS users in the field and LOTS of info around SAS Global Forum.

Until then...

Celebration is in the Air

... and it may not just be the spirit of the season! We've finally arrived: the final user group meeting of 2010. It's hard to believe, to be honest... this has been such a busy, full year with so much to celebrate. I'll have a lot of numbers, testamonials and new developments to share with you in the coming weeks... so just because the meetings are done for now doesn't mean there won't be any more posts! Au contraire, I feel like I'm just warming up...

The last TASS meeting of the year will be taking place this Friday, December 17th: if you haven't yet registered, it's not too late! You'll find the full agendas of both meetings here, as well as opportunities to register. In addition to this being the last meeting of the year, it's also a cause for celebration: this is the 25th anniversary of TASS! One of the original members, Carl Clutton, will be regaling the group with tales of the early days of TASS... 20 people who paid yearly dues to attend the small sessions. Fast forward in time and we're now seeing over 200 people attending what has grown into a full day meeting experience. The morning portion of the meeting focuses on coding-related issues, and the afternoon on more point-and-click interfaces such as Enteprise Guide, JMP, and Enterprise Miner.

This TASS meeting will feature Chevell Parker, an exciting coup for SAS Canada! Chevell is an incredibly valuable member of the SAS family. A Microsoft Office/Excel guru, Chevell will be talking about maximizing output between SAS and Excel, as well as some FAQs around how the two applications mesh. We're very excited to have been able to 'steal' him from Cary for a few short days... and on his wife's birthday to boot! Thanks, Chevell.

Look forward to seeing many of you on Friday and I'll have more following the meeting: stay tuned...

Parade Held in Montréal for the Business Analytics Forum!

OK, so that's wishful thinking. The truth is that the Forum analytique d’affaires SAS de Montréal happened to coincide with the victory parade for the back to back champion Montréal Alouettes. They were wending their way through the heart of downtown to the joyful cries of fans braving the wet weather in order to salute their heroes. As a native Torontonian whose team was handily eliminated in the preceding round by said Alouettes, I suppose I can take some cold comfort in the knowledge that at least we were beaten by the champs. Félicitations, Montréal: bien fait!

This final trip to a host city was bittersweet. Perhaps it's because I know I won't see many of my friends and colleagues for months, if not a year. Or, perhaps it's because I find travelling the country and meeting such interesting people so invigorating: my next opportunity may be as far away as SAS Global Forum in Las Vegas in early April! It's hard to imagine. However I still had this final trip to take and I was looking forward to enjoying some of the fine dining for which Montréal is reknowned. I had a more-than-willing collaborator in Rick Miller of CIBC.

I've known Rick for a few years having first met him through former TASS President Rupinder Dhillion at a user group meeting early in my SAS career. A long-time SAS supporter and even longer serving CIBC employee, Rick is currently the Vice President of Credit Risk Data Solutions within the Risk Management division of the bank. Approachable and knowledgeable about business and technology, I was thrilled when he accepted my recent invitation to present at the Forum analytique d’affaires SAS de Montréal. His presentation had been seen at SAS Global Forum 2010 by the group's President, Loretto Chiovitti of Desjardins: not surprising as Rick has presented three times at Global Forum. Entitled 'Supercharged Analytics', the talk is a compelling look at the rationale, requirements and ramifications of going to an in-database processing structure for increased performance and productivity. You'll be able to find a copy at the group's website within the coming weeks, but if you can't wait simply email me: I'll be happy to send you an advance version.

Rick's presentation was extremely well-received and inspired quite a few questions. Next, Ronald Allard of SAS Canada took the talk to a more technical level by showcasing some of the in-database processing options available through a variety of SAS tools and applications. As SAS' Jean-Francois Michaud joined the two presenters for an open-room panel discussion, it was clear the audience had saved many of their inquiries for this moment and that the presentations had stimulated some curiosity. Questions and answers filled the room over a half-hour's time and it we actually had to curtail discussion a bit in order to fit in the prize draw! All in all, a very successful meeting.

If I may, a word or two about the amazing hospitality and friendliness of Montréalers. From the amazing cuisine and conversation at Cavalli the evening before or the delicious lunch following the meeting, SAS staff, user group executives and attendees alike were amazingly gracious and hospitable. Thanks for making my last road trip one I'll remember!

