Conferences in Tech

Oxide and Friends · 14 Dec 2024 · 1h 30m · Episode 31

What this episode covers

Bryan Cantrill hosts a discussion with Theo Schlossnagle (Netlify), Steve O'Grady (RedMonk), and KellyAnn Fitzpatrick (RedMonk) about the evolution of tech conferences. They contrast early, intimate events like OzCon, Surge, and Mocktoberfest with modern large-scale or purely online formats, debating the value of the 'hallway track' and the impact of recording talks. The group also details Oxide Computer Company's upcoming dtrace.com conference, which aims to blend online accessibility with an unconference-style community feel.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Oxide Computer Company, RedMonk, Netlify
Also
OzCon, ApacheCon, dtrace.com, Mocktoberfest, Surge, SREcon, Foo Camp, Kiwifw, re:Invent, OSCON, KraftConf, Vimeo, Internet Archive

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Thoroughly Considered · 39m

    12: The Conference Racket

    Dan Provost and Tom Gerhardt of Studio Neat discuss their strategy for attending industry conferences, noting that while they previously exhibited at MacWorld and the New York Gift Fair, they now prioritize networking at events like XOXO and WWDC over direct sales. They reflect on the high costs and time commitments of trade shows, explaining why they stopped exhibiting when the return on investment was merely breaking even. The hosts also explore the value of smaller, skill-based conferences for independent creators, contrasting them with large, generic business events.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 06m

    Trade Show or Conference?

    Chris Gammell of Golioth returns from Embedded World and discusses the state of electronics trade shows, contrasting the engineer-focused Embedded World with the sales-heavy Electronica and the high-speed PCB focus of DesignCon. Dave Jones and Gammell debate the viability of organizing industry events, the decline of US-based conferences, and the enduring value of physical browsing compared to webinars. They also cover the Raspberry Pi Pico W's programmable I/O features, the impact of component shortages on brand loyalty, and the closure of Zachtronics.

  • Embedded.fm · 46m

    19: Bacon and Beer Event

    Karen Field, General Manager of Design West and Editorial Director of EE Times at United Business Media, discusses the upcoming 2014 Design West conference and its call for abstracts. She explains the strategic shift from 'Embedded Systems Conference' to the broader 'Design West' umbrella to encompass emerging topics like Android and IoT, while maintaining core engineering fundamentals. Field outlines the benefits for speakers, including free attendance, networking opportunities, and resume building, and details the types of sessions sought, such as technical deep-dives and honest postmortems of failed projects.

  • 006 - Marketing Via Stickers

    Hosts Alvaro Prieto and Jenny provide a year-end update on the Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast, discussing their experience handing out stickers at the Hackaday Superconference in Pasadena. They highlight key conference talks by Michael Ossmann, Dominic Spill, and Samy Kamkar on infrared and car remote reverse engineering, while addressing listener feedback on audio quality and the lack of beginner hardware resources. The hosts announce a move to a new location for the Mountain View Reverse Engineering meetup and tease upcoming guest appearances.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 26m

    Is This A Show?

    Chris Gammell and Dave Jones host Chris White and Alicia White of Embedded.fm to discuss the 256th episode milestone, the challenges of producing technical podcasts without visual aids, and the state of hardware conferences like Solid Con. The group debates the user experience of smartwatches, specifically the Pebble Time, focusing on the lack of out-of-the-box functionality and the industry trend of shipping incomplete firmware. They also touch on the importance of product management in ensuring quality and the frustrations engineers face when their technical concerns are ignored by management.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Oxide and Friends. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.