Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/612684
December 2015 • The PCB Magazine 103 Geek-A-Palooza two years ago. Before meeting in person at her event, we became acquainted through a few phone calls—followed by series of emails. After my first "Geek" event, we met up again at IPC APEX 2015, and quickly bond- ed as we realized all we had in common. Most notably, we are both part of very small num- ber of sales professionals in our industry who are women—which comes with a unique set of obstacles and opportunities. Furthermore, we share a passion for online marketing and build- ing business though relationships. Since then, we have established regular phone calls made from our home offices (pictured left). We typi- cally squeeze them in around the close of busi- ness on Fridays. We share sales and marketing strategies, we talk about how to be innovative in our field, we celebrate our successes, and whine about our challenges—and we always do this over a glass of wine! It's like our own virtual happy hour that helps us to decompress from our stressful jobs, while sharing business ideas, and connecting personally. We affectionately call it our "Wine-n-Whine" call, and laugh at the idea that we've become the Kathie Lee and Hoda of the electronics industry! I love social media marketing and I know it is here to stay, but Tara and Geek-A-Palooza have inspired me to renew my efforts to attend and support face-to-face local industry events. So much so, that Tara and I recently decided to partner up to launch Geek-A-Palooza West here in my Southern California area in spring of 2016. (If you are based in SoCal, mark your calendars for April 28, 2016.) Meanwhile, I encourage you to carve out some time for industry events in your area, like IPC Designers Council, or an SMTA chapter meeting. The time and cost investment are min- imal, and the benefits are high. It's even better if you have a little time to volunteer. I find that I reap the most benefit when I volunteer—or at least attend with a willingness to openly con- tribute my abilities and efforts. While valuable, an online network will nev- er compare to the power and value of real rela- tionships, built face-to-face over time. Now go forth and…get connected! PCB Judy Warner is director of business development, Western region and rF/MW markets. to reach Warner, click here. What's going to be the next boom in the elec- tronics industry? Is it self-driving cars, the Inter- net of things, drones, or something else that's still completely off the radar? at productronica recently, I-connect007's Barry Matties sat down with Walt custer, who took a look ahead to 2016 to give our readers his forecast. Included in their discussion were his view of china's current im- pact on the market, as well as some keen insight on a few key players and important sectors in the electronics industry. after telling how and why he started custer consulting, Walt goes on to explain what he ex- pects for 2016. Spoiler alert: there is no "next big thing" that close to volume. While it seems like things such as wearables, medical applica- tions and automotive electronics are growing by leaps and bounds, the actual volume or square footage of pcBs may actually be shrinking, as il- lustrated in one of the slides that Walt included in his presentation at pro- ductronica. In a humor- ous way, it conveyed how all the electronics we used to own and depended on to do various things have basically been replaced by a smartphone. read the entire inter- view here and learn a few things about how custer determines his predic- tions—and how you can get a copy of Walt's entire presentation. The Custer Outlook: What's to come in 2016? Field noTes ARE LOCAL INDUSTRY EVENTS THE NEW SOCIAL MEDIA?