Conference Tastic | January 18, 2007

In the space of a few days, three new conference websites have launched. First up is @media 2007. If you’ve been to @media in London the last few years, you’ll know what a fabulous conference this is. Well, Partick has been locked away in his underground dungeon for the last couple of months planning world domination. There are now three, not one, @media events in 2007. One in London, one in San Francisco and one in Hong Kong. So if you’ve always wanted too attend but couldn’t justify the transatlantic flight, now you can.

I have the honour of speaking at the Hong Kong event, while it looks like fellow Clearleftie, Jeremy Keith is going for the hat-trick. Hong Kong is a fantastic place and @media is a fantastic event, so I can’t wait.

On the subject of world domination, the Carsons keep churning out new events faster than you can say, “blimey, not another web design conference!”. The latest event is entitled The Future of Web Design and looks set to be a winner. I for one will be at the front of the queue for tickets.

Lastly, the new kid on the block is Scotland’s very own Highland Fling. Focussing around the concept of web standards and progressive enhancement, this new event aims to move the focus out of London and the South East. So if you’re a web developer working in Scotland or the North of England, I hope you’ll lend your support to this worthy event.

With so many web design events already scheduled this year, it won’t be long before we see a “Future of Web Conferences” event somewhere in the world.

On the subject of conferences, SXSW is fast approaching so I hope everybody has their flights and accommodation sorted. With so many Brits flying to Austin this year, we’ve decided to organise a bit of a treat. Clearleft, Boagworld and @media are organising a party and you’re all invited. It will be your opportunity to hang with the BritPack and enjoy a good old fashioned knees-up. More details soon.

Posted at January 18, 2007 6:25 PM

Comments

Keith said on January 18, 2007 6:56 PM

Screw all that conference nonsense, the big news here is the BritPack party at SXSW! ;0)

Can’t wait to see y’all down in Texas.

Brian Artka said on January 18, 2007 7:10 PM

hmm… The BritPack party sounds might fun! So… what is the beer of choice at this part? =P

Shaun Hare said on January 18, 2007 11:11 PM

Andy

Us mear mortals are certainly spoilt for choice at the moment.

In the past few days I have been overwhelmed with all the registration announcements
FOWA
@media
WebDD
and now Highlind fling

let alone Jeremy’s/Clearleft’s Brighton Ajax workshop

I am afraid that time and finances may mean all of these are just not possible.

I don’t want to blow the budget before the highlights for me
@media + d.construct

The finances definately don’t stretch to SXSW for me but look forward to the podcasts and flickrs even more now.

Is there any chance ofa Andy Budd CSS Workshop coming up in 2007?

One which I did not see on your list and am not sure if it is fully booked yet is WebDD - which has the advantage of being free

Shaun Hare said on January 18, 2007 11:59 PM

Update : For those reading my comment just been on the webDD backnetwork and noticed that it is now fully subscribed.

Mohodin Rageh said on January 19, 2007 1:47 AM

While these media events could be great venues for learning new stuff, ticket price of £395 plus VAT is beyond the reach of many newbie developers. I know it cost good deal of money for these events to get organized (this is not meant to be criticism at all), but I still wonder how can the “small-time developer” benefit from them. Or are they elitists gurus talking to fellow geeks?

Alan White said on January 19, 2007 8:15 AM

Thanks for writing up the conference Andy, everyone up here in bonnie Scotland are looking forward to having you all come up.

Frances Berriman said on January 19, 2007 8:47 AM

Heard rumours of doing a refresh event the day after in Edinburgh since Suda will be over - ask Alan about it if he hasn’t mentioned that.

SxSW is gonna be swish. I’m paneling now too, and it’s my first trip to Texas.

Matthew Pennell said on January 19, 2007 8:51 AM

So, Highland Fling is a conference dedicated to Brian, right… ;)

What day is the SXSW party going to be - I thought most nights had already been bagged by other parties?

Andy Budd said on January 19, 2007 9:37 AM

Hi Mohodin,

There is a huge variety of conferences at the moment in terms of the size, scope and cost of conferences. Everything from the super expensive 2007 to the completely free WebDD and BarCampLondon.

The sad thing is, we have this discussion every year. People complaining about the cost of conferences. However until you’ve actually organised one, it’s easy to underestimate the costs and time involved. Also until you have been to one, it’s easy to underestimate the value.

Remember that if you work for a company there is a good chance they will foot the bill for you, while if you’re a freelancer, £395 is just a couple of days work. Hardly a fortune if you get the opportunity to learn new skills and make new connections.

Alan White said on January 19, 2007 11:44 AM

@Frances - We are currently exporing what we can do on the day after The Highland Fling.

At the moment we looking into getting a panel of Scottish developers to do presentations and have some additional community goodness for those that want to come along.

It’s the Easter weekend so plenty of opportunities for folk to meet up and see a bit of Scotland as well as indulge in a bit of good old geekery.

We will keep everyone posted as to what is happening as things unfold…

Alex said on January 19, 2007 12:01 PM

Crikey, only £58 for The Future of Web Design? Sign me up.

Ian said on January 20, 2007 8:56 PM

Actually, £395 is half a days work :p

Gillian Carson said on January 22, 2007 2:17 PM

Thanks for the mention Andy. Tickets are selling well. I think this is very much due to the low price, which is great. We have everyone from CEOs to freelancers to academics coming along - a real cross-section of the industry.