[English] Devs on Tape x DOAG K+A 2023 - It's all about the ACE! - Jennifer Nicholson

00:00:00: [Music]

00:00:14: Hello and welcome to another episode of

00:00:15: DEVS on Tape.

00:00:16: Today in English again because we have

00:00:18: an English guest here.

00:00:20: We are talking today about the

00:00:21: tremendous work in the ACE program from

00:00:23: our guest today.

00:00:24: So yeah, in the podcast I cannot ask for

00:00:27: a warm round of warm applause.

00:00:29: No warm round of applause.

00:00:30: But we are imagining that we have it here.

00:00:32: Hello and welcome Jennifer Nicholson.

00:00:34: Thank you so much for having me.

00:00:36: Yeah, we are very interested to learn

00:00:38: more about the ACE program,

00:00:40: about the history and for the future of

00:00:43: the ACE program.

00:00:43: So maybe you can just introduce yourself

00:00:45: for our listeners.

00:00:47: My name is Jennifer and I've been with

00:00:48: Oracle since 2014.

00:00:51: So nine years and most of that time I

00:00:54: was actually in marketing for seven

00:00:56: years and I've been in the database org

00:00:58: since 2021.

00:01:00: And with the exception of about six or

00:01:05: seven months,

00:01:06: I've been with the ACE program the whole

00:01:07: time.

00:01:07: We can talk more about that.

00:01:10: And then I also, I kind of have two hats.

00:01:12: That's an American expression I think.

00:01:15: But you know, one hat's the ACE program

00:01:16: and then the other part of my job is I

00:01:18: work with user groups, so about 40

00:01:20: Oracle user groups.

00:01:21: So I feel like I have one of the best

00:01:24: jobs in all of Oracle.

00:01:26: I feel very lucky.

00:01:28: That's great.

00:01:28: So was it a marketing perspective to

00:01:31: create the ACE program?

00:01:33: So was it out of a marketing initiative

00:01:36: to expose the experts of the technology

00:01:39: to spread the word?

00:01:40: Exactly.

00:01:41: Yeah.

00:01:41: So it started in 2005 and actually in the

00:01:45: very beginning there were Oracle

00:01:47: employees in the program too.

00:01:48: So it has changed over time, but it

00:01:51: started with just the ACE director level

00:01:54: and then over time we now have three

00:01:57: levels, associate pro and ACE director

00:01:59: to kind of make, kind of open it up to

00:02:02: more types of members.

00:02:03: But yes, so 2005 is when it started.

00:02:07: So do you have a number of experts that

00:02:10: are currently in the program?

00:02:11: Yeah, we have around 430.

00:02:13: I don't know the exact number right now,

00:02:15: but and from 48 countries.

00:02:17: So that's the nice thing is entirely

00:02:20: global and you don't, it's even though

00:02:23: we're American company, people can be

00:02:27: contributing in their native language

00:02:28: entirely.

00:02:29: So it's really open to everybody.

00:02:32: Is there a country you have in mind

00:02:35: which don't have any ACEs yet, which

00:02:37: you want to?

00:02:38: That's a good question.

00:02:39: Let's see, because percentage-wise we

00:02:45: have the most ACEs in Europe.

00:02:48: Oh, really?

00:02:48: Yes.

00:02:49: And if you look at our directory,

00:02:52: it's surprising that Switzerland has a

00:02:55: lot of ACEs.

00:02:55: It's so tiny.

00:02:57: I'm not sure what to make of that.

00:02:59: But is there a particular country?

00:03:01: No, but I think we really hope to grow

00:03:04: the program more in Latin America

00:03:06: and in Asia Pacific.

00:03:08: That's kind of where we're hoping to get

00:03:10: even more members.

00:03:11: Talking about the growth, is it the plan

00:03:15: from the ACE program or especially from

00:03:17: you to expand the program to as many

00:03:20: experts as possible or is there a gap or

00:03:23: do you have any goals?

00:03:24: Like we want like 500 and then we see.

00:03:26: I've actually gotten that question a

00:03:28: bunch is, do you have a limit to the

00:03:31: number that you want or is there a goal?

00:03:33: And actually we obviously want to

00:03:35: increase the number of ACEs we have.

00:03:38: However, more is not better.

00:03:41: We want quality people in our program.

00:03:44: And even though, yes, it's over 400

00:03:47: people, so it's big enough so that you

00:03:49: can meet people from all over and

00:03:51: working with all different Oracle

00:03:52: products, but it's also small enough so

00:03:55: that it's a real community and family so

00:03:58: that you can reach out to people and in

00:04:01: the program if you need help and it's

00:04:03: just a great group of people that they

00:04:04: help each other too.

00:04:06: So yeah, we don't want more members just

00:04:09: for the sake of reaching a certain number.

00:04:12: No, but I think our challenge in getting

00:04:15: more members really is getting the word

00:04:17: out more about the program.

00:04:19: So even though it's been around, you

00:04:21: know, for a long time, Oracle is very

00:04:24: big and, you know, it goes through many

00:04:27: changes and still a lot of people

00:04:29: internally aren't familiar with the

00:04:31: program.

00:04:31: So, and yeah, I think that's one challenge.

00:04:35: So I don't know if it's the right word,

00:04:38: but is there a high fluctuation in the

00:04:41: number of experts?

00:04:42: So like I saw it in LinkedIn, this is my

00:04:44: personal opinion or my personal view on

00:04:46: that.

00:04:46: I saw many people joining recently.

00:04:48: This might be a thing of the

00:04:50: communication.

00:04:51: So this was increased that more postings,

00:04:54: more announcement that new aces are on

00:04:56: board, but are there many associates that

00:04:58: are like going out of the program

00:05:00: recently or very fast, or is it like

00:05:03: they're joining and staying for it?

00:05:04: Right, right.

00:05:05: So that's a good question.

00:05:07: Every, even historically, so not just

00:05:10: since, and we can talk about the program

00:05:12: relaunching in 2022, but there's always

00:05:16: a certain amount of turnover every year.

00:05:18: So when you, when you get the ACE

00:05:21: recognition, it's for a year period,

00:05:23: which matches Oracle's fiscal year.

00:05:24: So it's June 1st to May 31st.

00:05:27: So every June we review all of our

00:05:30: members to see, you know, look at their

00:05:34: contributions and see if they, one should

00:05:36: be promoted because that's the chance to,

00:05:38: you know, move from associate to pro.

00:05:40: And then that's the time when also some

00:05:44: people may fall off.

00:05:44: So we totally recognize that what aces

00:05:48: are doing is in their personal time.

00:05:50: So it's, it's all about your community

00:05:54: contributions.

00:05:54: So if it's part of your job, that's not,

00:05:57: that's not considered an ACE activity.

00:05:59: So, you know, during our lives, right,

00:06:01: we have times when we have more work

00:06:04: commitments, more family commitments,

00:06:06: you know, health.

00:06:07: So people have more time to contribute

00:06:11: sometimes versus others.

00:06:12: So we understand that.

00:06:14: And the nice thing is we have, you know,

00:06:16: some members that things come up and

00:06:18: they move to alum and then their lives

00:06:20: change and then they can move back into

00:06:22: the program.

00:06:22: So this is exactly what happened to me

00:06:25: back then.

00:06:26: Right.

00:06:26: So I was in the ACE program in this

00:06:29: first iteration.

00:06:30: We're going to talk about that later.

