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Bekki Freeman and Spike Ilacqua
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Rocky Mountain Ruby Conference organizers Spike Ilaqua and Becky Freeman share how they revived this regional event and why smaller tech conferences create uniquely valuable community experiences.
• Rocky Mountain Ruby started in 2010, ran until 2017, then was revived after the pandemic
• The conference builds on Boulder's strong Ruby community, including regular meetups and an active Slack channel
• Small regional conferences create more intimate experiences where attendees can meet everyone
• The "Pac-Man rule" encourages conversation circles to always leave space for newcomers to join
• Single-track programming and community lunches help foster connections between attendees
• Volunteering at conferences provides an immediate icebreaker and helps overcome social anxiety
• Making eye contact, smiling, and joining pre-conference activities helps newcomers build connections
• Conference organizers benefit from mentorship and learning from experienced community builders
Rocky Mountain Ruby returns to Boulder, Colorado on October 6-7, 2024. The CFP will open in late May/early June, and tickets will be available in July. Submit talks at rockymtnruby.com.
Chapters
1. GoRails Sponsorship Introduction (00:00:00)
2. Meet Spike Ilaqua & Becky Freeman (00:16:19)
3. ] RailsConf & Scholars Program (00:20:01)
4. ] Advice for Conference Newcomers (00:22:48)
45 episodes
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