By Justin Bastin, SHARE Treasurer

Have you ever reached for your phone, only to find that it’s not there? Maybe you felt disabled, alone and out of touch with the rest of society. Perhaps, your brain cried out: “What?! I don’t have my phone? How am I going to check my email, call my friends, surf my social media, check on the latest news and updates on all my apps? This is insanity; how could we ever live without a smartphone? What can I possibly do while sitting at a red light?! Wait, am I addicted to this technology? When I wake up every morning, before my feet hit the floor, am I already reaching for my smartphone, checking emails, my social apps?”

After recovering from the initial feelings of anxiety from the realization that you might be heavily reliant and addicted to this technology, realize it is not the end of the world and you are not alone. Granted, smartphone technology has many positives, such as allowing us to increase our virtual reach, knowledge and understanding. However, smartphone dependency comes at a cost. While positively growing your social presence and building your virtual brand, understand that as one skillset grows, you could be inadvertently losing talents you had at one time polished prior to the smartphone revolution.

So, how does this at all relate to SHARE?

As SHARE continues to grow in both virtual reach and influence, the time has come to recognize what makes our event a tier-one event. You could say that SHARE has the best speakers, the true technologists that are knee-deep in the code. Or, you could point to the various educational offerings, such as EXECUforum, SHARE Academy, SHARE Live! and more. Some argue that the technical content, the quality and wealth of sessions offered at the event, is SHARE’s cornerstone. But a SHARE event is the “crème de la crème” because all of those reasons and, in particular, the people who attend. At SHARE, you have the unique opportunity to build interpersonal skills often lost in this smartphone revolution. Whether attending SHARE’s receptions or accelerating your product knowledge at the SHARE Technology Expo (note I didn’t say anything about selling, we don’t do that at the STE), attendees have the unique opportunity to socialize face-to-face throughout the week.

How important is this skill? More than you could ever realize. In a time when you are competing with a smartphone during every conversation or realizing that at every opportunity someone will have their smartphone out (if you don’t believe me, next time you are at a red light look around at the other drivers), having meaningful face-to-face conversations and remembering how to act before, during and after interpersonal conversations is more critical today to your personal and professional development. That is why attending the SHARE event shouldn’t be a question; it should be the norm. Where else can you explore new skillsets in a safe environment among fellow like-minded individuals?

Now, let’s go back to the smartphone situation. Take that feeling you get after losing, breaking or forgetting your phone and imagine if you applied that reaction to all the things that are important to you. In the end, people remember you based on how your personal presence made them feel, rather than your acumen at creating a post, a like, friend request or Tweet. Invest in today and join us for our events, where you can experience a social gathering like no other. As SHARE continues to revitalize the mainframe, I ask you to buy that ticket and get on the train, because SHARE wants you, not only to be part of the event but to play a significant role in something bigger: our ecosystem!

Justin Bastin is the treasurer of SHARE. Currently, he is a corporate system engineer at EMC Corporation.