We polled members of the Global WebSphere Community in January and the response was overwhelming in favor of holding an Unconference at Impact 2011. The WebSphere Unconference gives you, developers and IT professionals, the unique opportunity to present sessions, network and share topics you want to discuss. It’s a great way to speak freely with like-minded individuals and IBM experts in a non-staged environment. We invite you to join peers and influencers at the WebSphere Unconference during Impact 2011 on April 14. Talk with other IT professionals about the changes, challenges and opportunities they are facing and find out more about what they are doing to solve them.

Let us know what you would like to talk about

Submit ideas you would like to present and vote on the topics you would like to see discussed by visiting the WebSphere Unconference Uservoice forum. You can browse ideas already submitted, create new entries and vote on the topics that interest you the most. Ideas submitted online will be posted on-site on a grid posted in the exhibition hall where you can continue to add and vote on topics with paper and pen. Everyone who attends the WebSphere Unconference will be encouraged to participate in some way whether it’s presenting a topic or interacting with developers in roundtable discussions. Ask the deep questions. Pull in the best people to make the conversations worth your time.

Discuss your challenges and opportunities with other customers, peers and experts

During the Unconference, session topics can be added or modified in response to your feedback in real time. You can choose to submit session topics and vote on them in advance or during the Impact conference. Participants are encouraged to move from one presentation to another to engage with their colleagues. Simple guidelines put forward at the event will ensure this all happens smoothly. We're glad to announce that DeveloperWorks and the Global WebSphere Community will be sponsoring this year's WebSphere Unconference. This event for developers by developers. 

Attend the WebSphere Unconference on April 14th at IBM Impact 2011

We encourage Impact attendees to leave comments on the Unconference topics to guide topic generation and revise the agenda as more people join into discussion. Watch twitter for hashtags #unconference with #IBMImpact to see topics, scheduling and live-blogging from the sessions. Interact with the Unconference forum from Facebook. Post your photos and video to your social channels with the same tags. See schedule updates and event information during the conference on the GWC Impact Zone and the Impact event blog.

Here are the top 5 reasons for Software Developers to attend IBM Impact 2011. Please feel free to embed or share this presentation slide on your social networks and with your contacts. 

See the latest speaker updates for keynote general sessions on the IBM Impact event pages.

We have an exciting November WebSphere User Group meeting in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina at the IBM Software Group customer briefing center.

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Kevin Sutter. He is a subject matter expert for WebSphere Application Infrastructure... ...It was good to catch up with Kevin for a look at the Java Persistence technology and it's usefulness to java developers... Read on...