 Welcome to our yearly traditional Blender Network Presentation I think I see more people than than usual and that's it's very fun I'm very curious to know why you guys are here as a matter of fact Our plan is to keep this presentation very short and to ask you a lot of questions actually to try to make this as much of a discussion as possible So this is the Blender Network you can actually see it right in front of you. It's a world network of Blender professionals our mission is to connect Blender professionals and As you can see in Europe, there are a lot of Blender professionals and you know, you can have There is education. There is companies. There is single freelancers. There is people in every single state in Europe In average is many more people in Europe than in the US. That is interesting fact that we always observe and also in other continents, but That's still it has grown in the past Since the past currently we are around 250 I think Members which is Which is great. We are really happy with the level and with the quality of the profiles that are there Because the whole point of the network is to make sure that it stays and it is a List of highly qualified people that are really good at what they do So that then when we send people to this network, whatever profile they click on whatever they search for They will find someone that we trust and someone that knows how Blender works and that knows how to work with it In whatever context for whatever project they might be needed for So this year we worked on a few things to improve the website that now Pablo is going to walk you through but Mostly we've been doing our usual work of supporting users Which is we get a lot of incoming requests of support. How does Blender work? How do I render the default cube and they send these questions to The Blender network support and we answer all of them because it's very important that people who reach out to a Blender and Blender Connected Organization they get an answer and Sometimes the answer that I would like to send is something else that what we actually send but We actually send very helpful answers Okay, anyway, I will give it to Pablo so he's going to talk more about what we did for our users and for people who browse the website Hello there So the main thing that that we work on this this year on a technical level Was that we we had last year when we this this talk we had I think way less than we were more around the 200 Profiles and then we noticed like when people were browsing the website They're a bit slow like you could see a little bit of the profile, but you couldn't really see Like the skills or they are the gallery a quickly see the gallery of the people big part of the Blender network is artists and they have pretty cool picture So we wanted to show that so what we did is a first flow based Search and listing that we first implemented on the jobs list that is our It's the most visited website part of the website is a job support. So we applied it here as well so what you see is basically the the same kind of filtering that we had before now you can also filter by Certified trainers. So if you go to the bottom you can choose if you are a certified trainer and you can also limit by The skills they have and then If they work online, that's also very important There's a lot of people that apply to the network and say but I'm not really looking for work Should I be on the Blender network and yes, the answer is yes you can just say that you're not available for work right now, but It's important that your your face is out there, especially if you're academic if you're doing training and you're working in a new university or Research for example, that's very important So what I know that guy. Yes So what we did is like what is my internet is terrible here, but basically it's a way that you can Pre-review yeah, you can not visit the profile. It's just preview If you can keep clicking you can just keep loading and let it a little bit of the What what they got at what this profile is about Without actually going to visit the whole profile and then you can visit. Oh nice Coming and this is twice. I like it so much that I put it twice But then you can hold visit the whole profile, of course and with this thing in mind is flow-based Listing we also apply it to jobs search All right, so keep talking the jobs list this year last year we was around the same but this year We've seen a growth on full-time jobs offers people are looking for full-time Blender everything the from artists to generalists to Animators as well. So the full-time as you can see here. These are all recent. There is like October September September August. They're all full-time works jobs applications for There's one in in Russia. There was so like the planetarium was was looking. That's super cool I really wish I was either Russian or Close by because working on a planetarium doing like space stuff with Blender. That's what I see pretty cool Full-time even so That is pretty exciting. This is something we We didn't see a lot in the past and now we see it and it's great So the the technical side is similar that the browsing is so similar to what we always explaining on the the professionals page but basically you can you can go and click back click back click back on all the job applications that you have here and The maybe we can show the list of yes slash BST That has a special extra filter for pre for Continent so the way you can see it trainers When when I came to Europe it was the first time it surprised me how close everything is You just fly a couple hours and so having this is very important if you can get trainers from From within a few hours from where you live So there is 28 currently 28 Blender Foundation certified trainers in Europe and we need to keep working and bringing more people to Africa and South America Okay, so at this