The No-Dans Club - Conferences

10 Ways to Maximize Your Conference Experience

Thu, 20 May 2010 10:02:00 -0700

I've been a conference attendee, speaker, advisory board member and organizer. Each of those four roles has taught me something. I'd like to share a little bit with you so you can make the most of your conference experience.

Point 1: Introduce yourself by name. A lot.

Introduce yourself by name to everyone. Even to people you know, or who you think should know you. The biggest opportunity you have at a conference is to network. The number 1 reason behind failed networking is your name. People may choose not to greet you or connect with you because they are embarassed they've forgot your name. No one will think you are weird if you say, "Hi, I'm Dan Wilson". (Unless your name ISN'T Dan Wilson, that is).

Point 2: Expect good things to happen, tolerate mistakes

As a conference attendee, you should expect a well run conference. However, you should also strive to be tolerant when things go wrong. The people behind the scenes have been busting their tails for months to coordinate a million little details and want you to have the best experience possible. If something goes wrong, it will get fixed. Especially if you are nice about it.

Point 3: Stop checking your emails

Sure, in a 1 hour presentation, there are plenty of opportunities for distraction. However, if you have your face buried in your email, you are missing out on something good. Email is asynchronous communication, leverage it!

Point 4: Be realistic about what you can learn

In a one hour session, you probably have the ability to remember 3 things on a surface level. Thus, take notes about what you are interested in so you can google later.

Point 5: Ask for slide decks

Pretty much every presenter will share their slide deck. Sometimes you'll remember great things from looking at the slides... this should augment, not supplant your own note taking.

Point 6: Give honest and fair feedback

As an attendee, you have the right to give feedback to speakers and conference organizers. This DOES include positive and negative feedback. While no one really likes negative feedback, professionals learn from it and want bare opinions. You paid to be there, you have the right to voice your opinions. Choose whichever medium you are comfortable with.

Point 7: Take a chance

For fun, attend a session you know nothing about. You might find something really interesting!

Point 8: Pitch in where you can

While conference organizers love feedback in any form, what they love most are people who will chip in and help. This could be as simple as folding T-Shirts or making an introduction to a new sponsor... Or just stopping by and saying how much you enjoy the conference.

Point 9: Make friends.

You've got plenty of opportunities to meet people who are interested in the sorts of things you are interested. Make friends, some of those friendships will be very valuable to you.

Point 10: Get plugged in

If you enjoyed the material and the environment, get into the stream. Join a local user group. If there is no local user group, start one. There is strength in numbers.

Have any pointers I missed? Share them in the comments!

Free ColdFusion and Flex training this weekend!

Tue, 18 May 2010 08:10:00 -0700

This is the final week before NCDevCon - the premiere ColdFusion, RIA and Web Development conference at no cost to attendees! This year's conference is bigger and better than last year, with more opportunities for free hands-on training, timely and important sessions and a very awesome after-party on Saturday night! We've just uploaded the Final NCDevCon 2010 Schedule and we are very excited to see such great content from luminaries in the industry. We are at 270 registrations and we'll sell out at 300. Are YOU registered for NCDevCon yet?

Why You Should Come to Pecha Kucha at CF.Objective()

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 08:45:00 -0700

Pecha Kucha sounds like an ancient martial art, or possibly the newest weight loss craze, doesn't it? What it actually is, is a series of rapid fire presentations on a variety of topics. By short, I mean each presenter has exactly 6 minutes and 40 seconds to inform and entertain the audience. By variety, well, you'll just have to show up to see who'll present on what. As the audience member you'll get 9 different presentations by 9 different speakers in the span of an hour. The presenters promise to be informative, interesting and engaging.

List of Presenters

There is no better way to spend an hour on Friday night at CF.Objective(). Satisfaction Guaranteed, or your money back! Come to Pecha Kucha at 8PM, Friday the 23rd. See you there!

I present Making Bad Code Good 2010 to The CFMeetup at Noon Today

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:27:00 -0700

If you can join the Online ColdFusion Meetup today (March 18th) at noon EST, we'll talk about code, code quality and show you some techniques to help you make bad code good. This presentation picks up where my 2009 Making Bad Code Good presentation leaves off. Same great concept with all new code samples and techniques. If you work on a legacy application, or on code built by lots of developers over the years, you likely laugh your way through this presentation. I promise to be thought provoking and challenge the way you write code. In this session, we'll look at lots of code samples and walk through making incremental changes to speed development, reduce errors and make life easier for everyone involved. Ideas and concepts in this presentation will help you improve your existing applications and write more maintainable code.

