today was a really interesting day, I presented at MIX Essentials in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) at the Limkokwing University campus in the multimedia super corridor.

Presenting in Malaysia is quite fun – just before you think the conference is going  to start you need to go down to the main entrance of the facility;

there are drummers and red carpet and lots of other people there, you walk down the red carpet with the other honored guests for many photo opportunities;

when you get to the end you need to sign your name on the “welcome” sign and get a nice flower pinned to your chest, then another photo opportunity;

The next part is the pre-conference tour (i had to test the 3G wifi replacement so i didn’t go) – at the Limkokwing University all the other presenters went on a tour, i thought it was a small tour but it went for about 30 minutes; touring all the interesting history at the university; this actually made the conference start 30 minutes late – I thought people were talking about time being flexible in Malaysia.

You get to the main hall where the guests have been waiting for a long time, everyone is announced by the MC and the presenters walk down the red carpet through the audience and everyone is clapping.

The opening address by the local representative is very informative and took about 25 minutes and then the next presenter is announced with a full bio read over microphone.

After the welcome address the most senior person from the primary organizations (Microsoft and the university) do a gift exchange, and then all speakers are called on stage for another photo opportunity.

the last interesting thing is even though it started late, it will be ending near on time – why? because there were 0 breaks. from 0945-1345 there are no breaks;

this is a long time to be sitting down the front on the sofas in the middle of the room as an honored guest.

It was a really surreal experience – I’ve never walked the red carpet before but now I’m hooked :)