Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Why Do You Care About Tech Conferences?
An anonymous user is "just starting a programming career," and has several questions for Slashdot's readers:
What exactly is the role of tech conferences? I always assumed they were mostly for exhibitors to pitch me things, but then what's in it for me? Am I just going there to network, or am I learning new cutting-edge techniques and getting enlightened by awesome training sessions? Or is it just a fun way to get a free trip to Las Vegas?
And then what's in it for my employer, who's paying to send me there? If my boss has to approve the cost of attending a conference, what's going to make him say yes? I mean, do employers really get enough value from that extra conference-only information to justify sending off their employees for several days of non-productivity? (Don't they know all that networking could lead me to job offers from other companies?)
It's always been a little intimidating the way people talk about conferences, like everyone already knows all about them, and drop the conference's name into the conversations like you should already know what it is. I always assumed people just attended only conferences for their current programming language or platform -- but is there more to it than that? What exactly is the big deal?
I'm struggling to even find the right metaphor for this -- is it a live interactive infomercial or a grand gathering of geeky good will? So leave your best answers in the comments. Why do you care about tech conferences?
And then what's in it for my employer, who's paying to send me there? If my boss has to approve the cost of attending a conference, what's going to make him say yes? I mean, do employers really get enough value from that extra conference-only information to justify sending off their employees for several days of non-productivity? (Don't they know all that networking could lead me to job offers from other companies?)
It's always been a little intimidating the way people talk about conferences, like everyone already knows all about them, and drop the conference's name into the conversations like you should already know what it is. I always assumed people just attended only conferences for their current programming language or platform -- but is there more to it than that? What exactly is the big deal?
I'm struggling to even find the right metaphor for this -- is it a live interactive infomercial or a grand gathering of geeky good will? So leave your best answers in the comments. Why do you care about tech conferences?
If it's on your employer's dime.
For you: fun, broadening, exposure to more of what the industry segment is about, chance to make connections which could prove valuable to your career, opportunities to attend technical seminars or paper presentations which will clue you in to what academia or standards groups are up to.
For your employer: a way of rewarding selected employees with a nice perk, boosting their morale, gflying the company flag to keep up name recognition with others in the industry, giving them a chance to get a clue about what academia or standards groups are up to.
I think the days of going to tech conferences just to see vendors are long gone. Most I've been to have either a handful or no vendors.
The reason I like going to tech conferences, is actually to take a step back from day to day work in the industry and think about larger trends. Where is your field going? What is the leading edge of things being done? Do you agree with the common assessment about ways to approach solving problems?
Basically, to think and inspire new ideas...
Also of course there are the people. You can't really know until you get to any given conference what the people that attend are like, but to to as many people as you can. The parties (if they are parties) are nice, but more spectacle and harder to talk to people at - find people between sessions and talk to them, just say hi and ask them what they are working on and why they are there.
When I say talk to as many as you can, listen to Clint Eastwoon and "know your limitations". For a lot of us social interaction is draining so if you've maxed yours out, don't feel bad not chatting for a while. Do what you can.
These days more and more content is online or streamed so there may not be as much reason to go. But it's still good to just have that break from work and routine, otherwise the videos may be there but you will not watch them or really pay attention they way you do if you are there.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
> Am I just going there to network, or am I learning new cutting-edge techniques and getting enlightened by awesome training sessions? Or is it just a fun way to get a free trip to Las Vegas?
Yes. You're going there to network - not just with companies who might hire you away, but with potential future colleagues you might help to recruit. You're going to talk to other attendees about what they're doing, compare notes on what works and what doesn't, and meet subject-matter experts who you can tweet if you get stuck. You're going to get invited to the local tech community Slack, where you can do all of the above (and more) even after the conference is over.
You might well be enlightened by the sessions - you'll probably run into at least a few things you didn't know about before. You're unlikely to learn all the details, but you'll at least find out that the thing exists, and probably enough information to decide whether it's worth investigating further at work (or away from work). Speaking of away from work, it's likely to pique your interest about things which aren't relevant at work (yet), possibly enough that you'll investigate them on your own time.
The free trip to Vegas (/ wherever) shouldn't be ignored. Having a good time, and associating that good time with work having paid for it, shouldn't be under-valued - it's likely to be reflected in your productivity and loyalty.
Many of these things are great for your employer as well as for you. What manager doesn't want a team filled with well-connected, loyal, enthusiastic developers who are interested in the latest developments in tech and may well do some learning on their own time as well?
There is a HUGE industry for putting on conferences. I work for a guy who does this as an additional job 3 months out of the year and pulls in $100k for about 50 hours of work organizing it.
The vast majority of conferences are built on this:
1. someone wants to make bank by charging companies 300-1000$ per visit (which is chump change), so they put out a call for "experts";
2. "experts" send in proposals (often paying 3000-7000$ for prime speaking slots), but the funny part is, you don't HAVE to be expert. There is almost zero vetting of speakers.
3. These "experts" get to put a line item on their LinkedIn that says "Speaker at Conference X Y Z".
4. Audience members are usually clueless, and there is very much a "rock star" aura where the audience thinks the person on stage is some kind of authority. Truth be told, most speakers don't know about their topic until a few months before and they just send a proposal and learn on the fly. VERY FEW ARE EXPERTS. (I know this because I have spoken at several, and I've joked with other speakers about how we pulled the title out of our butts, slapped together some slides after googling, and got our company to pay the speaker fee.)
5. Audience members tell their manager that there is some conference with a name related to their job, and since it is basically a free vacation most employees get per year, blammo, $1k entry fee done and done
So you get a few dudes pumping money into marketing for a bogus new conference, you get half-assed "experts" who want to pad their resumes, and you get somnambulistic cube-drones getting their corps to shell out for an overpriced ticket to a mediocre event so they can have a half-assed vacation.
The content is shit, the organizers make a fucking FORTUNE, and the speakers get a gold star on their resume regardless of how little they know.
There are some good ones, like SigGraph and ISCCC but the vast majority are shit.
I think it's just an opportinity for the middle management to get drunk with their buddies. You can literally get all the product information, customer experience stories and analyses from the Internet. Hell, often even before the conferences. In my opinion there are very few cases where such trips are useful and justified anymore.
Ignore all the conference bs and just be fucking awesome in your own area of expertise.
American conferences are losing booth babe appeal. Any firm that staffs their booths with traditional branded models/small-time actresses in corporate logos is going to get panned by SJWs who are tried of that sort of thing.
If you want the real babes, you have to hit up Asian conferences. They still bring the T&A to tech conferences.
In your office it is very easy to get stuck with your own way of doing things and your companies approved products. You could be suffering at your job and you don't know it. Going to these conferences even just visiting the sales booths you get to see what else is out there and how to approach a problem differently. Realizing you may need a new class of products to stay competitive. That is companies pay for people to go to these. Also it gives your company exposure too. Sometimes those vendors may not sell anything to you but can become a partner were you can both expand the customer base.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.