00:06:31: What, what's between the relaunch and

00:06:33: the historic or the older ACE program.

00:06:35: And for German listeners, I already told

00:06:37: the, told the story, but I can do it in

00:06:39: English again.

00:06:40: So I was starting at ACE and then went to

00:06:43: the next step, like ACE associate, then

00:06:45: ACE and right before COVID, where all

00:06:49: points and statuses were frozen.

00:06:51: I went to alumni because four years ago,

00:06:53: my daughter was born.

00:06:54: And then right after, like when my

00:06:56: daughter was old enough, I was rejoining

00:06:58: the new program as associate again.

00:07:00: And this exactly happens.

00:07:02: I guess this is a normal life cycle,

00:07:04: right?

00:07:04: So developers are starting or DBAs or

00:07:06: whatever are starting in the Oracle

00:07:07: database environment, getting better,

00:07:09: going into the ACE program, step up, and

00:07:12: then life changes.

00:07:13: Right.

00:07:13: So then they fall off the program or

00:07:16: get alumni and then come back when the

00:07:18: time, time is ready for that.

00:07:20: So.

00:07:20: Yeah, I actually think we, we did a deep,

00:07:24: deep dive already into the program.

00:07:27: But in German.

00:07:28: No, no.

00:07:28: Currently, because I would like to jump

00:07:31: to the beginning.

00:07:32: So that's what I wanted.

00:07:34: And you, we, we all know, or we already

00:07:38: talked about it here that we have

00:07:40: technical ACEs like developers and DBAs

00:07:43: and I don't know when you go, so.

00:07:46: August 2022.

00:07:47: Yeah.

00:07:48: You launched also the community ACEs.

00:07:50: Yes.

00:07:50: And maybe you can talk a bit about why

00:07:52: did you do that and how many do we have

00:07:56: community ACEs?

00:07:56: I don't know the exact number off the top

00:08:00: of my head, but you can go to the

00:08:02: ACE.oracle.com/directory and you can

00:08:04: sort by that.

00:08:05: But I, I want to guess it's maybe five to

00:08:10: 10% of our ACEs, but yeah.

00:08:13: So the program was always about people's

00:08:16: technical contributions.

00:08:18: So their blog posts, their presentations,

00:08:20: et cetera.

00:08:20: But with the relaunch of the program,

00:08:22: there's so many people that work really

00:08:26: hard supporting the Oracle community.

00:08:29: So whether it's, it's doing what you're

00:08:31: doing now or it's organizing events,

00:08:35: meetups, conferences, reviewing call for

00:08:38: papers for conferences, doing newsletters.

00:08:41: There's so many different things that

00:08:42: you're still helping the Oracle community,

00:08:45: but it's not a, you know, considered a

00:08:47: technical contribution.

00:08:48: So we really wanted to recognize those

00:08:50: people too.

00:08:51: And so that's why we have the technical

00:08:54: ACEs now, which again are most of them,

00:08:55: but then the community ACEs too, so that

00:08:57: they're part of the, the, our ACE community

00:09:00: also.

00:09:01: So is it, is it possible that a community

00:09:04: ACE could be ACE director, for example?

00:09:07: Are those the same steps?

00:09:08: Yes.

00:09:09: So community ACEs are just associates

00:09:12: and pros because the key difference

00:09:15: between directors and the other two

00:09:17: levels is their relationship with Oracle

00:09:19: product management.

00:09:20: So every ACE director has at least one

00:09:23: contact in product management and they

00:09:25: have, you know, regular communications

00:09:28: giving product feedback or the product

00:09:30: manager goes to them and, and, you know,

00:09:33: maybe they are testers for something or,

00:09:37: you know, they, they really have a strong

00:09:38: relationship and that's not everybody,

00:09:41: right?

00:09:41: Because it, one, it takes time, a lot more

00:09:44: time.

00:09:44: And then, so yes, so the ACE directors

00:09:47: have to have that technical aspect.

00:09:50: So that's why community ACEs can't be ACE

00:09:52: directors.

00:09:53: Yeah.

00:09:54: And I really like this additional status

00:09:57: or the, the other ACE type, because for

00:10:00: example, I went to the Polish user group

00:10:04: sometimes and Ruiza's always organizing

00:10:08: everything and I, I always get her emails

00:10:12: about the new information and I think

00:10:15: it's really great that she's also

00:10:17: appreciated like an ACE.

00:10:19: Exactly.

00:10:20: For her work.

00:10:21: Yeah.

00:10:21: She's a good, great example of somebody

00:10:24: that does a lot in the community, but not,

00:10:26: not technical.

00:10:27: Yeah.

00:10:27: So.

00:10:28: So in the program, when we are contributing

00:10:31: and entering our new activities, there's

00:10:34: also the separation, even for the technical

00:10:36: ACEs that if they contribute or like doing

00:10:39: a podcast episode, which is not always

00:10:41: technical or in-depth technical, then we

00:10:42: can contribute and say, yeah, this is not

00:10:45: a technical contribution.

00:10:46: And then we have this different points

00:10:48: that were, that are counted, right?

00:10:50: So technical content, you have to reach

00:10:52: them to be, to be in technical ACE.

00:10:54: And then you have the, the sum of that,

00:10:57: everything together, which has another

00:10:59: level you should reach.

00:11:00: Right.

00:11:00: So as I counted, right, I have like about

00:11:03: 300 points and 75 to 80 are just for the

00:11:06: community stuff, like the, the non-technical

00:11:09: content.

00:11:09: Yeah.

00:11:09: So you're right.

00:11:10: So for the technical ACEs, we have a

00:11:13: minimum amount of points you need to have.

00:11:16: And then of those points, a certain amount

00:11:19: need to be technical.

00:11:20: Yeah.

00:11:20: And just in case listeners aren't familiar

00:11:23: with what we're talking about.

00:11:24: So we have again, three levels in the

00:11:26: program, associate, pro and ACE director.

00:11:29: And the reason we came up with these

00:11:32: points is because without them, the

00:11:36: program isn't as transparent to people.

00:11:39: So many want to know, okay, I really want

00:11:42: to reach a higher level.

00:11:44: How do I do that?

00:11:45: And so this makes it much easier to

00:11:48: understand, well, this is what I need to

00:11:49: do to be an associate, a pro, et cetera.

00:11:52: So it really, the transparency makes it

00:11:55: nice.

00:11:56: So for the technical ACEs, that's why the

00:11:59: amount needed is those points are higher.

00:12:02: So we have an app in Apex.

00:12:05: It's amazing for some biased, but it's

00:12:08: super easy to use.

00:12:09: And then that's why you can see a whole

00:12:11: list of all the different contribution

00:12:12: types.

00:12:13: Yeah, that's great.

00:12:15: So I can't really remember if it was a

00:12:18: thing back then, but was a kind of a

00:12:20: high score list.

00:12:21: So, so for now we cannot see the points

00:12:24: from different ACEs.

00:12:26: So I cannot see Carol's points to see

00:12:28: someone was, was, was promoted on which

00:12:31: base was it?

00:12:32: So is he really a high, high, high

00:12:34: contributor, like three or four times

00:12:36: the points necessary.

00:12:38: So director or pro, absolutely correct.

00:12:41: Oh, so, so this would be the next step to

00:12:43: be transparent to see, but it's also

00:12:46: controversial to see.

00:12:47: So no one gets the competition.

