Magento Imagine 2013 Diary - Day 1

So it all kicked off today! After the great PreImagine events yesterday I felt a little bit more at home, and it's surprising how many familiar faces there now are around the M Resort which is home to the Magento community for the next couple of days. 1,500 people from over 45 different countries to be exact.

The first official session of this years conference was a standing room only seminar on SEO (search engine optimisation) for Magento. Covering much of the same ground as our Magento and Search Engine Optimisation module (available for onsite Magento training and as part of our 3 day Magento Bootcamp for Merchants) this was a great chance for us to share good practice with other Magento professionals from around the world. There are some great tips and tricks which will be available in our next course in London in April.

The Magento Marketplace also opened this afternoon; a great opportunity for us to see what is new in the world of Magento including what great new extensions and integrations have been launched in time for the conference. Expect to see some blog posts from @futurederyck reviewing some of the best over the next couple of weeks.

The conference opened 'officially' tonight with a reception on the terrace and again I got to see what the Magento community seem to do best - 'network' (or as you may call it, have a beer and a catch up).

Although the Nevada heat was not exactly living up to it's reputation (it RAINED today) there was a definite Las Vegas vibe with orange bikini clad dancers and lollipops at the bar.

But it wasn't all Vegas showgirls. The reception was a great chance to catch up and talk shop with some of our MAgento friends from around the world. Magento community aficionado Sherrie, Bill and Steve from Sweet Tooth, Tom & Nick from Meanbee and Brent from Wagento Creative (when not talking about Newcastle Brown Ale) along with many more I've probably forgotten all helped to make it a great and fun night and a great start to the conference.

Tomorrow we have the first lot of keynotes to wake up for...see you at 9am!