

On Why JSConf Rocks - eldude
http://blog.noderiety.com/on-why-jsconf-rocks

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rauschma
Thanks for writing about your motivations for going to JSConf! If I may, I’ll
describe my own motivations for going to a conference. I do so not to
contradict your opinion, but simply to offer another perspective. For me, a
conference has to do the core things well. Everything else I can organize
myself – without the risk of someone else choosing badly for me.

\- Destination: I considered both San Francisco and the venue to be perfect.
For me, a destination mainly has to be easy to reach. Tourism is a plus, but
ranks a distant second to the ease of getting to the venue. Additionally, San
Francisco has the advantage that many important JavaScript people live close
by which increases the chances of them speaking.

\- Parties: Agreed. At least one evening event for everyone would have been
nice.

\- Food: I’m a bit difficult with food, so I often buy my own and don’t care
about conference food much.

\- Significant others track: I’m single. As long as my money isn’t spent to
support other people’s partners, I don’t have an opinion either way.

\- Spectacles: Again, I bring my own, so I don’t need a video game lounge etc.
All of these things cost money.

\- “Free beer / drinks throughout the day”: I am a beer drinker, but would
only want a conference to serve alcohol in the evening.

\- Schwag: please no. I always have an incredibly bad conscience when I throw
away (most of) the stuff I get at conferences. After a certain point, one has
enough toys, bags, pens and paper. That being said, a B2G phone certainly
would have been cool.

\- Community / Speakers: I like JSConf’s egalitarian approach. Not sure how
well it scales up, though.

The biggest problem with JSConf is that it’s nearly impossible to get tickets
(I tried twice). So where JSConf wins with regard to its egalitarian
speaker/audience approach, it loses with regard to tickets, where it can feel
a bit elitist: Some people will easily get a ticket, others won’t.

You might completely disagree with my taste as outlined above, but then the
conclusion is easy: The JavaScript community can only profit from the
increased conference diversity that is currently developing. In my opinion,
Fluent should mostly stay as it is, as probably should JSConf (which I haven’t
been to, yet).

~~~
voodootikigod
Organizer of JSConf just to clarify a couple points you have made, whether
intentional or unintentional, since as you admitted you haven't attended
JSConf.

\- Parties: It was actually two JSConf organizers (Malte and Mikeal) who
organized the beer.js event at FluentConf

\- Food: Your "bit difficult" is well received at JSConf. We have full, proper
meals specially made for anyone who identifies a meal
preference/allergy/concern. We happily provide amazing, wholesome meals for
everyone so that no one has to bring their own. It is hard to describe to
someone who hasn't attended, but we do try our hardest to ensure that
everyone's needs and palettes are satisfied.

\- SigOTrack, Spectacles, etc. Most of these are paid for with sponsorship
funds, all of the money brought in from all parts is put directly back in to
the enjoyment, education, and venue/food of the attendees, speakers, and
sponsors. I, and friends, live and die by what we call the 'value per
attendee' (cost of having the person there over money they spent to be there),
IMHO that that should always be greater than 1.25.

\- Swag: Once again hard to describe if you have never attended, but we push
our sponsors to provide meaningful and worthwhile items. I, and many others,
still use all of the swag they received (Hot sauce, twitter notebook, coffee
mugs, etc) to this day. My wife and I coordinate with the sponsors to ensure
everything is unique and should be worthwhile to the attendees. This helps the
sponsors as well as the attendees.

\- Community/speakers: it scales as well as the organizers are willing to
incur the risk that a talk might flop just as easily as it might succeed. It
is the question of do you put people on stage you know will do "good" and
consistent, or people that MIGHT do amazing or horrible. I, personally, would
only pay money to see and do things I can't already see and do on the
internet, hence the reason for our speaker selection process (and other
items).

\- Biggest Problem: I can assure no people "easily get a ticket" to JSConf.
The only people that have a slot at all are the other JSConf organizers who
are there solely for the explicit reason of staffing the event. If you want to
help staff the event (this applies most likely to all events) offer to help
staff. Everyone else is a first come, first served basis -- including
sponsors. It isn't elitist, if anything it is opportunistic. This year 75% of
the US audience was attending JSConf for the first time, so to clarify it
isn't the "same people each time". As for the "others won't" something to
consider is that if a conference doesn't sell out, or at least meet the
"positive income" point, the organizers have to bear the burden of that cost
difference. Size decisions are made and locked long before the first ticket
sale (in all conferences). That contract is a very, very scary and binding
item and carries with it a lot of cost if the conference doesn't at least make
its break-even point. Just bear in mind, in all these events it is a small
group or possibly a single person bearing the entire risk for the "community"
and when it goes wrong/bad, the "community" is rarely there to help defray the
costs (I know some communities do and I think that is awesome and should be
modeled everywhere)

The model and concept we (US, EU, AR, AU, etc.) have built is not to be bigger
(in fact we shrank in size this year), but to be more widely available through
more local events. The small size breeds conversations and conveys a feeling
(for better or worse) of "I can meet everyone". We keep it small because we
are still experimenting, trying different (sometimes failed, sometimes not)
methods and ideas. This isn't a knock on the larger conference model, I
believe there are many conference models and they should all exist (or
continue to be created/refined) because people are varied and unique and that
is what makes these events awesome. There are many events that don't appeal to
me (personally) but I am glad they exist for people that it does appeal to. We
all have our own reasons for liking things and as long as it doesn't
offend/hurt anyone else - I say carry on!

~~~
rauschma
Excellent background information, thanks!

------
mikealrogers2
I only have one tiny thing to say here.

Oh, BTW, I organize NodeConf.

I'm intrigued by these "topic tables" but I have to say that if they were
considered for JSConf I'd have to advocate against them.

Here's why.

At a very large conference (over 300 people) you start to feel a little
alienated. That's a huge number of people, and attendees tend to huddle
together who already know each other. At an event this size having a way for
attendees to find people with similar interests they don't know, break the
ice, and have a conversation with a new person is a tremendous service and I'm
glad to hear Fluent provided them.

But, at an event below 300 the dynamic is very different.

One of the things I try to do with NodeConf, and I know Chris thinks about at
JSConf, is to reduce "coupling up". We try to get people to break out of the
small groups of people they are most comfortable with and meet new people.

At a 200 person conference, over two days, you can actually have a
conversation with every person. That's not just a possibility, it's a goal of
NodeConf and JSConf.

While NodeConf is more specific and specialized JSConf is a melting pot of JS
activity. One of the most important things that happens at JSConf is people
having conversations with other developers who exist outside of their normal
sphere of influence and comfort zone. That's why people from Smalltalk,
Clojure and Ruby are invited to give talks.

There isn't another conference where the implementers of prominent client side
technology meet so many implementers of prominent server side js tech. If
JSConf added topic tables my fear would be that these conversations would
reduce because it would be too easy to find more people in your comfort zone.

The goal of the parties and breaks isn't to get drunk and be stupid, it's to
loosen people up enough to break out of their comfort zone and enable these
conversations.