00:12:48: Really the only points an ACE needs to

00:12:51: worry about is their own, to see which

00:12:53: level they are.

00:12:54: Because, and also there, you can have

00:12:57: many, many, many times over the amount of

00:12:59: points needed to be an ACE director.

00:13:01: And many of our pros have a lot of

00:13:04: contributions.

00:13:05: And that doesn't necessarily mean they

00:13:08: should be an ACE director, because again,

00:13:10: it's that, that relationship with product

00:13:12: management.

00:13:12: How many, so again, I could, I could go to

00:13:16: the page and go to the directory and sort

00:13:18: it, but, all right.

00:13:20: So our listeners don't see that Jen is

00:13:23: taking out her phone and watching.

00:13:25: I should have it memorized.

00:13:26: Yeah.

00:13:27: So obviously, obviously directors are not,

00:13:30: are more seldom than, than the pros.

00:13:32: Right.

00:13:32: So not everyone is getting a director.

00:13:34: So I don't really know how many we have.

00:13:37: We might have a look.

00:13:38: We have about 72 or so ACE directors.

00:13:42: Right.

00:13:43: And 71, 72.

00:13:44: Around the world.

00:13:45: Around the world.

00:13:45: Yes.

00:13:46: Yes.

00:13:46: Mostly from Switzerland.

00:13:48: No, no, that's most of the ACEs, but yeah.

00:13:51: So, and really what traditionally happens

00:13:55: is, and when the program relaunched is we

00:13:57: had a lot of associates, so people typically

00:14:00: join as an associate and then it's kind of

00:14:03: expected that they, they move to pro at the

00:14:07: next review cycle.

00:14:09: So we have a lot of people that get promoted

00:14:11: every, every June.

00:14:13: So.

00:14:13: So just because you speak of a promotion

00:14:16: for our listeners, what are the criteria to

00:14:20: get promoted from associate, which is the

00:14:23: first level or the starter level to pro, and

00:14:27: then also to a director?

00:14:29: Yeah.

00:14:29: So within the app, all the ACEs can see the

00:14:34: breakdown of points of what's needed.

00:14:36: So it's not transparent to the public, the

00:14:41: exact points, but once you're in the program,

00:14:43: you can see exactly how many you need to

00:14:46: move up.

00:14:46: And then, like I mentioned, the, the key

00:14:50: thing is not just the relationship for, with

00:14:53: product management for the director level.

00:14:55: It's also them, you know, they have to be

00:14:58: supporting your nomination too.

00:15:00: So that's the big difference.

00:15:02: And then there's also different benefits that

00:15:03: go along with every program, with every level.

00:15:06: And I have to say, I know you talked about

00:15:09: the other similar programs with other

00:15:11: companies in the previous episode, but the

00:15:14: ACEs really get a lot of cool benefits and I

00:15:17: can talk about those, but I don't know if I

00:15:19: answered your, your question for me.

00:15:21: Yeah.

00:15:21: Yeah.

00:15:22: Okay.

00:15:22: I mean, like something to add, so you have

00:15:24: to reach the points obviously, and you can

00:15:26: track them, which each and every contribution

00:15:28: you enter that, you see something pending

00:15:30: and it gets approved.

00:15:31: And then you see how many points you have.

00:15:33: And then there are some additional things

00:15:35: like you have to start as an associate.

00:15:37: Definitely.

00:15:37: You cannot join like for director directly.

00:15:40: I think it was something which Roald Hartman

00:15:42: mentioned that back in the days when he

00:15:44: started into the program, this was possible.

00:15:46: This is not possible anymore.

00:15:47: Right.

00:15:48: And you have to go through all the stages

00:15:50: and it is for every cycle, right?

00:15:51: Like six months or yeah, six months, I guess.

00:15:54: So generally you're in the program for a year

00:15:57: before you move up.

00:15:59: Yes.

00:15:59: And I wouldn't say that zero people start

00:16:02: at pro occasionally it happens, but it's,

00:16:04: it's definitely not the norm.

00:16:06: Yeah.

00:16:06: But one thing I want, I should have said

00:16:08: this in the very beginning, cause we're

00:16:09: talking a lot about points, but to go to

00:16:13: the, the root of the program is the ACEs

00:16:18: love helping other people.

00:16:21: So they love sharing their knowledge.

00:16:23: And you know, a lot of ACEs got started

00:16:25: because they had a problem and they worked

00:16:29: to get a solution and they thought, you

00:16:31: know what, I'm just going to start a blog

00:16:33: and do this blog for myself, not for other

00:16:36: people, just to kind of document this, this

00:16:39: issue and how I solved it.

00:16:40: And that's how a lot of ACEs get started

00:16:42: blogging and get into the program, which

00:16:44: is nice.

00:16:44: So it's about not doing it with a goal of,

00:16:47: yes, I want to be an ACE.

00:16:48: Hopefully, I hope that people are doing it

00:16:51: because that's, that's their nature and

00:16:53: they, they get excited about sharing and

00:16:55: helping other people.

00:16:56: They, they, they should look onto the

00:16:57: program as more than a recognition from

00:17:00: Oracle, not as an, a goal for them to

00:17:02: reach as soon as possible.

00:17:04: Right.

00:17:04: Yes.

00:17:04: Yeah.

00:17:05: So talking about the benefits.

00:17:07: So I, I, I don't really know what a shame,

00:17:10: but there's kind of a community award.

00:17:13: This is something different to, to the,

00:17:15: to the benefits at all.

00:17:16: Right.

00:17:17: So I saw that, that there are kind of

00:17:19: award in there.

00:17:20: So I have to research that, but

00:17:21: maybe you mean the award certificate.

00:17:24: Is that what you mean?

00:17:25: Or do you mean the community ACEs?

00:17:28: Yeah, it's, it's within the community

00:17:30: ACEs, definitely.

00:17:31: Maybe, maybe ask a new question.

00:17:33: I can talk a little bit about it.

00:17:35: Maybe this will answer it.

00:17:36: So there's the awards differ.

00:17:39: Okay.

00:17:40: By, by the level.

00:17:41: So something everybody gets is we have

00:17:44: two different types of meetings every

00:17:47: month.

00:17:47: So one of the benefits of being in the

00:17:49: program is for the ACEs to get to know

00:17:53: Oracle product managers so that they can

00:17:56: know who to go to if they have questions

00:17:58: or so they know who to follow to get

00:18:00: information.

00:18:01: Right.

00:18:01: So at least once a month, we have a

00:18:04: product manager or a team come in and

00:18:07: present to the ACEs.

00:18:08: The nice thing I think is we have

00:18:11: meetings, not just a webinar that's

00:18:14: recorded and you, you can't, you know,

00:18:16: ask questions directly.

00:18:18: It's meant to be a conversation so that

00:18:22: you know, it's, it's more casual and you

00:18:24: can get the information you need and get

00:18:26: to know that product manager.

00:18:27: And you know, they can, can get to know

00:18:29: you a little bit too.

00:18:30: So we have one to two meetings a month

00:18:33: that focused on product.

00:18:35: And then the other meeting we have for

00:18:37: ACEs is the program update meeting.

00:18:39: And that's where we have a lot of guest

00:18:42: speakers.

00:18:42: So we've had a lot of ACEs are interested

00:18:45: in writing a book, but don't know where

00:18:47: to start.

00:18:48: So we had Oracle press come in and talk

00:18:49: about writing books.

