Why I’ll Miss SQLBits XIV (Updated: I’m Going!)

UPDATE 30 Oct – Good news! The SQLbits organizers reversed course on this decision and let presenters opt out of the pre-con recordings. I’ve submitted sessions (including pre-cons) and I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll get accepted. Hope to see everybody in London! Here’s the original post:

I’ve glowed about how much I love SQLbits, but I’m going to have to miss the 2015 version. Session submission is going on right now, and the speaker contract includes a tricky line:

“If I am selected to present a Training day, then I understand that SQLBits may record the session. Distribution of the session, if undertaken, will only be to attendees of that Trainign Day, under a DRM license and for a fee. Speakers will receive a percentage of that fee, in addition to their normal fee for delivering the precon.”

Ooo, ouch. That’s a no-go for me.

In the past, I’ve given my SQLbits pre-con attendees free access to an online version of my pre-con as a nice-to-have perk. I’m all for it because I think it helps people keep the learning going after the conference, and it doesn’t cost our company much.

However, I’m not okay with someone else doing it, and the reasons might surprise you.

Live pre-cons have bugs. Sometimes a demo will fail, an attendee will ramble on with a question, the microphone will malfunction, the recording tools won’t copy the right portion of the screen, etc. I’m anal retentive about quality, so I record these in a controlled setting.

DRM is harder than it looks. Just ask the recording industry – they’ve been struggling with copy protection for decades. In our training site, we’ve put work into keeping the training usable for the audience while making it tougher for pirates to redistribute our stuff. I bet the SQLbits guys will put in similar efforts, but…I need to see it in action.

Training pays my rent. I love teaching, but I don’t just do it for the love. I need to make sure that I’m compensated fairly for my work. The contract has no mention of costs, and I have no bargaining leverage. It could be put on sale for $1, and I could get 1% of it.

So I won’t be a part of the next SQLbits, but I know it’s still going to be wildly successful. It’s always a ton of fun to attend (if it was here in the US, I’d still attend!), and I wish them the best of luck with this new phase of their journey.