There's only one more meeting this calendar year: two weeks from now, the TASS meeting takes place at the SAS offices. We'll be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the group so if you're in the area and haven't registered, please do: it's a great way to close out the year.

I'll have more for you about TASS in the next few days... until then.

SAS Goes To A Ceilidh (Sort Of)

My manager Wally Thiessen was lucky enough to travel to beautiful Halifax for the SHRUG user group meeting last week. I say 'lucky' through gritted teeth set in a face tinged by the horrible green of jealousy... I absolutely adore Halifax and Nova Scotia in general and selfishly try to get out there myself as often as I can! I think I may have made a deal with SHRUG Dictator-for-Life (or the foreseeable future) John Fahey to ensure that my colleague Sylvain and I are able to join them for their spring meeting: John has amicably agreed to guarantee good weather... so how can we say no? But that is then, and this is now.

Wally was good enough to contribute a guest post for the blog this week. He's already given me very glowing reviews of the meeting in general, and this spells it out in a bit more detail. With no further ado, take it away, Wally!

Checking In With the SHRUG ‘Family’

It had been a few years since I last had the opportunity to visit the SHRUG user community, and I was curious to see how the group was faring. Ever since its formation in ’02, SHRUG has fostered a wonderful spirit of cooperation for sharing ideas— with the kind of kinship that you often find in a number of the user groups based in key cities across the country. They may be smaller in size, but certainly not in engagement and energy! It’s a real thrill to watch colleagues connect and pick up conversations which had been left at the last SHRUG meeting, and to clearly see how this community of SAS users goes out of its way to support each other outside the structured confines of the SHRUG meeting.

Of course I was not to be disappointed in this meeting either. Under the leadership of the SHRUG executive committee—John Fahey, Pan Andreou, Jo-Anne Douglas, Barry Campbell, Jill Casey and Martha Cox, I was pleased to find that the group was continuing to find new and interesting ways to encourage participation from everyone in the room. A series of shorter tips and tricks presentations from Lynn Lethbridge, Pan, and John provided enough new ideas to keep attendees’ synapses firing until well into the New Year! Prior to the break, Jill Casey, our emcee for the afternoon, asked everyone to introduce themselves, share a little bit about how they used SAS as well as one problem they had used SAS for in the past year (or alternatively, what they would like to use SAS for). Not only was this great fodder for future presentations (as Barry Campbell diligently noted everyone’s comments), but it also provided a terrific starting off point for networking during the break.

The interactive nature of the meeting continued as Gordon Flowerdew challenged everyone with a quiz on missing values, for which a series of prizes following the meeting were awarded. And by the time Peter Eberhardt had shared his content-filled 45 minute presentation on SAS dictionary tables, it certainly seemed as if people’s heads were ready to explode with the sheer volume of new SAS knowledge gained that afternoon. To end things off on a lighter note, I shared Matt’s social media presentation with the group as well as discussed some of our initial plans around building a Canadian community site to complement the SAS user group and insights e-newsletter programs. .. but more on that in the weeks and months to come.

To finish off the afternoon on a happy - if not completely sobering – note, the SHRUG gang invited Peter and I to join them at a popular local establishment called the Henry House - the historic home of William Alexander Henry, one of the fathers of Confederation. Although politics and history weren’t on the menu, good discussion on alcoholic and non-alcoholic topics ensued as Peter shared his passion for craft beer-making as well as the making of his DVD “Brewing Made Easy”. I thought I saw a glint in John’s eye as Peter expounded upon the DVD, perhaps hoping to put his newfound marathon skills to the test by running home to give it a first watch. While our plans for bringing SAS Global Forum to Halifax, or at least to Canada, didn’t get quite as fully formed as we would have liked, the company, the discussion, the food, and yes, the drink, were all top drawer, leaving us in healthy anticipation of the next SHRUG meeting in the spring!

W

Thanks Wally, and again: I'm very jealous! I hope I'll have great stories myself after the next SHRUG gathering.

As for me: well, I've reached the natural end of my Fall user group season with more than a little sadness. I'm off to Montréal tomorrow with Rick Miller of CIBC for the Forum Analytique d'Affaires SAS de Montréal meeting on Wednesday: I hope you can join us, and stay tuned for my feedback within a few days time.

Until then...

A Moustachio-ed Tim Trussell Returns to his Roots

One week after the Health User Group and I'm FINALLY able to pass on some great stories from the meeting! Boy oh boy, this backlog of blog posts has bothered me beyond belief. I'll be very pleased when I've caught up completely after this entry... I want to ensure I'm doing justice to everyone in an appropriate and timely fashion.

