Lanyards. If I had to sum up RubyFringe in one word, that would be it. It wasn’t the most profound or even an interesting part of the RubyFringe experience, but when I picked up my registration packet, the lanyards immediately caught my attention. That’s when I knew RubyFringe was going to be different. Why? No ads.
Conference badge lanyards are usually emblazoned with some sponsor’s logo or slogan, making the attendees unwilling billboards for whatever the sponsor is shilling. Not so at RubyFringe. They were simple black twine.
As you’ve probably heard by now, RubyFringe was awesome. It was definitely the best conference I’ve ever been to. The only competition I can think of is is the super-high energy local BarCamps here in town.
Not taking sponsorship played a big part in RubyFringe’s success. It made the conference expensive (not more than RailsConf, which has a price that makes me expect caviar for lunch) but at every event, you knew you paid for it. It was all for you, not part of some sponsor’s largess.
RubyFringe was also single-track both in sessions and in parties. This also made a big difference. There was no “cool kids” party. Everyone was at the same party. And the parties were awesome. Great food, lots of drinks, fun people.
The “girlfriend babysitting” sightseeing track also made the conference more fun. Let’s face it, we are in a heavily male-dominated industry, and there is nothing less fun than partying with a bunch of dudes. Adding some women to the mix makes it more human. Plus, the girlfriends got a good taste of Toronto while we were nerding out. My wife sometimes comes with me to conferences, but I don’t think she usually has as much fun as she did at RubyFringe.
The talks were also of a universally high quality. Keeping the talks to 30 minutes really focused the speakers. Pete Forde and his fellow “curators” did an excellent job of selecting interesting speakers – who were then able to talk about whatever they wanted: Jazz. Philosophy. Life lessons. Entrepreneurship. Selling. The talks were surprisingly non-technical for the most part, but it worked out well. Much of the time, it’s more interesting to hear about someone’s experiences than Yet Another Ruby Library.
Keep your eyes peeled for the talks on InfoQ. They are all worth watching.
Testing is Overrated slides and handout
I’ve already posted a preliminary version of what I talked about. The full video is coming on InfoQ soon, and I will link to it when it does.
Additionally, here are my slides and the handout that I made.
- Testing is Overrated slides with notes (PDF; 13.5 MB)
- Testing is Overrated handout (PDF; 276 KB)
Thanks for making this available, Luke.
And an interesting selection of personal symbol. Lanyards. You make a good point.
In my opinion, GoRuCo still has the top spot for “Best Conference Name Badge.” No advertising, beautiful calligraphy, and the name of the attendee is LARGER than the conference logo!
Imagine that…a name badge that is designed around the user’s name!
http://flickr.com/photos/muchawi/472555853/
Geoffrey, have you seen Mike Davidson’s Socially Optimized Namebadge?
I like the design of that a lot. The person’s name is HUGE.