Dear All, I wanted to give you a quick update on XLDB activities and events. (I realize we have been quiet for longer than usual, but trust me, a lot has been happening under the hood!) 1. Upcoming XLDB workshops -------------------------- We are organizing two XLDB events: 1. XLDB - Healthcare, Stony Brook Univ/New York, May 6-7 2. XLDB - South America, Rio de Janeiro, June 3-4 While the Rio event was announced at XLDB-2013 back in September, most of you will not have heard of the Healthcare meeting. The idea came up at the XLDB Workshop in September and has been germinating since then. Both events are invitation-only, but we welcome expressions of interest from the XLDB community in attending either event. More details will be sent out soon. 2. XLDB main events - switching to spring season ------------------------------------------------ As hinted at XLDB-2013, we would like to switch our annual main events from the fall to the spring for logistical reasons and to avoid conflicts. That means we will be skipping 2014, since organizing two large events 6 months apart would be too much. The next "main" event would then be scheduled for Spring 2015. A year off also gives us some time to think or rethink... 3. Rethinking XLDB events ------------------------- We are in the process of rethinking the long-term scope and organization of future XLDB events. While we don't want to mess with success, two factors have triggered this process: a) the changing landscape: a growing number of Big Data events, both specialized and general b) decreased time available from the SLAC group due to our "day job", the LSST project, which is rapidly approaching the construction phase. Options we are currently considering include: a) partnering with other institution(s), b) making the event smaller but even more focused on our core niche, and c) joining forces with an existing event/activity. I encourage everyone who has thoughts on the future direction of XLDB to contact me. 4. XLDB-2013 workshop report ---------------------------- Lastly, for these who are waiting for the XLDB-2013 workshop report: we have not forgotten, it is coming in March-April timeframe. Best regards, Jacek ######################################################################## Use REPLY-ALL to reply to list To unsubscribe from the XLDB-L list, click the following link: https://listserv.slac.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=XLDB-L&A=1