Why you should submit beginner/intermediate sessions to NCDevCon

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:18:00 -0700

NCDevCon is a free two day conference on ColdFusion, Flash, Flex, AIR, HTML, Javascript and CSS. We've been building on the success of last year, and making bigger moves to grow the community. We are a victim of our own success. What I mean by that is, we've taken some big strides to find developers who aren't typically at Adobe conferences. Last year we held a free ColdFusion training day and also a free Flex training day. These training sessions were well received by the audience and much good was done. This year, the interest for these classes has already quadrupled. We have many more developers who have no exposure to either ColdFusion or Flex. As such, we'd like to ask the community for help. Many of the speaker submissions for NCDevCon are advanced sessions. We want those sessions to be included in our conference. We also want some good beginner/intermediate content as well. Of particular interest to us would be sessions that teach newcomers to ColdFusion, how to do common tasks with ColdFusion. The format for these would be 2 hour hands-on blocks. You provide the content and a step by step process, and we'll provide Teachers Assistants to help you keep the class on track. We'll also take care of making sure the attendees have the right software installed. This is a great way to help your fellow developers and future developers. We promise to give you the star treatment while you are with us! Some examples of sessions we'd like to see are:

How to build a contact form
How to build a dynamic product list
Building a data driven JQuery widget with ColdFusion
Reusing layouts in ColdFusion
Whatever else you can think of

So, if you would like to take part in this unique opportunity, let us know. We thank you in advance for the consideration.

IgniteRaleigh2 Our talk on Health

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:15:00 -0700

IgniteRaleigh was a smash success! A big thanks to Our Hash Tag LLC and Phonebooth.com for putting on a well run, creative event. A big thanks to M.C. Zach Ward (@zachward) for his skill in creating a fun, positive mood and keeping it going all night. He's a true professional.

As some of you know, I was very pleased to be chosen out of the herd to present at IgniteRaleigh 2 on Why Your Health Is The Most Important Thing You'll Ignore All Day. Having watched a number of Ignite style talks before, I knew it would be challenging to stay on message and on timing. Not much room for creative expounding when the slides auto-advance, is there? I also knew the other speakers would set a high bar by being dynamic, funny, creative and inspirational.

As I was presenting, I missed a good bit of the show. I did catch a few of the sessions, though like:

Janet Kennedy (@jkennedy93), 5 Bucks is Change. Her presentation was inspirational, approachable and the presentation most likely to change my life in some way. Take a look at her website http://www.5bucksischange.com/ for more information. When the recording comes available, I'll post it here.
George Smart's (@georgesmartTMH) great presentation on Mayberry Modernism – Why the Triangle is America's Hotspot for Way Cool Houses. I enjoy modern architecture and had no idea there were 100 noteworthy houses in the area.
Jess Commins (@renewabelle) made saving money sexy with her talk on How to save $100+ with a DIY energy audit. Great use of imagery to hammer the point home.
Elizabeth Gardner (@WRALweathergal) spoke on A day in the life of a meteorologist who gets up at 3am. This behind the curtain look into her daily routine was funny and well delivered. I might have a new favorite weatherperson.

My tips for presenting at Ignite

Every second counts. Either you are making your point, or wasting time.
Plan Plenty of Preparation. A 5 minute talk about something you are passionate about, is 20 times harder to prepare for a 1 hour talk. I give lots of 1 hour talks and I definitely had to work more at crafting this short pointed message.
Pick good images for your slides. I had over 100, which was whittled down to 16.
Double up on a slide if it deserves more than 15 seconds.
You will be out of sync with your slides at some point. No one will care.
Make recordings of your talk and listen to them for practice.
Put the best recording on an iPod and listen to it before your talk. It'll help you stay focused.
Love the crowd. The vibe at an Ignite is positive and supportive.

Special thanks go to:

My wife (@shannonscarlett) for helping me prepare
Jim Priest (@thecrumb) for adding a great deal of polish to my slides
Brian Erman for taping the event.

Get Free Model-Glue training this weekend!