00:18:50: We've had one of our ACEs, ACE directors,

00:18:54: Tim Hall has Oracle base and he talked to

00:18:57: the ACEs about blogging.

00:18:59: We've had Connor McDonald talk about

00:19:00: presenting.

00:19:02: We've had Oracle university come in and

00:19:04: talk about certifications because all

00:19:06: ACEs, all levels get a free certification

00:19:10: voucher every year.

00:19:11: I'm sure I'm for, cause we have so many

00:19:13: guest speakers.

00:19:14: I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but the

00:19:16: program updates are more about, I guess

00:19:19: more about building your career.

00:19:21: Whereas the product updates are obviously

00:19:23: technical and about product stuff.

00:19:24: So those are, those are two, two types of

00:19:27: meetings that really help all the ACEs.

00:19:29: So even if you know, you're an associate,

00:19:31: so, and we, they get certificates, digital

00:19:34: certificates, and we have networking

00:19:38: events.

00:19:39: That's something everyone is entitled to

00:19:42: or invited to come to.

00:19:44: So this is my third conference in a week

00:19:46: and a half.

00:19:47: So for each conference we have, for

00:19:51: example, at this one, we had a cave

00:19:53: tours, underground cave tours, and then an

00:19:55: ACE dinner.

00:19:56: So not just a dinner where you can, you

00:19:58: know, get to know the people at the

00:20:01: dinner, just in that setting, but the

00:20:03: adventures, we call them ACE adventures

00:20:06: are nice and you get to go somewhere fun.

00:20:08: Yeah.

00:20:09: So at CloudRoad, we did a trip to the

00:20:11: Grand Canyon.

00:20:13: This CloudWorld, we did kayaking trip,

00:20:16: which was amazing.

00:20:17: We did an Oxford tour.

00:20:19: We did, you know, we go to museums, like

00:20:21: all different, different kinds of things.

00:20:23: So.

00:20:23: And that's also new, right?

00:20:24: Though I cannot remember the, the, that

00:20:27: there was any ACE adventure like a couple

00:20:30: of days ago.

00:20:30: No, the ACE adventures are new.

00:20:31: And then we try to pick things that are

00:20:34: specific to the town where we're doing

00:20:37: the adventure.

00:20:38: So something you can't do anywhere else.

00:20:42: Sure.

00:20:42: So now I know what I was confused with,

00:20:45: with the award word.

00:20:47: So in the FAQ of the ACE program, there

00:20:50: are the point guidelines and it's called

00:20:52: level for tech award.

00:20:53: Okay.

00:20:54: So this is meant that the tech award

00:20:56: would be Oracle ACE Associate Pro or

00:20:58: Director and the community award is not

00:21:01: a award, like some kind of, of trophy.

00:21:05: It's just the title of the level, right?

00:21:08: Yeah.

00:21:09: So we got that solved too.

00:21:10: I did my research after beginning the

00:21:13: talk, right?

00:21:14: Multitasking.

00:21:15: So we have a big list of benefits, right?

00:21:17: So you already talked about that.

00:21:19: You can have on each and every level,

00:21:21: the certification, certification voucher.

00:21:24: You have like, we got merch.

00:21:25: Yeah.

00:21:26: I have my Oracle ACE bottle with me and

00:21:30: my Oracle ACE socks and my backpack.

00:21:33: Yeah.

00:21:34: I got my hoodie, my ACE hoodie with me

00:21:36: this time.

00:21:37: And I guess this comes with the promotion

00:21:40: or entering the program, we got different

00:21:41: kind of merch, right?

00:21:42: Yeah.

00:21:43: So when you join the program, you get

00:21:45: kind of our onboarding package.

00:21:46: So you, well, the listeners can't see it,

00:21:49: but I've got an Oracle ACE polo on.

00:21:52: And then like, like you mentioned, the

00:21:54: hoodie.

00:21:54: Soft shell jackets.

00:21:56: I guess I had one or I was expecting to

00:21:59: get one or something.

00:22:00: There are a couple of merch stuff, right?

00:22:02: There's a lot of different items.

00:22:04: Yeah.

00:22:04: We had cool AI generated avatars.

00:22:08: I met them too.

00:22:08: And I was very excited to get them.

00:22:11: And then I was very frightened to see

00:22:13: them because they were so photorealistic.

00:22:15: And I saw them as like Captain America.

00:22:17: Yes.

00:22:17: My wife was laughing like two days

00:22:20: after I saw them.

00:22:21: And yeah, you have different benefits for

00:22:24: the different levels, right?

00:22:25: So we have very much on the entrance

00:22:27: level.

00:22:28: So most of the things you can have

00:22:30: directly when you're an associate.

00:22:31: And then you have ACE Pro, stuff like an

00:22:33: Oracle CloudWord Conference Pass, which

00:22:35: is pretty nice, I think.

00:22:37: And you have, and this is what I use at

00:22:39: most, an Oracle Cloud account with like

00:22:42: $5,000 in credits.

00:22:45: Yes.

00:22:45: And I don't know if you've noticed, but

00:22:47: the credits burn down much slower than

00:22:52: other cloud accounts.

00:22:53: So it's really nice for ACEs to be able

00:22:55: to use.

00:22:56: And the idea is we want you playing with

00:23:00: Oracle Cloud and a lot of the ACEs use

00:23:03: their cloud account to create demos for

00:23:04: their presentations or so.

00:23:07: This is exactly what I would have said

00:23:09: like four, no, five, six years ago.

00:23:12: I was saying, okay, we are presenting,

00:23:14: we are talking about new stuff and new

00:23:16: features.

00:23:17: We should get something like that.

00:23:19: Yes.

00:23:19: And now we got it.

00:23:20: And this is perfect because, I mean,

00:23:22: it's an open information for everyone,

00:23:25: but we got more points, but not let talk

00:23:28: about points when we are promoting or

00:23:31: going into the cloud techniques, right?

00:23:33: So every one of us were developing,

00:23:34: doing database stuff, and we were not

00:23:37: directly going to the cloud with

00:23:38: everything.

00:23:39: So there was a point where we say, yeah,

00:23:41: it would be great to see more content

00:23:44: with cloud stuff, but to do it, we need

00:23:46: cloud access.

00:23:47: And now we get cloud access to every

00:23:49: single thing we can have.

00:23:50: We can even like start an Exadata

00:23:53: database.

00:23:54: I mean, those points are burning.

00:23:55: It doesn't need to be an ACE account to

00:23:59: have it like slow down, but technically

00:24:02: we can use everything in the Oracle

00:24:03: cloud within this credit limit.

00:24:06: And I have like two instances of

00:24:08: databases with Apex on it, and they are

00:24:10: just running, and I don't expect the

00:24:12: credits to be empty by the end of the

00:24:15: year.

00:24:15: So these instances are running

00:24:17: constantly and doing demos or something.

00:24:19: I can play around with everything.

00:24:21: Even if it's just starting like for

00:24:23: half an hour to two days or whatever,

00:24:25: you can use it.

00:24:26: And this is something I was wishing to

00:24:28: get like six years ago.

00:24:29: Oh, great.

00:24:30: But my fault, I didn't give feedback to

00:24:32: the program.

00:24:33: I guess there were different ACEs

00:24:36: giving this feedback.

00:24:38: So we have this feature right now, but

00:24:39: I'm very grateful for that.

