mary.codes

I hate the idea of networking. It feels disingenuous to me. I spend more time on \r\LinkedInLunatics than actual LinkedIn. However, I know that a solid professional network is a great asset, and after over eight years as a professional developer, I only know a small handful of people who work in my area of expertise. So, I made it a goal to attend at least one developer/tech conference this year. After some research, I learned about a small, local conference, which felt perfect for my first attempt.

Overall, I had a pleasant time, despite what feels like multiple missteps along the way. It was a great way to not only learn about some interesting tech topics, but also to learn how to prepare effectively for a professional conference. Because I didn't. At all.

I signed up where?

Because I found out about the conference via Google Developer Groups, that's where I signed up for it. The event page seemed to be a little sparse but I assumed that it would be updated with more information as the event approached. I signed up 12 days before, mostly because I was still feeling apprehensive about going. I didn't want to give myself a lot of time to back out, but I also didn't want to RSVP at the last minute.

As it turned out, signing up via Google Developer Groups was probably a mistake, because when I went to check in, I wasn't on the list. It turns out that there was actually an Eventbrite page for requesting tickets, but my RSVP had gone through Google.

They were really nice about it, but it rattled me. After having a debate with myself in the morning trying to convince myself that I should go, it reinforced my feeling that, yes, I should've stayed cocooned in my bed as a little Saturday morning lazybones. Some self-doubt creeped in a little bit too, and I wondered if I should even be there. At least I did have a ticket and QR code downloaded to my phone to prove to myself that, yes, I did sign up... somewhere.

Actually Google the conference next time

As I said before, I signed up through Google's developer portal, which said that it would be updated with more information in the next couple of weeks. What I didn't do is actually go searching for the conference website until just a few days before the event. Doing that weeks ago would've probably saved the first headache, as well as many to follow.

The main conference website wasn't linked to from the developer group, so I just assumed that there wasn't a website. Which is silly, right? Of course a developer conference will have a website.

Because I waited until the last minute to go searching for information on the schedule, panels, etc. my day was thrown together at the last minute. I was writing down my schedule the night before the event.

Who are you?

You know what would have made it easier to talk to conference speakers and sponsors? Doing a little bit of research ahead of time. I didn't even consider doing that. I became a little bit of an anthropologist at times, overhearing other attendees strike up conversations with speakers and at sponsor booths. I realized that, in many of these cases, they'd done their homework before coming to the event, and were prepared with knowledge of the speaker's work or a company's offerings.

Of course, because I waited until the last minute to set my schedule, I didn't have an opportunity to do any research, if I had thought to do it in the first place.

On the plus side, all the sessions that I attended had great speakers, and I plan on following their work in the future. Hopefully our paths will cross again and I'll actually have something interesting to chat about next time.

I did this part right (I think)

The talks that I put on my schedule were all topics that interested me, but weren't necessarily within my field. For example, I attended a talk on automated testing and was the only non-QA there. However, I learned a ton about QA, how they think about programming, and how they approach problems from their point of view. While I will probably never use Selenium myself, I now know the basics of how it works and how it can be used for automated testing.

I suppose there's truly no right or wrong way to go about selecting what sessions to go to. Maybe you want to explore topics within your niche. In my case, I wanted to peek into some worlds that I normally don't see much of, like automated testing, accessibility, and API development.

Armed with my phone and capacitive stylus, I actually took a lot of notes during the talks. I brought my Chromebook along as well, but I gave up on it early on. Writing is slower than typing, but I feel like I was able to pay attention better while writing. Most people I saw didn't take notes while listening to the talks. I saw a few people who had notebooks. There were a couple of people taking notes on laptops.

While I could've sat back and just listened to the talks, I feel like taking notes helped me focus and kept my mind from wandering. It also helped me reinforce the main ideas of each topic and plan next steps for diving deeper into certain areas.

I learned the term "hallway track" after the fact

People who often go to conferences sometimes reference the "hallway track". This is that time between talks when you can chat up other attendees and get their thoughts on the conference. Sometimes people even skip talks altogether just to hang out and discuss. I didn't learn about this phenomenon until I was replaying the day in my head trying to figure out where I went wrong, and I decided to do a little research much too late!

Even if I had known about this ahead of time, both of my morning talks went long, which had me dashing from the third floor to the first, and then scarfing down a quick lunch before the start of afternoon sessions. I only got that experience a little bit later in the day, when I had already made my mind up to leave early.

Which brings me to my next point...

Go with the flow

By the end of lunch I was already burning out a bit. I was buoyed by a great talk about accessibility before lunch, but I was dealing with the effects of a stressful work week and my unpreparedness for this conference.

I gave myself permission to bail at any point. However, there was one talk I was excited for, "Why Developers Should Be More Like Imagineers". It was the fourth talk of the day, and as a big Disney nerd who studies the great Imagineers I was ready to gain some insights into how to integrate some of their practices into my work.

Unfortunately, the speaker didn't appear. There didn't seem to be any sort of notice on the website or social media that the talk was cancelled. A few other attendees decided to find another talk to attend in the time slot, but the majority of us stuck around just in case and chatted a bit.

In hindsight, I should've taken the opportunity to kick back and enjoy an unanticipated "hallway track" (everybody in that room was so nice!), but at that point I was tired, I had a headache (I did not stay hydrated), and I was pretty upset that the talk I waited for wasn't going to happen. After about 20 minutes I just couldn't bring myself to wait any longer.

I decided to leave. There was one more talk on web components that I was also excited for, but I just wanted to be home at that point.

Main takeaways

Yes, I did leave early and a bit grumpy, but I honestly think I came out of this conference with some insights that will make my next conference experience better.

1. Research the conference and try to gain as much information as possible about it from multiple sources. I think I would've learned more about what to expect if I had done my due diligence.
2. Try reaching out to the organizers beforehand if something isn't clear, like parking or whether lunch is provided. (It was, and it was good!)
3. Learn some basic things about the speakers and familiarize yourself with their work. Maybe come up with a question beforehand, but go into the talk expecting that to change. They may very well cover your question in the session.
4. Be engaged! Take some notes, think up some questions, and reflect some energy back to the speaker.
5. Research the sponsors and exhibitors. I think this would be extra important if you're job searching. I felt like going up to a sponsor table completely ignorant about their product or business would be too embarrassing, so I completely skipped that part of the event. (Also, not job searching.)
6. Find time to take breaks, even if it means skipping a planned session.
7. Find people to talk to during downtime.
8. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. If you don't know what the refreshment situation will be, bring a refillable bottle of water and stay hydrated. Also, bring a little care kit of headache medicine and anything else that might make your day better in a pinch (breath strips, a comb, lip balm).
9. At least have a plan for taking notes, even if you don't think you want to take notes. You never know what you'll find interesting.
10. Don't make yourself miserable. If the vibes are off, give yourself permission to change plans, whether that means removing yourself to another part of the conference or just heading home. That's probably less of an option if you or your company has paid a lot for a ticket, but maybe just a change of scenery is required.

I'm not discouraged, and I'm looking forward to attending more events and meeting more people. Hopefully next time I won't be dealing with as much residual stress and I'll be able to enjoy myself more. I'll definitely take my own advice and spend plenty of time preparing!