On Conference Organizing
I have had the privilege of getting to put on a conference about one of the things that I love: web development. It was pure coincidence that I ended up here. I am not a very active community member and I usually shy away from additional work. What is especially weird is that I ended up being the guy doing the finance and accounting stuff!
Being at the venue on day one of the Web Rebels Conference seeing that things are actually running quite well is an amazing feeling. Realizing that all these brilliant minds chose to go to something we’ve put together instead of some other conference is overwhelming. When you speak to everyone and say it’s been a great conference, it just feels unreal. When speakers say they loved speaking and think the conference was awesome it just starts to seem like a movie. I want to thank everyone for their support and kinds words. We do everything related to the conference our selves and on our spear time after our day jobs. All the amazing feedback this year does make it so easy to decide to do it again, so thank you all.
I always have the belief that everything will just end up going to hell. It isn’t until I see the conference unfold that I believe that it is not going to be a catastrophe. During the conference I have a very hard time listening to talks and sitting down. I think it’s that feeling of things going straight to hell that causes this. Although this year I actually got to see a few talks, whereas last year I think I only caught one or two.
If you ever get the chance to contribute to something like a conference, I advice you not to hesitate. It will be one of the most awarding things you’ll do.
The experience I’ve gained from organizing the Web Rebels far exceeds what I’ve learned at work the past years. Being apart of the whole experience of putting up a conference gives you insights into so many different fields of expertise and forces you to learn tons of new things. It is in fact a start-up adventure where you will learn a lot while giving something back to the community you’re a part of. Naturally there is a lot of work involved, but trust me it is most definitely worth it.
Thank you to everyone attending our little conference. I love you all!