00:24:40: And then we have the last step when you

00:24:45: are getting the ACE director, the

00:24:47: benefits.

00:24:47: So you have like briefings for the

00:24:50: Oracle, with the Oracle executives.

00:24:52: And to be honest, so we are in the

00:24:54: Oracle Apex environment and we get used

00:24:56: to talk to Mark Saves and the whole team

00:24:58: like all the time.

00:24:59: We're just sitting with them at dinner

00:25:01: on conferences.

00:25:02: So we are even used to that before it

00:25:05: was possible to have those product

00:25:06: meetings with the product management

00:25:09: leaders.

00:25:10: But this is something that as an ACE

00:25:12: director too, then you have the travel

00:25:14: support for conferences.

00:25:16: Maybe you can tell us more.

00:25:17: Yes, so ACE directors are eligible to

00:25:19: get travel support to speak at not just

00:25:21: Oracle user group conferences, but any

00:25:23: conferences.

00:25:24: And it doesn't, this is a differentiator

00:25:27: between our program and another program

00:25:30: out there is that it does, the

00:25:33: conference doesn't even have to be in

00:25:34: your region.

00:25:35: It can be a global, you know, anywhere.

00:25:38: And, and the ACE directors are eligible

00:25:40: to get support to speak.

00:25:41: So airfare and hotel.

00:25:43: So you're, you're applying to that

00:25:44: beforehand or do you just do it and then

00:25:47: get the support right after or how does?

00:25:49: So you just, once you're accepted, then

00:25:52: the ACE director applies, just puts in

00:25:54: their costs, what their, what their

00:25:56: papers are, and then we just verify that

00:25:58: they're on the agenda.

00:25:59: They're actually speaking.

00:26:00: They, we, we, you know, review and

00:26:04: approve their travel.

00:26:05: Yeah.

00:26:06: This is pretty cool because yeah, I mean,

00:26:08: you are needing much, much private time.

00:26:11: Most of the time, sometimes company time,

00:26:13: if you can make that happen with your

00:26:15: company, but you are spending like days to

00:26:17: travel.

00:26:18: Then you're speaking at a conference, you

00:26:20: might not be able to work in your daily

00:26:22: job during that time.

00:26:23: And this is a very great support to have

00:26:25: when you're like traveling to America and

00:26:27: then staying in a hotel in Las Vegas, for

00:26:29: example, maybe get the conference pass.

00:26:32: Most of the time you get it as a speaker,

00:26:33: but yeah, that's pretty cool that you get

00:26:35: this support, which might not be supported

00:26:38: by the company you're working for.

00:26:40: So this is actually just brought us

00:26:41: something we haven't talked about.

00:26:42: Cause one of the big questions is I'm

00:26:44: doing these things for my job or I'm

00:26:48: blogging on my company blog and then can

00:26:50: I be an ACE?

00:26:50: And I think that's a big differentiator.

00:26:53: So the ACEs, like I said, they're sharing

00:26:56: their knowledge with the community in

00:26:58: their own time.

00:26:58: So if it's something that someone's doing

00:27:00: as part of their job, that's not, we don't

00:27:03: look at that as a community activity.

00:27:05: So yeah, so these ACEs that are getting

00:27:07: travel support to speak, they're not doing

00:27:10: it as employees of their company.

00:27:12: They're doing it in their free time just

00:27:14: just to share.

00:27:15: So, so if you're doing a presentation at

00:27:17: the conference and you have slides from

00:27:19: your company, is it considered as being a

00:27:21: presentation for the company?

00:27:23: Usually the ACEs, they have a slide about

00:27:26: the ACE program and they may say where

00:27:28: they work, but it's not promoting their

00:27:31: company.

00:27:31: Yeah.

00:27:31: All right.

00:27:32: And I also think to, to add another point

00:27:36: of view to this ACE director travel

00:27:39: support.

00:27:40: I also like the thought that also people

00:27:44: who don't have that much money to travel

00:27:47: around the world can participate or use

00:27:50: this program to still spread revert, go to

00:27:55: the conference.

00:27:55: And I really, I really like that.

00:27:57: Yeah.

00:27:58: So it's open for everyone.

00:27:59: Everyone is able to join the program.

00:28:02: Everyone doesn't matter if you like to

00:28:05: present, yeah, present, or if you like to

00:28:08: write a blog or a book or whatever, you

00:28:11: can join it and yeah, participate and go

00:28:15: get promoted to pro or director and yeah,

00:28:19: be part of it.

00:28:20: Yeah.

00:28:20: That's, I just wanted to, I'm sorry.

00:28:23: I'm, I'm, I'm often a bit emotional about

00:28:26: this stuff because I really love that,

00:28:27: that it's open for everyone.

00:28:29: Yes.

00:28:29: And, and you brought up something.

00:28:32: Sometimes people are first exposed to

00:28:35: ACEs at a conference because the presenter

00:28:38: will say, I'm an ACE director.

00:28:39: And then they think, well, I am never

00:28:41: going to get up on stage and present that

00:28:42: that's not me.

00:28:43: I'm not right for the ACE program, but

00:28:46: that's one of the amazing things about

00:28:48: the program is if you don't like presenting,

00:28:50: you don't have to present it's, you should

00:28:53: follow your passion.

00:28:54: So if you love writing and blogging and

00:28:56: writing articles, that's, that's your area.

00:28:59: You know, if you love getting up and, and

00:29:01: speaking in front of people and giving

00:29:02: presentations, then, then that's, that's

00:29:04: what you can join the program through.

00:29:06: So it's really what the individual likes

00:29:10: doing and you don't have to do any one

00:29:12: particular thing.

00:29:13: Yeah.

00:29:14: I actually have another question about,

00:29:16: we, we go a bit back to the contributions

00:29:20: and I just wanted to know if you think

00:29:24: that the language matters because I know,

00:29:26: I don't know if I, if you hear this by my

00:29:31: perfect English, I'm a German.

00:29:32: And we definitely cannot.

00:29:36: And the Germans.

00:29:40: Yeah.

00:29:41: That's a great question.

00:29:44: And we get that a lot.

00:29:45: And there's this amazing thing called

00:29:48: Google Translate that we use.

00:29:50: So it doesn't matter what language a

00:29:54: nominee or a person is using on their

00:29:57: blog or when they're presenting, it

00:29:58: doesn't matter because we, you know, for

00:30:02: the blogs and stuff, we can use Google

00:30:03: Translate, which we do.

00:30:04: We go through when people are nominated,

00:30:06: we go through everything that they, they

00:30:09: submit.

00:30:09: So, but yes, it doesn't matter.

00:30:11: Yeah.

00:30:12: For our part with the podcast, we, not

00:30:15: only from you get the notice that it's

00:30:17: in German, I want to hear about the ACE

00:30:19: program episode, but it's in German.

00:30:21: So what we are doing like for the last

00:30:24: half year, I guess, we are transcribing

00:30:27: the episodes.

00:30:28: So we use like AI or chat GPT or GPT in

00:30:32: general to transcribe what we are saying.

00:30:34: This is being written down in German.

00:30:36: And then we translate that to get the

00:30:38: title, subtitles for YouTube.

00:30:41: So you can follow each and every episode

00:30:43: of Devs on Tape in multiple languages, as

00:30:45: you like. It might not be that precise,

00:30:47: but you get the point what we are talking

00:30:49: about. So, I mean, you just turn on the

00:30:52: volume and just listen.