Last week's Health User Group meeting was notable for a few reasons. I would like to acknowledge Eugene Wen of CIHI who has stepped down as President of the executive committee after many years of sitting at the helm. Eugene steered a perfect route through the storm: he went out of his way to ensure that the mandate of the group - to support health industry professionals - was respected through and through. Health practitioners in Toronto, you'll be hard pressed to have as vocal and tenacious a champion again... thanks for all of your contributions, Eugene.

The second person I need to acknowledge is Ruth Croxford of ICES. I honestly don't know where to begin with Ruth. She's a tireless champion both of the Health User Group as well as the first person to step forward in order to support that community. Case in point: Ruth volunteered to not only research but deliver a large 'SAS Tips & Tricks' presentation specific to healthcare. The appreciative murmurs I heard running through the room told me that she hit the proverbial nail right on the head. Great job, Ruth, and thanks for personifying the spirit of the SAS user community so well.

Finally, I come to Mr. Tim Trussell. Those who know me are very well aware that Tim is a great friend of mine. Professionally and personally, he's been there for me above and beyond the call of duty.... and I'm not alone in this sentiment. In fact, Tim was the driving force (along with Ruth and Eugene) behind forming the health-specific user group around 5 years ago. His background is in epidemiology and statistics, meaning he speaks the language of the industry and understands the challenges, pains and priorities of this critical vertical. Given his demand as the analytics guru for SAS Canada, being able to secure his time for the meeting was a real coup and Tim certainly didn't disappoint (except in the patchy growth of his Movember moustache: to learn more and to sponsor him in this worthy cause, click here).

Tim's hour-long talk was on the topic of text analytics within the health industry, and I think it's fair to say that the presentation was both eye-opening and thought-provoking. Leveraging his intimate familiarity with all aspects of healthcare, Tim was able to bring forward non-Canadian examples of how text analytics is being used in new and dynamic ways in order to help parse health records, doctor's notes, journal articles, exit surveys, and much more. In fact, Tim's looking for some willing healthcare organizations here in Canada to help validate the utility of SAS' text analytics solution... and he's willing to make the solution available in order to do so! If this is of interest, definitely reach out to him via his email address to discuss further...

The meeting was a bit smaller than normal but this actually proved to be a boon, not a limitation. The intimacy of the room and the willingness of the presenters to engage with the audience ensured that the room was relaxed and ready to talk... and they sure did! I had a great conversation with a gentleman about the fact that it was Facebook's 'un-friend' day - ironic, considering that I was about to deliver a large social media-themed talk. All the same, I made note of some pleasant smiles and nods of understanding as I framed out SAS Canada's early social media forays specific to healthcare through the newly formed HUG LinkedIn group. A few individuals have already connected with me there and I'm looking forward to getting to know many more of you!

Tim was able to demonstrate the text analytics solution as a variety of scenarios and potential roadblocks were suggested by the group. Ruth's talk was punctuated by individuals validating or asking for further detail around one of her tips and tricks, and there was a lot of furious scribbling on SAS notepads. The sense of community and the desire to share knowledge was truly palpable, a consistent hallmark of this group. All in all, the meeting was a great success. It was really fun to watch Tim and the executive team help to set establish a warm, welcoming environment: my thanks to all of them for their assistance. I'll be posting the results of the evaluations in the LinkedIn group shortly for your feedback, and of course the presentations have already been posted at the Health user group site.

Next up: my manager is in Halifax attending the SHRUG meeting and will be guest-posting upon his return... and I learn to bellydance: with photographic evidence! Stay tuned...

SAS Presents: Kerry Blanchard in Ottawa!

As promised, I'm turning over this space to my colleague Kerry Blanchard. Many of you will know Kerry as an indispensable asset in the SAS user community. Assisting with user group logistics, analysis and support, she's definitely made my life easier and helped grow the user community through her bright personality and eagerness to contribute. With no further ado, over to you, Kerry! I'll have the Health User Group post ready for your consumption within a few days.

Musings from a TRUE Outlier
– by Kerry Blanchard

To begin my first guest blogging experience on Matt’s wonderful blog ‘Musings from and Outlier’, I must say I’m a little intimidated! I’ve read quite a few of his posts and he always writes with such eloquence, passion and pizazz that I don’t think that it’s at all possible to mimic the feel that he gives to his readers…but I’ll give it a shot!

