The first day at Rails Edge
I don’t know that I can say “it was what I expected,” but at the same time, I don’t know why I can’t say that. It’s a completely different setting from anything I’ve been to before, so maybe that’s what throws me off. There are a lot of really smart people here, but that was expected. I think I’ve reinforced my lack of desire to associate with the attendees, which unfortunately, my boss probably doesn’t want to hear. In a way, I’m almost intimidated because I feel like everyone around me knows more than I do, and I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the conversation. Whether or not that’s true, that’s how I feel. And despite what people say, that’s a hard thing to overcome. Nobody likes feeling dumb. It could just be my lack of “conference experience.” Maybe if I understood the reasoning of the people that generally attend (self, training for work, mandatory, etc.), I might be able to assess a better hunch about the audience. The conference just seems to be somewhat advanced to be “Rails training,” but that, in no way, means beginners aren’t here trying to learn.
In addition to all that I’ve learned technically, I’ve realized that 12 hours at a conference is a long day no matter what you’re listening to. I’m completely interested in every topic proposed in the schedule, but after awhile, my head started to hurt and my tail bone began to not like the chairs we were sitting in. Aside from that little bit of discomfort, I have no objections to how the first day at RailsEdge has gone, and I’m looking forward to the sessions for tomorrow.
Ken Liu Thursday, 25 Jan, 2007 Posted at 07:41PM
Hey Ryan, came across your blog via your comment on mine.
Thanks for putting your thoughts out there. No reason to be intimidated. Just from my conversations with people, I would say a good percentage of attendees here are Java or C# developers who are new to Rails or just have one or two small apps under their belt, which makes you more of an expert than many people here. I certainly fall into that category.
On the other hand, I would guess that the folks here are generally smarter and more motivated than your average developer, since Rails is a relatively new technology, and they would have to be fairly self-motivated to even show up here. (I have coworkers who haven’t even heard of Rails.) Then again, everyone is learning about Rails because the stuff changes so quickly. I don’t even plan to use Rails in any production apps at work any time soon, and just convinced my boss to send me here because Rails is so cool.
BTW, here’s the trick to sounding smart at a conference – speak up when you have something to say about a topic you know about, and keep quiet about topics you don’t. And talk FAST.
Be sure to say hi to me if you get the chance – I’m the Chinese guy with the same haircut as Mike Clark. :)
Luke Friday, 26 Jan, 2007 Posted at 06:08AM
Good to see your having fun over there Ryan, but I agree with what Ken said in his comment: if your feeling bewildered, keep your head down and consolidate new information, and speak up when you’ve got something to say (as long as it’s useful).
Must be tough going to one of these conferences on your own, I was tempted to visit @Media over here in London, but didn’t have the courage (I’m not exactly more than a novice in most of the topics any way) to go without a friend. Two is always better than one in these new situations in my opinion, but good for you for trekking iton your own!
Lets see some new stuff from the things you’ve learnt when you get back!
Ryan Friday, 26 Jan, 2007 Posted at 02:50PM
Actually, what I’ve posted probably does imply that I’m here solo, but I’m not. My boss and another co-worker are here, too. That’s probably more motivation to not initiate conversation, knowing I have alternatives. If I were here by myself, I think I’d have to talk to someone eventually.
And for the record, I did talk to a few people today, and even asked a few questions. And signed up to win the Macbook Pro. You wouldn’t believe the Mac/PC ratio here… actually, you probably would. It’s safe to say I’m in the minority, that’s for sure.