Philly ETE

April 20, 2010 – Philly

Two weeks ago, I spoke at Philly ETE. Let me say here, publicly, that this conference completely rocked. First, the conference organizers picked a great location in the heart of Philly’s Old City. Second, they convinced many great speakers from around the country to come speak. Third, they highlighted excellent local talent. Finally, they really took care of the speakers and made sure that we had everything we needed.

I can’t stress that last point enough. At many conferences, the speakers are expected to magically appear, give a talk, then disappear to whence they came. With Philly ETE, the organizers actually offered to get me a hotel room (I declined on account of living twelve blocks from the venue). Touches like this make a good conference great. When a speaker knows he has nothing to worry about, he is free to focus on one thing: crafting a great talk. The only conference I’ve seen do things better than Philly ETE in this respect is Goruco, which offers speakers both a travel stipend and an honorarium.

So, well done Philly ETE. I really appreciated your committment to making a good conference great and your fantastic selection of talks. I rarely spent time in the hallway track, which is amazing for a conference of your size. I’ll definitely be back next year, speaking or not.

P.S. – Goruco registration is open now and half sold out. Go buy a ticket. It’s the best regional ruby conference. Evar.