This year, I've spoken at four conferences across two countries. In reality, they were the same two presentations delivered in different places, but even then, the content wasn't exactly the same each time:
- DeveloperWeek in San Jose, California: a talk about the new random functions in CSS. For this one, I actually prepared two versions, one for the in-person event and another for an online audience.
- OpenSouthCode in Málaga, Spain: my presentation on using CSS as a game engine.
- RenderATL in Atlanta, Georgia: back to the CSS random functions talk, although by this point the content had evolved so much that it was almost a completely different presentation from the one I gave at DeveloperWeek.
- Commit Your Code in Dallas, Texas: another version of the CSS-as-a-game-engine talk, but adapted to a shorter format with more hands-on coding.
I realized this year that even when I give the same talk multiple times, it never stays the same. Every audience, time slot, and format forces me to rethink the material.
I'm particularly fond of the presentation at Commit Your Code. It felt different and special.
The session was limited to 25 minutes, much shorter than my usual talks, so I had to rethink the structure, trim the slides, and move through the introductory material as quickly as possible to get to the coding portion. Normally, I consider myself lucky if 10 to 20 people show up to one of my talks, especially given how niche some of my topics can be. This time, though, the room was packed with around 60 to 70 attendees, and they fully embraced both the weirdness of the presentation and, arguably, the presenter.
It's a conference I'll remember for a long time. Despite arriving late and leaving early because of a family emergency, I still managed to meet some interesting people and have some great conversations. The atmosphere in the room was fantastic, and that was reflected in the feedback afterward. I received some very positive and constructive comments, much like I did earlier in the year at RenderATL, and they gave me plenty of ideas for improving future talks.
For the remainder of the year, I have two more conferences on the schedule, and this time the topics are completely different:
- JSConf Mexico in Guadalajara, Mexico: I'll be diving into the Gamepad API and building a game live on stage. I've given earlier versions of this presentation before, both as a 2-hour workshop where participants shared their projects at the end, and also as a traditional 45-minute talk. This time, though, I only have 25 minutes, so I've decided to go big or go home. The plan is to spend almost the entire session live coding. There may be a few slides at the beginning, probably web-based and minimal enough that I can quickly jump into the editor, but the focus will be on writing code and demonstrating the results live, hopefully with the help of a DDR mat or even a Rock Band drum kit.
- SpiceWorld in Austin, Texas: besides being in my hometown (which may or may not explain why they scheduled me at 8am 😅), this one is special because it's a completely new talk on a topic I've never presented at a conference before: soft skills. I've written about soft skills in the past, but I've never built a conference talk around them. The presentation is based on an article I wrote (but never published) five or six years ago comparing Lightning McQueen, the red race car from the Cars movies, to the career progression of a software developer. I think it's a fun concept, and I'm excited to see how it lands, even if I'm also incredibly nervous about it.
It's been a busier conference year than usual, but six events doesn't seem like a bad number. I've enjoyed visiting new cities, meeting interesting people, and sharing topics that I genuinely care about. I'm especially looking forward to Guadalajara, a city I've never visited before, and getting to experience Día de Muertos while I'm there makes the trip even more exciting.
And, to be honest, it has been such a nice experience, that I kind of hope I get the chance to do a few more conferences next year. It has really been a lot of fun.
So, if you happen to be in Guadalajara or Austin, don't be a stranger. Stop by and say hi! 🙂