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:51:00 -0700

As you've probably seen, I'm giving Free Model Glue training this weekend at BFusion/BFlex in Bloomington, Indiana. This will be the last Free Model-Glue training before we start the MG Training Roadshow, which won't be free. (Unless I win the lottery, which could happen). BFusion is a super-mega-low cost event ($10) that has excellent content by excellent speakers. Held on the campus of Indiana University, the vibe at the conference is very open and inviting. If you come, you can get lots of hands on training in ColdFusion and Flex basically for free. Did you know, BFusion was the inspiration for the CFinNC event this past weekend? Yep, good things happen at BFusion/BFlex. Folks get inspired, improve their skills and careers, and forge lasting friendships with really great people. So cancel your weekend plans, get in the car, bus, plane, or train and head down. If you aren't totally impressed with BFusion/BFlex, I'll personally refund your $10. Register for BFusion/BFlex Today! DW

Model Glue:Gesture - Version 3.1 Presentation at CF.Objective(ANZ)

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:53:00 -0700

I'll be presenting on Model-Glue 3, code named Gesture, at the CF.Objective(ANZ) conference, taking place in Melbourne, Australia on November 12th and 13th. I'm glad I'm able to go to this conference because the schedule is packed with quality material by highly decorated speakers. Having interacted with a number of Australian developers through mailing lists and chat, I'm very pleased to meet some of the legends in person and to meet the very vibrant, entertaining ColdFusion community from Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Seats are limited and there are less than 4 weeks until the conference. Register today! I hope to see you there!

CFinNC is close to a sell out

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:30:00 -0700

When we started talking about planning the CFinNC conference, we knew we wanted to provide the best possible training and education for zero cost. This goal was ambitious and required a large dedicated, experienced conference planning team with a large budget. Since we were a small, volunteer, inexperienced group of programmers with zero budget, I've been entertained and surprised at times by the proceedings. For those who don't know, the CFinNC planning team is pretty much the entire Triangle Area ColdFusion User Group. This is the premiere ColdFusion User Group on the planet and anyone who thinks differently can come to CFUnited for a smackdown in the Sumo Ring. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and the creativity and dedication of our planning teams, we are set to have the very best Adobe Platform ever, in the state of North Carolina. The good news for us, and the bad news for those who've been delaying their registration, is we are close to sold out. (Editors Note: Can a free conference really sell out?) Conferences generally have two periods of rapid registrations, generally around the first two weeks of registration, and the last 2 weeks of registration. CFinNC starts Oct 17th, so we are definitely in the last 2 weeks. Though interestingly enough and based on highly complicated computer models, we'll have to close registration ahead of schedule. If you've been postponing registration for CFinNC, do it now. As my 9 year old Nephew so eleoquently put it, Snoozers are losers.

Win a ColdFusion Dude Camera

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:04:00 -0700

Registration for the CFinNC conference is filling up fast. Even though we are a free conference, space is limited so get your registrations in very soon! The illustrious Simon Free is running a promotional conference to help not only CFinNC, but bFlex/bFusion and RIA Unleashed. You could win a limited edition, one of a kind, never to be seen again, amazingly creative, yet awesomely useful custom CF Dude Flip video camera by simply registering and Submit, in 100 words or less, why you love ColdFusion or why you are excited to learn ColdFusion!

Why You Should Register for CFinNC before Sept 4th

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:13:00 -0700

As you know, we are hard at work planning the CFinNC.com conference. CFinNC is 2 days of jam packed training and sessions on the Adobe platform (CF, Flash, Flex and AIR) and other web development topics. In this time of evaporating training budgets and non-existent funds for conferences, our free conference is the most compelling way to get trained and fired up. We've opened registration yesterday and are pleased with the results of the last 24 hours. A big goal of the conference is to reach and strengthen existing users of the Adobe platform by offering all levels of content. We have another goal, which is to reach and impress students and developers of alternate platforms on the power and potency of the Adobe platform. So to reach the first goal, we've opened registration and are initially promoting through the usual Adobe-centric information channels to reach the existing user base. We want to serve the needs of the Adobe platform users as this was our original driving force to start this conference. To reach the second goal, we'll begin heavy promotion through user group channels, social channels and through a registration drive partnership with DZone.com. This second wave will likely push us to capacity and give us a large attendee base that will be getting their first exposure to the Adobe platforms. So, if you are interested in coming, and happen to read this post, please decide and register soon. The floodgates open somewhere around September 4th. -DW

My CFUnited Presentation Schedule

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:43:00 -0700

I'm honored to give 4 different presentations at CFUnited. I'm especially excited to give "Model-Glue:Gesture for Fun and Profit" as it shows some really bada$$ features of the just released (today) Model-Glue 3 so try to make a special effort to come to that one, if you can. No powerpoint, just code! I'll list the presentation schedule and hope to see you there!