point Let's talk about the real deal so Here it is so Our system for joining the Blender network has been the same since we took over it a few years ago And we have these three different memberships that everybody pretty much knows of and We Think that this is still a fair rate for people to join the academic Process is a bit more elaborate than simply just clicking to join There is a more in depth review So we really make sure the people who apply for academic have an academic background They work with teaching or they do research. There's really legit academic people and In the other cases, of course, also we check that people are actual professionals, but the main point is We have been thinking of ways to improve this how to make the network more inclusive how to reach out to more users and While this system is good for classifying people, maybe it's not the best way So we are thinking of alternatives because sometimes people are Free Lancers, but sometimes people they just Are working on something for a company, but they still want to be on the network because maybe they want to be a Speaker of the conference one day or they want to share their professional work somehow But if but right now they don't have the chance and we've been through a few brainstorms thinking of ways to make this better and It very quickly tends to become something like let's make the network fee for everyone to join Everyone can get a profile and then you can just be there if you want to be really a professional You can be up there and it sounds very exciting. It's like you build your own Blender Facebook But in the end is this really what we want to do because the mission and what the Blender network is is the Biggest network of Blender professional so the people who join should be professional should have a professional mission And so how do we make this work and we don't know yet? We've been we are working on it We are thinking about it But we want to take the chance that there is a room full of people here to actually ask why you are not on the Blender network Yes, okay, that's right who is on the Blender network right now and Now all of you other guys and girls why are you now? Okay, so as you can see like this not everybody's there and that we would really like to know the reasons and to Understand that and also we are super happy to hear feedback from you about it so If you have any comment Don't be shy. We would love to hear from you. So let's get started I'm just not good enough in the program. I'm very good for making stories designing things and Designing puppets designing animals, whatever you want, but I'm not very good at the program itself That's why I'm here to connect with people who are better at the program than I am but maybe less in making stories That is actually a great point because Yeah, lots of people. Yeah, okay. I will let's let's let people talk. I stop talking I have two thoughts about the Blender network because being there already for few years is just like having something like business card I'm plugged in the network. I have my small portfolio there I'm there but there is after those first steps. No, not much there So maybe there will be needed some kind of for the structure for example for joining two different parties Not only by simple relation. I'm working with him But also we can collaborate on higher level. That's the one thought and another one No, thank you for that another one is maybe we should have there something like tags or badges and This will all you allow you to just create something like not only three types of account But also mixed accounts. Maybe somebody is on academic level like I for example I'm working for the university and I would like to have some kind of academic account there, but I'm also Another one. I'm a freelancer there So this too, I don't know if they could exist both of them if you take some something like tags It could work this way. Okay, so that's two for two cents for me. Okay. Thank you here I am working with Blender full-time in a game studio and But I don't really see any Because I don't I don't really have time to work. I don't see the benefit of joining the the network Just Why I'm here that when if I'm like joined for 50 bucks a year, it's not a lot But I don't see a reason to be there if I'm like busy with work even when I'm professional Yeah, that's a very valid point. We seen that in the past if I'm not looking for work Why would I want to be there? Why would I want to show show it off there? there is There in this case for example, you're at the Blender conference you are here to learn you're also for networking Maybe you're you want to see people that are working on the same on the same topic or in the same area or in the same Things that you're doing, right? Well, the blender network is like the online version of that So you're not looking for work. You're not available to travel There is like options there that you can you can enable then we can we want to make this a bit Maybe more more clear it may be just hide the option completely or maybe just have a different listing But the fact that you are doing something with Blender Even though you're not looking for work or anything It's Awesome to have it out there and it's great to have it here at the Blender conference and other people can see it Maybe you can give a talk about it or lining talk, but having an online place where you can actually point people and One day we we can build these sort of groups That connect people that they're not looking for work, but they connect them right there that they can share I mean their research they're doing or Documentation that they're working on so it does it's not really just for like looking for work or applying for work But just get people together and get get to get them out there that they're doing awesome stuff with Blender There's someone in the back