00:30:54: I don't know if it's the better way to

00:30:56: consume a podcast, but you cannot, I can't.

00:30:58: But you're making it more accessible.

00:31:00: Definitely.

00:31:01: Even for people that use like the, the

00:31:04: Braille thing, like if they're blind,

00:31:07: they can use that or if they have any

00:31:09: other disabilities, so they can follow

00:31:11: our podcast too.

00:31:12: So, and I got the list of the

00:31:14: contribution types.

00:31:14: Maybe we can extend that because you

00:31:17: already mentioned that if you're not

00:31:19: into presentations, you don't have to do

00:31:20: it. Right.

00:31:21: So if to give our listeners a little

00:31:23: overview of which different type of

00:31:25: contributions we can add to the program

00:31:29: or to our account, I can just read them

00:31:31: really quick in different languages, I

00:31:33: guess.

00:31:33: All right, Carol, please edit in post

00:31:39: production.

00:31:40: Kind of magic sounds in the end, or

00:31:43: maybe just speed it up.

00:31:44: So we have third party publications as

00:31:46: articles. We have awards for a newsletter

00:31:48: publications. We have blog postings, we

00:31:50: have books in separation for one or more

00:31:52: chapters. Then we have the book

00:31:54: contribution. If you are the sole author

00:31:56: with a publisher or you are the technical

00:31:58: reviewer of a book.

00:31:59: Then we have call for papers. We have

00:32:01: cool projects, which is very cool that

00:32:04: you have, if you have any contribution,

00:32:05: which is not directly fitting in those

00:32:08: contribution types that you can just say,

00:32:10: I think this is a cool project. Please

00:32:13: give me a rating for that. Maybe then

00:32:15: you can just enter that as a cool

00:32:16: project with Oracle technologies

00:32:20: behind that. Then we have event

00:32:21: organizers, feedback to the Oracle

00:32:23: product management, which is pretty cool

00:32:25: too. And yeah, have Oracle fix a bug

00:32:28: even. Then we have different kind of

00:32:30: events, which is Oracle providing. If you

00:32:33: participate to that, you can use that

00:32:35: too to contribute. You can, yeah, record

00:32:38: videos, podcasts, even for non-technical

00:32:41: and technical content. And I have even

00:32:43: load more roles. Maybe we speed that up

00:32:45: too.

00:32:45: And mentoring, you didn't mention. So

00:32:48: that's kind of, that's something that's

00:32:49: been kind of highlighted more since the

00:32:51: relaunch of the program is mentoring

00:32:53: because we really want to encourage the

00:32:56: current members, you know, to mentor new

00:32:59: people to come into the program. So it's

00:33:02: nice because so many aces have raised

00:33:05: their hand and say, I would love to be a

00:33:06: mentor. So to match them up with people

00:33:09: and it's, you know, imagine if you are

00:33:12: approached by somebody and they were to

00:33:14: say, Hey, I think you have, you know, what

00:33:17: it takes and the potential to be an ace.

00:33:18: And I want to help guide you. You know,

00:33:20: that's a really nice way to start a

00:33:22: relationship or continue a professional

00:33:24: relationship, right. To have that

00:33:26: mentoring. So the aces have been, you

00:33:28: know, doing a lot of amazing mentoring.

00:33:31: In my point of view or in my experience

00:33:34: with that, most of the time it's inside

00:33:36: companies, right? So there are some, some

00:33:39: criteria you have to meet. But so if I

00:33:42: have colleagues and they see I'm an ace

00:33:44: pro, maybe director or something, and

00:33:46: then I go to them and say, this is a

00:33:48: great program. Let me help you to join.

00:33:50: It's not, it can't be easier to do it

00:33:52: with a colleague together. Right. So I

00:33:53: can nominate you and you can come into

00:33:56: the program. There were like changes that

00:33:58: you are not allowed. I mean, for director,

00:34:01: it's definitely the point that you are

00:34:02: not able to do it within or inside a

00:34:05: company. So you have to get someone from

00:34:07: out there. Yes. And that's for

00:34:09: nominating. So you can't nominate

00:34:12: somebody in your company to be an ace

00:34:15: director. Yes. And it's better if it's

00:34:19: actually the Oracle product manager

00:34:20: that's nominating somebody, but you, but

00:34:23: most of the time it's somebody

00:34:24: nominating them to be, you know, an

00:34:26: associate or a pro. Yeah. So we have a

00:34:30: long list. I'm not reading it. I just

00:34:33: recognize how many points. Social media

00:34:35: is another one. Success story for

00:34:38: customer references. This is also cool.

00:34:41: Some aces, all they do is, not all they

00:34:43: do. It's a huge contribution, but they

00:34:46: focus, they love answering questions on

00:34:48: forums. So that's a big one. Even stack

00:34:51: overflow. Yep. I think in general,

00:34:54: everything which helps other people is.

00:34:57: Exactly. In this list. However, you can

00:35:02: publicly help other people. Yes. So now

00:35:05: we talked a long time between those

00:35:08: mentioning, like what was the gap

00:35:10: between the old historic ace program and

00:35:14: the relaunch? Yes. So, you know, I

00:35:16: mentioned in the beginning that I

00:35:18: started out in the marketing

00:35:19: organization because that's where the

00:35:20: ace program was. And then our group,

00:35:25: well, so originally, I don't know if you

00:35:27: remember OTN, Oracle Technology

00:35:28: Network. Okay. So that's where the

00:35:31: program was. And that's when I joined

00:35:32: Oracle, I was in OTN. And then we had a

00:35:35: few organizational changes. And then in

00:35:39: April, 2021, the program was in

00:35:43: developer relations and they were

00:35:45: thinking about taking the program in a

00:35:47: new direction. And it didn't end. And

00:35:50: that's when I moved to the database

00:35:52: organization. It didn't end up

00:35:55: happening. And then the ace program

00:35:57: moved over to the database org. And

00:36:00: then I'm managing it again. Very, very,

00:36:02: very happy about that. So it follows

00:36:04: you, right? It's not you going to the

00:36:07: ace program, but the ace program is

00:36:09: following you. Yes. So very happy about

00:36:11: that. It's like, it's really like a

00:36:13: family to me. And so it's like a

00:36:16: reunion now that we're all back

00:36:17: together again. So once I joined the

00:36:20: database organization, we took a look

00:36:22: at, you know, how we want to change it,

00:36:25: where we want to go. And then we took

00:36:27: some time to really think about how we

00:36:29: wanted to change it. And so then it was

00:36:33: relaunched August, 2022. And then, like

00:36:35: you mentioned, it has the community

00:36:37: aces and some other, other changes to,

00:36:41: you know, try, try and have more, a

00:36:43: bigger variety of benefits for program

00:36:46: members. So, so now we have the present

00:36:49: ace program, we have the past ace

00:36:52: program. What's in there for the

00:36:54: future? That's a great question. So of

00:36:57: course we, and this goes back to the

00:37:00: beginning too, you know, we would like to

00:37:01: grow the program, but we want to grow the

00:37:03: program carefully because, you know, more

00:37:06: isn't necessarily better. We want, you

00:37:08: know, quality people in the program. I

00:37:11: think the members have always, you know,

00:37:15: because it's about Oracle products, you

00:37:17: know, there's, there's a huge overlap

00:37:19: between user groups, Oracle user groups

00:37:22: and aces, because there are a lot of aces

00:37:24: volunteering in user groups, like both

00:37:26: of you. And I think one, one direction is

00:37:29: we are open, you know, we want to

00:37:32: encourage aces to go and, and speak and

00:37:35: be, and participate at non-Oracle events

00:37:38: too, to, to kind of get the word out there

00:37:42: more about Oracle with them, you know,

00:37:45: for example, developer conferences. So

00:37:46: that's one change going forward.

