Friday, May 28, 2010

So How’s That Conference Thing Going?

I’ve started and restarted this blog post a few times already because there’s no way to just answer the question of “how’s it going?” with something as simple as…

“Good.”

This experience has been challenging…in a good way. I’ve been stretched, I’ve had to put faith in myself and the decisions I made, and I’ve learned a tonne of lessons…enough to fill a month’s worth of blog posts, or even a small book.

I went into this thinking that there should be a way to run a conference in smaller markets but with all the quality of larger conferences. The conference hasn’t happened yet, but the fact that I’ve brought the race horse to the gate is something I’m proud of.

The people I’ve met and dealt with, the willingness of colleagues to participate and help out, and the response from the developer community have humbled and inspired me.

So to say that it’s going “good” feels like a disservice to the experience…but there’s no single word that can describe it in its entirety. I think right now the best words are “Anxious and Excited”. The planning and organizing, the marketing and sales, the management and scheduling…all good stuff, but I’m ready to actually run the conference.

Ready in the gate, waiting for post-time…let’s run this race!