Don't Curb Enthusiasm

I say this at least in part because the attendees were generally positive about the business climate (very refreshing). And because of the serious partner-to-partner networking going on in every hallway, doorway, stairwell and, yes, everyone's favorite hotel meeting place, the Jack Daniels Saloon (the Opryland hotel's equivalent of "Cheers," I guess). And because of the genuine kudos that the solution providers in the audience at CRN's annual Channel Champions awards last Tuesday were willing to heap on the vendors who earned their way up onto the stage. (You can read more about the Champs when we publish our coverage April 26.)

But the biggest epiphany for me actually occurred the first morning of the conference, as I made my way through the massive Opryland hotel complex and suddenly found myself surrounded by teenagers. Seems these kids were members of the Tennessee chapter of the Technology Student Association (TSA), a national non-profit organization that encourages young people to think about how to use technology to solve everyday problems.

Consider this: Several hundred students from middle school on up just happen to be in the same hotel as a couple hundred XChange solution providers, all for the cause of solutions. Talk about strange coincidences.

Naturally, I felt compelled to sneak my way into one of the TSA ballrooms, where the students were engaged in a competition of ideas. One of my favorites was an entry entitled "Blind-Spot Vision." The essay described a tiny radio-frequency device with an LCD display that senses when a semi-truck is too close to other vehicles that may be in the driver's blind spot.

I don't know who won the competition, but I was touched by the students' defense of their idea. "The reason technology continues to advance is because of two reasons: One is curiosity," they wrote in an accompanying essay. "The second reason is because people want life to improve."

And that, deep down, is what solutions are all about.

HEATHER CLANCY, Editor at CRN, appreciates your comments and ideas. E-mail her at [email protected].