Date/Time	Presentation	Room
Wednesday 8/12/2009 11:00 AM-12:00 PM	Practical Refactoring: Making Bad Code Good	Galactica
Wednesday 8/12/2009 8:30 PM-9:30 PM	Model-Glue:Gesture release BOF	Matrix
Thursday 8/13/2009 8:30 AM-9:30 AM	Model-Glue:Gesture for Fun and Profit	Sandtrap
Thursday 8/13/2009 2:00 PM-3:00 PM	Building Your First AIR/CF Application	Amphitheater
Friday 8/14/2009 4:15 PM-5:15 PM	Taming CFCs with ColdSpring	Valhalla
Saturday 8/15/2009 4:15 PM-5:15 PM	Building Your First AIR/CF Application	Valhalla

Free ColdFusion, Flex AIR Conference in North Carolina

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:05:00 -0700

The organizers of the CFinNC 2009 Conference are proud to announce the ColdFusion in North Carolina 2009 Conference to be held October 17-18, 2009 on the Centennial Campus of NC State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. The conference will be aimed at ColdFusion and Flex developers and others who are interested in web design using these technologies. Registration for the event will be FREE which includes entry to the weekend event and all presentations. In preparation for this conference, we would like to hear feedback from you and your members on what types of content you would be interested in hearing. We hope to make this conference relative to all levels of developers, so your input will be invaluable. Please visit our website www.cfinnc.com for more information. We are currently accepting submissions for presentations. If you have a topic you would like to speak on, please go to www.cfinnc.com/page.cfm/presenters for more information. Please announce this to your members. We are really excited at the opportunity to organize this conference and hope that it will be a useful resource for you and your members. Sincerely, The CFinNC 2009 team

NC Conference - New Date Proposed

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:37:00 -0700

Planning for the NC ColdFusion conference is in high gear. We got excellent feedback on the conference dates/details from both speakers and from attendees. Most importantly, we realized our proposed date accidentally collided with the BFusion/BFlex conference. The Bfusion/BFlex conference is our inspiration for the NC conference. Bob Flynn, conference organizer, and others, have been very supportive of the NC Conference and we want to show our respect by not scheduling on the same day as them. Thus, after much discussion, consultation of calendars and the like, the new proposed schedule is Oct. 17-18th.

If we can make Oct. 17-18th work for the community, then we'll move ahead with that. Our next chance would be to do something in the Spring. (Or raise the price and do it in the Bahamas in winter :) )

The other option on the table is whether to provide a second day of training on the Adobe Flex framework. We propose a 6 hour Bring Your Own Laptop session targeted at beginner level Hands On Flex training. If you have some programming experience and want a hand making your first (or second) Flex application, this is for you. We're looking for responses from the community of whether or not this is interesting.

So if you are considering attending/speaking, please let us know how you feel on the following:

Does Oct. 17th - 18th work for your schedule?
Are you interested in attending/speaking/teacher assisting the Oct. 18th 6 hour Bring Your Own Laptop session targeted at beginner level Hands On Flex training?
Are you interested in more ColdFusion sessions on Oct 18th instead of Flex training?

Thanks for sharing your opinions and helping us tune this conference for the good of the community.

Need Feedback on Proposed Date for NC ColdFusion Conference

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:39:00 -0700

North Carolina Conference?

Hi Folks, we've been working pretty hard to line up a good ColdFusion conference for North Carolina and the surrounding areas. The original idea was to have a 1 day conference with 6 sessions and a lunch. All this for 50$.

Tell me more...

Thanks to some generous sponsors, we may even be able to drop the price a little, offer a conference T-Shirt and let the State employees attend for free, since they work so hard to keep this state going.

Where/When would the conference be held?

We propose to hold the conference in Raleigh, North Carolina on Oct 24th. We'd like to get an idea of the number of attendees and the number of interested speakers for this date/location combination.

If you are interested, please leave a comment below and let us know whether you are interested in any of the following:

State Employee
Attendee
Speaker

Thanks for reading and thanks to all the people who have helped us get this far in planning. We appreciate the support!