00:37:48: Now you're thinking of, you cannot tell

00:37:52: the information about what is planned.

00:37:56: To reassure everything is fine, you can

00:37:57: talk about whatever you want. We have

00:37:59: different product managers from Oregon

00:38:01: with podcasts and they are all telling

00:38:03: the secrets. No problem.

00:38:05: That's all I'm going to share.

00:38:06: Yeah, we see it. So we are two ace pros

00:38:11: right now, and we will definitely hear

00:38:13: about the changes in the product.

00:38:14: Yeah.

00:38:14: In the program.

00:38:15: Oh, and then, sorry, one thing I want to

00:38:17: share, you know, the program, I'm in the

00:38:19: database organization and the program

00:38:21: sits in the database organization, but

00:38:23: the ACE program is not just about

00:38:25: database, just like it was before. It's,

00:38:28: it's, our ACEs can work on any products.

00:38:32: So across the board. So that's nice.

00:38:35: We, unfortunately, don't have that much

00:38:37: time anymore, but I would like to ask you

00:38:40: one question about the community you are

00:38:44: building, because this is also, it's not

00:38:46: just like, you have points here, you have

00:38:49: contributions there. It's also your job

00:38:52: to build the community. And I,

00:38:55: yeah, just wanted to ask if you could

00:38:58: tell us something about what you, maybe

00:39:00: what you learned about building a

00:39:01: community. So if some, someone else wants,

00:39:04: don't know, want to build a community

00:39:08: for technical stuff or I don't know,

00:39:10: something like this, what they can take

00:39:12: or learn from you.

00:39:13: Yes. So I think, especially with COVID,

00:39:16: we learned about how to work with a

00:39:21: global community without seeing each

00:39:23: other. Right. And that was a big

00:39:25: challenge, but we also learned from that.

00:39:27: So when I mentioned earlier, we have

00:39:29: these different types of meetings on

00:39:31: zoom. I think one of the community

00:39:33: building things, we, we actually

00:39:35: pre-start the meetings 15 minutes early

00:39:39: for networking, because as I think to

00:39:42: build a community, you need to, you know,

00:39:44: have interaction with each other. So not

00:39:46: just about tech, but, you know, learning

00:39:49: about each other's lives, interests,

00:39:52: families, et cetera. So kind of creating

00:39:56: those opportunities for the members to

00:39:59: get to know each other better. And that's

00:40:01: kind of like what we're doing with the

00:40:03: ACE adventures. So those, you know, fun

00:40:06: trips and, and hanging out with, with the

00:40:09: other ACEs to get to know them better.

00:40:10: So doing those types of events virtually

00:40:14: in zoom and then, and then in person.

00:40:16: I mean, I don't know if it's really come,

00:40:20: really connected to the ACE program,

00:40:22: but there are those, those Oracle tours,

00:40:24: like the APEC tour, I think, or the

00:40:27: Nordic tours. Yes. I was always looking

00:40:31: forward to contribute or to, to yeah,

00:40:34: travel with them. It never happened

00:40:36: because of like, I was, yeah, yeah, yeah,

00:40:38: definitely. Yeah. I didn't make that

00:40:40: happen. I was on vacation myself or it

00:40:43: was too far away or whatever. I guess

00:40:45: this is something we should mention too.

00:40:46: So yes, we haven't talked about the tour.

00:40:48: So those go back many, many, many years.

00:40:51: I believe it started with the Latin

00:40:52: America tour. So it's, it's about 10

00:40:54: countries with, with 10 to 12 countries

00:40:58: within a month. So some ACEs go from

00:41:01: country to country to country and it's

00:41:02: really, and you know, I talked earlier

00:41:04: about the overlap between ACEs and user

00:41:07: groups, right? So it's user groups in

00:41:10: different locations coming together and

00:41:13: having a tour. So to leverage the

00:41:15: speakers that are going from, you know,

00:41:16: one country to the next and it's, they're

00:41:20: amazing. You have to try to go on a tour

00:41:23: if you can. So we have the Latin America

00:41:26: one, we have an EMEA one. We, we do not

00:41:29: have a North America one, which is funny.

00:41:34: Let's do it. But APEC too. So yeah, it's,

00:41:38: it's nice that the user groups and the

00:41:40: ACEs working together. Definitely. So, so

00:41:43: this is one point I would say, this is

00:41:45: the coolest thing. I mean, the most

00:41:48: European ACEs or ACE directors and ACE

00:41:51: pros, we already know each other, right?

00:41:53: So we are traveling from country,

00:41:55: conference to conference, and we sit

00:41:56: together and ACE dinners and normal

00:41:58: dinners or whatever, but to learn ACEs

00:42:01: from different countries and then be on

00:42:03: the bus together or on the flight, on the

00:42:05: hotel and spend so many days and times

00:42:07: together. So I think there will be many

00:42:10: more friendships or you learn to know

00:42:12: each other better. But for my part, it

00:42:15: would be great to have like short tours

00:42:17: for another complete month. My wife, no,

00:42:19: no way.

00:42:20: So most ACEs definitely didn't, we had

00:42:25: for the Latin America tour this year, we

00:42:27: had one ACE that I think did almost all

00:42:29: the countries, but it's not even an

00:42:30: expectation that someone would, would go

00:42:33: to all the countries. Yeah. And there's

00:42:34: also, I didn't mention the Yathra tour.

00:42:36: So that's the AIOG, the all India. Yeah.

00:42:40: The Indian Oracle user group has a tour

00:42:42: that they called Yathra. So that's

00:42:44: through several cities within India. And

00:42:46: that's a really intense one because

00:42:49: there's a lot of quick travel. And that's

00:42:52: exactly, I would look forward to do so.

00:42:54: Like we are one week here in Nuremberg,

00:42:56: it's Nuremberg every single day, every

00:42:58: single night. Right. So yeah, fun. After

00:43:00: that you're completely done. But if you

00:43:02: have like five days or maybe just four

00:43:05: days, I think it was the, kind of an

00:43:08: Apex tour where the Apex team came over

00:43:10: and they were in Scandinavia, in

00:43:12: Scandinavia. Yes. This was exactly what I

00:43:14: was looking for. Yes. I was on vacation

00:43:16: in the same time, even in the same

00:43:17: country, but Sweden, Denmark, and I don't

00:43:21: know if it's was North Germany, but like

00:43:24: three or four steps, I would do my

00:43:26: presentations like every, each and every

00:43:28: day, moving locations, no problems with

00:43:31: the travel. The way more intense ones and

00:43:33: see it somewhere around the globe would

00:43:36: be a very great addition to that. So I

00:43:38: was looking forward to that. Thanks for

00:43:40: mentioning, I forgot the Apex tour, yeah.