someone over there Thanks, have you guys ever thought about having some kind of like an enthusiast level? like between academic and professional and maybe even have some kind of a credit system for Support where they buy credits to get extra support well this kind of Can turn a little bit the network itself into What already is becoming which is a bit of a support platform for For anyone that is using Blender so finding a way for people to be there It's it's important and that's one of the things I was mentioning earlier like not everybody fits those categories So yeah, we've been thinking about it, but we don't know yet how to make it work. So it's a good point Okay, next Thank you. You actually already Replied to this by your mail, but since I'm here I'm gonna tell it So me I recently Subscribed to the network, but it took me it took me some time because what What bugged me it's it was the fact that I had to pay for it and Also What I really like about this website is the map because In my area there are really not many professionals and I think also it would be I agree with Piotr Piot that it would be cool to have a free account maybe Not professional account, but it could also be Ignored in a research like when you're hiring you you're looking for only professionals you can uncheck the box for enthusiasts for example and This will this would maybe bring more people so that we would have a bigger map and So that professionals can also make connections with non-professionals, but it's still useful to build your network this way Okay Yes, yes, like that's indeed we discussed this previously. So it's a good point I don't know overall how you how you guys feel about it and if there are oh, yeah, sorry Now what I was thinking like as was mentioned as well having some sort of basic account where people Can't necessarily apply for a job where they can just showcase their work But maybe that could work with like a one-time donation just to be a part of the network So you guys still get some funding out of it Because I do think for people that want to join but just kind of want to look around a bit I think 50 euros is a lot more than Yeah, I mean I'll put it this way There's a lot of websites out there that like you showcase your work for free obviously So maybe that's an idea just to have like a separate tab that doesn't show up when people are looking for professionals So you don't show up in that list because you're not necessarily available for work Yeah, that's similar to what he was saying that having a part of the Being part of the network and showing it on a map even though they're not professional You can highlight the profession highlight the professional differently, but that's something we we had in mind and we put a lot of thought into it and Might become a reality because it happened in the past there is this website like meetups dot something That is for meetups, right that you put there your email and they put advertisement and stuff And then you you get that's you get the meetings there set up and that's great We also have an events part of the of the network where we we is more of course Blender focused but Having a place that maybe just not for professional for our entusiasm how I want to get together and want to see people around them That thing is that's pretty pretty important their websites where people there is that the how is he called it the website that where You can see in a Google map Everybody like the Blender users. There wasn't Blender artist. It was the thread about it Blender world user map. Yes, something like that. I remember like ten years ago I added myself there in the south of Argentina and I was pretty excited because then you could see people even though I was 15 years old and I wasn't really like a I wasn't 15 in 10 years ago. It's a bit more ago but All right, but it was pretty exciting for me to see my little bubble there as a Blender user and see other people that Actually were in the area using Blender So I think that that is something that maybe that it fits completely here. It's not but of the the professionals People are actually making a living with Blender But it's important for for networking because one day these people are going to start making a living with Blender and then They become professional Like the single donation could keep it from turning into Facebook basically You know as much as everybody uses Facebook or whatever. It's not a great website for that kind of stuff or professional stuff I think LinkedIn has sort of turned into Facebook as well a little bit So I think it might sort of be a good Little gate to keep the people out that don't necessarily have the best intentions or aren't really that into it in the first place Yes, I mean the We we really We will look at this like we have to seriously think about it and how to make it How to make it how to change it? Maybe maybe we really it changes a little bit the meaning and In the past, you know, we've been thinking about if the I'm doing in the network was for free but then you still have a selection process like would that help and things like that so we we want to keep the website fresh and working and Offering a platform for people to meet that that's important. But one thing that This is a big a big problem for us is half because we can push the website, you know Like we can we can make it larger and we can make it more inclusive and get the whole Blender community there But is that really what our mission is like it doesn't mean connecting Blender professional connecting Blender Users with each other or we should also just try to reach out and connect them with the rest of the world too Because Blender is growing and that's what is important Like do we want the Blender network to be a place for people that come from the outside that are looking for Blender expertise? Blender TD is Blender trainers