MARTYHAUGHT

Event Organizing 101

I’ve been speaking at both conferences and user groups about building community and improving what we already have in the Ruby community. At Ruby Midwest, I am giving a sub 30 minute version of this talk and had to cut out a good number of slides. In this process I realized several of these slides might do better as a blog post on the basics of event organizing. While this is not meant to be exhaustive it does try to cover the basics on putting together your first event.

Conference organizing and speakers

Recently there was a bit of talk about conferences requiring speakers to pay for their ticket just like a regular attendee. There was a related post by Jesse of PyCon on their policy here. As a conference organizer I have my own take on this topic. In short, I disagree with the notion that speakers should pay anything. Let me explain more about that though as it’s rooted deeply in my personal philosophy.

Triathlon Training

Here’s my follow-up to my Triathlon Plunge post. If you haven’t read it and are curious for the story that led me to going for a triathlon please read it now.

One of the first things was to find a local program and coach to work with. Luckily the Longmont Recreation Center has a triathlon program and I talked with the man that organizes it, Jim Hallberg. After meeting with Jim, I decided that he would be a good coach for me. It’s been two months since that point and I’m very happy to have chosen a coach. There are so many things that I didn’t know about triathlons and Jim has been a great guide for all of them. He has kept my training level just right as well as helped me with my technique.