Live Event

conferences, etc. - see also Live Performance, UnConference

Db Expo in 1991 - I was developing a project time-tracking system in Paradox and feeling like I should be moving over toward that new Client Server stuff, with Oracle and SqlWindows (Gupta). Went to Db Expo and everyone (esp Michael Stonebraker) was talking about how none of this stuff actually worked yet.

Software Development conf c.1997 - paranoid about needing to move from CMM-0 to 5. Convinced to just start incremental process improvements. (I think Luke Hohmann spoke.)

• went again when it overlapped with NetGravity conference I was speaking at (re Medscape Ad Serving). Didn't find it nearly as useful this time.

Silicon Alley confab ~1998. Met Douglas Rushkoff and a couple other cool people, but content was pretty lite.

Jerry Weinberg PSL.

Jerry Michalski retreat 2002.

PcForum in 2005: underwhelmed, esp given the price

Collaborative Technologies Conference in 2005 - underwhelmed other than social networking

BarCamp (NYC): 2006

HOPE: 2006, 2008

BarCamp-Chicago 2010-08-21-BarCampChicago

MicroConf 2012

ChicagoIdeasWeek: 2013-10-18-ChicagoIdeasWeekTechSummit

MindTheProduct San Francisco 2019

current attitude: if you're ripe for a significant change in perspective, and you go to the right conference for that change, then you can get great value. And sometimes just having a few days away from office/home, while having some bits of intellectual stimulating, can have benefits. But it's a pretty inefficient way to gain incremental knowledge, esp in the days of blogs and online forums.