00:43:42: Yeah. And we've had that, there's been

00:43:44: an Apex tour in Latin America too, that

00:43:47: organized by user groups with the Apex

00:43:50: team. So there's lots of different tour

00:43:52: opportunities. So this was a contribution

00:43:54: from Devs on Tape for the GAZE program

00:43:57: to extend more intense short tours. I

00:44:00: would definitely be on board for that. So

00:44:02: I guess there are many people doing that.

00:44:04: And we're always open to user groups

00:44:06: organizing, because I didn't mention this,

00:44:10: but Oracle doesn't organize the tours.

00:44:14: These are user group events. So we,

00:44:17: Oracle supports them by providing Oracle

00:44:19: speakers, and then we have the travel

00:44:21: support for the ACES to go and speak,

00:44:24: but they're organized by user groups.

00:44:26: Oh, that's a cool thing. I didn't

00:44:28: know that. Yeah, me too. Right. So, you

00:44:31: already said we don't have that much

00:44:33: time. I would love to talk more, but we

00:44:35: going to switch over to the categories

00:44:37: right now. We have some bad questions.

00:44:41: So, hypothetically,

00:44:45: what do you estimate what will your

00:44:47: daily work look like in 10 years from

00:44:49: now? Are you still in the ACE program?

00:44:51: Are there multiple programs? What do you

00:44:53: expect? Hopefully we

00:44:55: have, well, yes. So first of all, I'm

00:44:58: hoping I'm still at Oracle.

00:45:00: I don't intend on leaving, so hopefully I

00:45:02: will still be there.

00:45:04: I'm fortunate because the database

00:45:06: organization is a great group to work

00:45:09: in. So I feel lucky there.

00:45:11: I think, I mean, I definitely,

00:45:14: my passion is the community. So, you know,

00:45:18: the ACE program or what, you know, the

00:45:19: future holds for the ACE program,

00:45:21: hopefully it's going to continue getting,

00:45:22: you know, bigger and better as years go

00:45:25: on. So,

00:45:26: so maybe just more community-focused

00:45:29: programs too.

00:45:31: So I would like to move to the next

00:45:33: category in private.

00:45:35: Are you satisfied with your work-life

00:45:37: balance?

00:45:39: Am I, or is my husband?

00:45:43: So that's the, you know, I was saying how

00:45:46: I love my job. I love being in the

00:45:48: database organization. I think when you

00:45:49: love your job,

00:45:51: it's even harder to have a good work-life

00:45:54: balance because you

00:45:55: get passionate about what you're doing,

00:45:58: and it's harder to have that balance. But

00:46:01: you know, Oracle is,

00:46:03: I'm lucky, you know, the supportive of

00:46:05: having a good

00:46:06: work-life balance. So I'm lucky there.

00:46:08: But I love what I do, so that helps.

00:46:12: And also, I'm a mom. I have three kids,

00:46:16: and they aren't, you know, the youngest is

00:46:19: 17.

00:46:20: So it's, I'm at a stage in my life where

00:46:23: I can,

00:46:23: you know, focus more on my career. And

00:46:25: actually what I didn't tell you was

00:46:28: I first started working at Oracle in

00:46:30: 1993,

00:46:32: Oracle 7. So I've worked for Oracle twice.

00:46:36: And I took time off 14 years

00:46:42: just to be with my three kids. And then I

00:46:45: went back to work and Oracle's the first

00:46:47: place I've been

00:46:48: since being, I won't, I don't want to say

00:46:50: full-time mom because even if you have a

00:46:53: paying job, you're still a full-time mom.

00:46:55: But Oracle's been great from that

00:46:58: respect too.

00:46:59: Great, so when you love your job so

00:47:02: much that your

00:47:03: work-life balance went to like your work

00:47:06: getting your life,

00:47:06: right? So because it's just, I think Mike

00:47:09: Becker was talking about

00:47:10: work-life blending because it's not a

00:47:12: separation. You don't say I'm

00:47:14: done with work right now or today. It's

00:47:16: just like blending in each other and

00:47:18: everything is mixed up and

00:47:20: this is only possible if you like your

00:47:21: job. So that's great to hear.

00:47:23: So next category is consumption. How do

00:47:26: you

00:47:26: deal with the growing flood of

00:47:28: information via various channels like

00:47:30: news, information, and there are like push

00:47:32: notifications, emails,

00:47:34: everything is like hitting every

00:47:37: day and every minute.

00:47:38: Yeah, we were talking about

00:47:40: this today at the conference

00:47:42: with Slack and email and having multiple

00:47:44: Slack workspaces and how to handle it

00:47:46: all because it is

00:47:48: information overload. I think the key is

00:47:50: having

00:47:51: a system to know how you're going

00:47:53: through your messaging. But

00:47:55: I guess it's the work tech

00:47:58: getting knowledge that way and then

00:47:59: personal because you can be overloaded

00:48:01: either way, right?

00:48:03: So and I actually, I don't know if

00:48:06: I'm in the minority, but I love Slack for

00:48:08: work

00:48:10: because it's just so much easier if you

00:48:11: have quick questions to do that and then

00:48:13: just knowing what should go in

00:48:15: an email so you have a trail.

00:48:18: What shouldn't? But I mean there are

00:48:22: technical things so like do you turn off

00:48:24: your phone

00:48:25: like the ringing or something just

00:48:27: to prevent you looking

00:48:29: each and every minute on your phone to

00:48:30: do not miss anything. I probably

00:48:33: should turn off notifications at night

00:48:37: but that's the terrible thing is if you

00:48:39: because I always have my phone with me

00:48:41: so whatever I'm doing I will see the

00:48:43: work things coming up and

00:48:44: and I guess that's a way I

00:48:46: could improve my work.

00:48:50: Now we're talking about it.

00:48:53: But yeah I think it's just so easy

00:48:55: to keep getting the information and then

00:48:57: it's

00:48:58: it makes it you know more challenging to

00:49:00: to filter it out but

00:49:03: that's the moment I'm going to

00:49:05: switch to the previous category

00:49:07: in private again. So this is a

00:49:10: very interesting point. So would you show us

00:49:12: your screen time on your iPhone without

00:49:14: flushing?

00:49:14: Absolutely. So proud to be on your phone

00:49:18: like each and every minute.

00:49:19: Well because during the work day

00:49:22: I'm not on my phone. It's more after

00:49:25: work ends and then I'm on my phone a lot

00:49:28: but then I'm getting the work messages

00:49:30: on my phone.

00:49:32: So technically I don't have a lot of

00:49:34: screen time during the day.

00:49:36: So technically I wouldn't flush.

00:49:39: Technically

00:49:40: Macbooks and iPhones are sharing the

00:49:42: screen.

00:49:42: Oh that's true. The end result is like

00:49:45: okay each and every day all day. All

00:49:47: right.

00:49:48: Awesome. So this was a very great new

00:49:51: episode of Devs on Tape.

00:49:52: Thank you very much. Thank you so much for

00:49:54: having me. I feel very honored that you

00:49:57: invited me. Thank you. So maybe one year

00:50:00: from now we're talking

00:50:01: again. So this is what we are usually

00:50:03: doing at these conferences.

00:50:04: That we talk to the persons again and

00:50:06: then we talk about the time in between.

00:50:09: So we are looking forward to meet you

00:50:10: again and have you in another episode of

00:50:12: Devs on Tape.

00:50:13: Again thank you and thank you to our

00:50:15: listeners to

00:50:16: run this new episode of Devs on Tape.

00:50:19: Bye. Thank you. Bye.

00:50:31: [BLANK_AUDIO]