because they're switching to Blender like we get so many emails so many support requests from big studios They'll actually want to switch to Blender and they don't know how do I do it? Which you know, they stay subscribed to training websites because that's the best kind of training they can find But you know, if you get an in-house trainer in one week of in-house training You can probably get a lot out of that then subscribe into a website for example and So if we want to be ready for that then that's a different dynamic So this is also something that I think is very important for the future of the network that we keep in mind that we are actively doing right now And that is really invisible because everybody here knows each other Here at the Blender conference everybody is Blender Blender focus then is good and Blender is becoming bigger and bigger every day Not just because of this but because people from the outside see us for what for the community that we are and for what Blender can achieve and More people join and more people talk to each other and that's the that's the most important part. They think So, yeah Which is to close that that topic I think the donation could help in a way, but we're still not prevent from having Professors unless you leave it in a way you just allow it. I don't know name and location which is what the the world map thingy Used to have I think that maybe that that is a Maybe that's a good way to go and then in professionals could pay At the the bid extra for having their own gallery and everything in there on on their on the actual professionals listing But yeah, maybe that could be one way to go because as Francesco was saying it's not only a selection But also a rejection Process that we go through like every week we get plenty of some missions and we have to go through all of them sometimes translate Whatever they are writing and see if they're legit seer. Okay their website there if they're active on social media like Like everybody that is on the on the network is actually we go through the process of seeing their work Asking them again, maybe they they submitted. I don't know 10 pictures and eight of them were maybe not as good It's okay to remove those eight leave the best ones and just like there is a selection process that goes through it So if you open that for everybody then it will be just way too much work for the blender foundation and when they're into to take Care of so maybe just allowing Yeah, maybe then the name on the location Maybe that's one way of and maybe like a tagline or something that would be a good way of Including those people and then giving that extra for the people that want to be more visible Jenna Okay, so It's this sort of question. It's kind of like an idea Maybe the website in some way should be more focused on the artist's work So have kind of like a common gallery that is I don't know with boats from other artists because what I Feel about it is like it's a little bit disconnected from the outside world Like if you go to art station, all you see is like fantastic work from the artists that are there And then you can contact them or see more work from them and here you start like okay technical part, right? But then if you encounter a website that has work doesn't matter with it It is it from then you can get in and then be more interesting hiring these people But you go through the process the the other way around here, right? So you need to know what you're looking for and then you start looking for profiles and if you showcase more work Maybe this will connect more blender artists to more work because I think one of the reasons that people are not getting into the blender Network is because even though it's cool and it's growing It's still not attracting much employers or much more people to be interested in like I've been in the network for three years I think and I see like every every single time that there's any job I go inside and and look for it But we still get like one or two postings or maybe more a month But still not enough to keep it flowing and to be and to say like okay This is really really worth paying because I don't care pay 50 euros a year If I'm getting like one job a month from it, right? But when when it's not really working that way that much I think it needs to get more exposed and bring people because It's good that there's professionals there only professional work But it needs to connect with the outside world the ones that demands this professional work so yeah, I Think we we had that in mind once to make a special like a wall right now on the front page of the of the network you have a A feature profile that sort of it Kind of has that idea But maybe the whole world could have a grid of pictures like our station that you were saying But that will have to be curated manually I guess have to be like go through every picture and then just like say okay This picture is cool this one doesn't that one and then just build a wall Yeah, yeah, it could be coded by the other people just way by making them But how do you prevent people from you know like fraud like so there has to be some work than there But yeah, it's a it's I think it's a valid point. There is also why we shouldn't forget about academics and Developers developers there are developers here here. I see a developer this on the network So I think we should also or maybe they could post good pictures about their their work But yeah, we should try to include everybody and it's a good idea Okay, well our time is is up. Unfortunately. I thank you very much for joining us and If you have any question, we are going to be around we are around in the open studio on Monday So if you want to give us more suggestion if you want to talk if you want to be in the Blender network Please just talk to us any moment. We are super happy to hear from you. Thank you very much