Leadership doesn’t start with a title; it starts with action. In statistical programming, that might mean stepping up to explain a complex data set in a cross-functional meeting, suggesting a new way to visualize results or taking ownership of a project that goes beyond coding. These are the moments where
Walk into any Southeast SAS User Group (SESUG) event and you’ll quickly realize it’s not just about the software. Yes, there are technical sessions, coding workshops and deep dives into data visualization. But what makes the conference resonate year after year isn’t simply the tools, it’s the people and the
If you’re looking to advance your knowledge and your career, few activities are better than attending a professional conference, where new ideas, best practice discovery and networking opportunities abound. For many SAS users, regional user group meetings provide a forum to learn from other users and meet successful professionals in
Savannah plays host to the 23rd annual SouthEast SAS Users Group (SESUG) conference from Sept. 27 to Sept. 29. Over 300 attendees are expected to gather in this historic city. If you’re planning to attend, I’ve selected a few special features that I hope will help both new and returning attendees
Support for SAS Users is everywhere! Starting in September, Regional SAS Users Groups host their annual conferences. Through presentations and hands-on workshops, fall regional conferences expose users to new ideas, best practices and innovative ways to use SAS. Attendees also have the opportunity to attend classes and network with hundreds
Sun, surf and SAS await you at this year’s South East SAS Users Group (SESUG) conference. Located at the beautiful Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from October 19-21, the conference offers two full days of learning, networking and problem-solving. “Every year I’ve attended, I’ve found something that I could immediately use
Really! I did a double-take last week when a conference chair told me that there’s grant money available for students, faculty and SAS junior professionals but few have applied. In one case, there were no applications submitted. We're hoping this is just a temporary glitch, a holdup resulting from too-busy schedules
I enjoyed SESUG 2013 this year and not just because I love hanging out in St. Pete Beach soaking in the sun but also because I was able to “geek out’ with some of my favorite SAS folks. Andrea Zimmerman and Mira Shapiro did an awesome job with the conference.
Fall is rolling around, which means time to plan and attend at least SAS regional conferences. I’m heading to the Southeastern SAS User’s Group (SESUG) conference in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida. While I do love the conference, they had me at St. Pete Beach!
Have you used the MEANS procedure to calculate frequencies: for several variables in the same step? without sorting the data first? without checking for missing values? using the TYPE statement and the CLASS statement together? At the recent SouthEastern SAS Users Group conference, Janet Willis shared what can go wrong
You’ve just started a new job as SAS administrator, and there’s no documentation. How do you know which SAS products are installed? Where they are deployed? Where do the data and programs reside? Brian Varney tells us that SAS administrators often run into undocumented environments whenever they begin working in a new
It's hard to get away from data these days, especially Big Data. The news is full of stories about how fast it's accumulating, about technologies for capturing and analyzing it, and about the creative ways organizations are using it. Pundits have even dubbed personal data the “new oil” that will
Sigurd Hermansen, from Westat, got his idea for breaking big data into small pieces after watching Jim Goodnight dissect a blade server to show the power high-performance analytics has processing for big data. Goodnight also demonstrated how Visual Analytics Explorer transfers the data from the servers to a workstation and
You may still believe that Hadoop is going to solve all of the world’s problems with big data. It won’t. Hadoop is a framework for storing large-scale data processing with both pros and cons for organizations. Christopher Stevens, from Greenplum, explained that Hadoop is rapidly becoming the go-to for big
Leanne Tang has learned a lot about encoding in her work of providing relevant user data and securing the database from accidental changes. There are hundreds of SAS users at the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Tang didn’t want to create thousands of accounts and passwords to allow those users to
Leanne Tang had a problem. She has one giant database that houses data from all of the units at National Agricultural Statistics Service. She has hundreds of people who need access, but she wants individual users to have access only to the data that meets their needs. In Tang’s
Do you finish the Word Search in the Sunday paper? Several years ago, Robert Matthews decided to design a word search to help his kids in their school work. Matthews wanted to be able to put in the words of his choice and provide difficulty levels so that game users could
The Macro facility is a powerful and flexible tool, but sloppy techniques can make macros one of your biggest headaches. Poorly handled macros may run without error but leave your users with unexpected results and litter your system with unwanted files and variables.
Have you registered for the 20th annual SouthEast SAS Users Group conference (SESUG) yet? NO? What are you waiting for? I've heard it going to be a real party, so come help us celebrate SESUG's 20th birthday (hmm ... SESUG isn't even old enough to drink). The last time I went was
Next stop on our SAS users’ group road trip – October 14-16 in Research Triangle Park, NC, for the 20th Annual SouthEastern SAS Users Group Conference. Hello! This is my first post to the SAS Users Groups blog and what a fun way to start. Granted, the Triangle doesn’t have
I know that for every SAS user event there are many people who aren't able to attend or who have to choose between two or more great sessions. So a couple of days ago, I started a discussion on several SAS users LinkedIn groups asking those of you who are attending SAS Users Groups
For all of you whipper snappers (a loving term applied to generations younger than yourself) who haven't been around SAS since the beginning of time - like Phil Miller, Art Carpenter and Kathy Council have - you may not remember when SAS Users Groups conference proceedings weren't offered online. That's right
In August 2011, we expanded the scope of the SAS Global Forum blog and rebranded it as the SAS Users Group blog. Our goal was to create one vibrant and dynamic spot for content related to SAS users groups and SAS user presentations. The result has been terrific! Many new
SESUG (Southeast SAS Users Group Conference) is an annual conference held in the Southeast US - typically in September or October. This year, the conference will be held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center in Durham, North Carolina, October 14-16. According to Peter Eberhardt, SESUG 2012 Academic Chair, the
The semester is coming to an end and summer break is just around the corner, so why should you be thinking about conferences and grant opportunities? Conferences like SESUG provide a lot of great benefits to students.
Chances are you have at least one paper or research project this semester. If you are using SAS as part of a project, there are some great student scholarship opportunities to allow you to attend a SAS users group conference this year. You can present your work and build your
There may be some of you who don't remember this song, but in high school and early college it was one of my favorites. "Get a haircut and get a real job," by George Thorogood and the Destroyers, really spoke to the rebel in me. Most of my rebellious days are behind
Here at SAS Publishing, we’ve started the new year off with a bang, particularly when it comes to conferences. We’re attending a number of new shows in addition to the usual lineup this year. Visit our booth, meet our authors, check out our new and forthcoming titles, and talk with
JSM, Miami Beach, FL, July 31–August 3 Miami Beach in August is hot. Ridiculously hot. Almost as hot as our preview copies at this show. Conference goers were extremely excited about a number of our upcoming statistics titles, including Customer Segmentation and Clustering Using SAS® Enterprise Miner™, Second Edition, by
I've been very fortunate to meet a lot of SAS users during my scant 3 year tour at SAS. I've met them while attending SAS Global Forum 2009, 2010, and 2011; NESUG 2009, 2010 and 2011; and SESUG 2010. Of course, like you, I want to go to all of the
