In person or virtual conferences?

XDC was much better in person. While I learned things from the sessions, I gained more knowledge chatting with the developers (Norm, Bob K, Joe, etc) between sessions.

A conferences is:

  • keynote with some announcements, vision for the company, preview of upcoming features
  • sessions to explain how to do things
  • get contacts with the community
  • see what others do and how they do it
  • chats in the hallway, lobby or at the bar.

And those chats are for me the most important as people start to talk about what’s missing after a few beers and I can learn what plugins I can write :slight_smile:

IMO it really depends on the how the conference is set up.

Taking an example from my line of work, conferences include many aspects, not just didactic lectures - i often avoid those as in my areas of interest i’m as knowledgable as most of the speakers…

However other types of sessions include education/training, a ‘speak with the experts’ type sessions, ‘agora’ type sessions and moderate poster sessions, all of which are designed for smaller groups with a significant element of interactivity which really do enhance learning and often inspire.

Then there’s 3rd party vendor’s exhibitions with discounts for products and an element of interactivity - but most importantly there’s a chance to network with colleagues who i wouldn’t actually otherwise meet.

All in all, no matter how expert I consider myself and how much i’ve actually contributed to the content myself, i invariably leave conferences feeling inspired, although perhaps in terms of knowledge not always got my money’s worth as they are pretty pricey…

Not sure how much of this would apply to a developer conference, but in my mind an ‘online only’ conference would loose something in the longer term…

… environment might benefit though … :roll_eyes:

While i take your point and it is strictly speaking correct, in the grand scheme of things, the contribution of travels to conferences amounts to an extremely tiny proportion of environmental damage - and could be argued is outweighed by the benefits (although that would depend on the conference i guess lol :smiley: )

Personally, i think there should be more time for chats and less time on session especially chat outside the conference room. maybe more small tables and chairs to sit down and chat.

I think once after the conference organise by MBS and on the way back on the various train back to london, i start working on the new things i learn during the conference

1 Like