As a TRUE newbie to SAS (a mere 6 months young) I was both nervous and excited to head out to my first on-the-road user group meetings for the Ottawa Area SAS Society (OASUS) and the Ottawa Platform User’s Society (OPUS.) Arriving the night before and staying in downtown Ottawa was such a nice experience as I’m familiar with the area having grown up about an hour away in Brockville. There is something about Ottawa that is so peaceful to me - I’m not sure if it’s the stunning beauty of the Parliament Buildings or the Chateau Laurier, or just the fact that it seems a lot less busy than downtown Toronto (even during rush hour!) – but it was nice to be back in a city that I knew and loved.

The morning of the meeting started bright and early and even though I made it to the National Arts Centre by 7:15 am, the executive committee was already hard at work setting up. I have to say a few ‘thank-yous’ here to the entire executive for making me feel so welcome even though I had never met any of them face-to-face. Hing-Poon Chan was diligently working at the sign-in table and cheerfully greeted me as I walked into the room. OASUS President John Ladds gave me such a warm smile I would have thought I was visiting a dear old friend. It was great to see that even though I thought I was an outsider, they definitely didn’t make me feel like one.From then on the day went quite smoothly. The sound, computer and equipment tests were all completed before the first guest arrived and the NAC staff was more than happy to get any little extra thing we asked for (they even photocopied more evaluation forms for us!) The only issue throughout the whole day occurred around 8:45 am when we realized that we wouldn’t have enough SAS pens for all the attendees. Now, we still aren’t 100% sure what happened, but somewhere between receiving 200+ pens in the mail from our Toronto office the day before and 8:44 am when most of them had been given out… well, let’s just say that they were ‘misplaced.’ I’d like to make a formal apology to the attendees of the OPUS meeting in the afternoon because of this unfortunate incident and I hope that many of you had brought your own pens which hopefully made up for it …but I will say this: someone out there must really be enjoying about 50 SAS pens right about now, and shame on you for not sharing with the others!

Regardless of this little mishap, OASUS and OPUS went flawlessly. We had a wonderful turn out with 132 people at OASUS in the morning, and although attendance was smaller in the afternoon, Joel Orr and the rest of the OPUS executive gave members who had attended the past five OPUS meetings with a token of their appreciation for being so dedicated. I have also been informed that this little ritual is going to continue, giving you all the more reason to make it out to the next OPUS meeting on June 1st (shameless user group plug, I know!) We also had some great presentations such as Robert West’s ‘SAS & Excel Targets’ in the morning, a pair of very detailed book reviews, a great explanation and demonstration of how to use OLAP cubes by Benoit Morin (I especially liked the NHL sample data he used) and a phenomenal panel discussion around the ‘Challenges of BI’ moderated by SAS’s Tara Holland in the afternoon.

As OPUS began to wind down at around a quarter-to-four I was suddenly struck by feelings of sadness. My on-the-road user group experience had just begun and it was already time to go home! The people I had met that day and the whole trip to Ottawa had been such a fun and educational experience that it didn’t feel right to just up and leave. It wasn’t until I was in the car on the way back to the airport did the excitement from the day begin to fade away and tiredness settled in.

I’m not sure where I’ll be next, but I’ve been told that I may get to experience more user group meetings on the road in the spring time. Will I get to experience the mountainous West, or possibly an ocean-side city in the East? Only time will tell. In the meantime I just want to let my new-found friends in Ottawa know that I am extremely grateful for the warm wishes and friendliness you showed me. Not only did you give me an experience I will never be able to repeat, it was also something I will never be able to forget.

Until next time…


Thanks for that great contribution, Kerry: I had no doubt you'd have a warm reception in Ottawa. Those two groups are standard bearers for community and support: thanks John and Joel for being yourselves and for once again surpassing expectations.

My brief hiatus from this space will resume a little later this week. As I mentioned earlier, I'll be writing about the Health user group meeting which took place last week within a few days... but my manager, Wally Thiessen, is headed out to the east coast with SAS legend Peter Eberhardt for some SHRUG-style user support: I have to admit, I'm incredibly jealous! I'm sure he'll have great tales to tell upon his return as well, and I've asked him to contribute an upcoming post as well.

Stay tuned, lots more to come!