Øredev: a superbly run conference

Technically Speaking

When Cate and I was touring Copenhagen, we talked about how we got into public speaking. One thing led to another, and we decided to publish a newsletter together. We had a little bit of time on Monday before Øredev, so we put together our first issue in the hotel lobby!

Sauna, bus tour, glögg and the city hall

After we prepared our newsletter we met the organizers and other speakers to head to Kallbadhuset, a Swedish bath house perched on top of the Baltic Sea. We had an appetizer (herring!), went into the sauna (hot!), dipped in the Baltic Sea (cold!), and then had dinner (more fish!). My first night in Sweden, and it was definitely super Swedish.

And that was just the start of the speaker activities. Tuesday they organized three things for us, starting with a bus tour of the city of Malmö. I signed up for the 3pm tour so I had the morning free, and grabbed Cate to see the astronomical clock in Lund.

Later in the evening, we had a pre-dinner event with glögg (glüewine) and pepparkaka (ginger bread cookies), and an acapella performance!

Then we moved to the City Hall, where we were addressed by the mayor of Malmö, and dined in this beautiful hall.

The conference

The conference started on Wednesday, with three days, eight tracks, more than 150 sessions total. With so many simultaneous talks, I had to make a choice every hour, and I came up with a strategy. I prioritize talks with:

1. Great speakers
2. Props
3. Technology that I would not look into otherwise

Great speakers

James Mickens definitely falls under the "great speakers" category. His talk was hilarious!

"Web developers: Your New Features Create Monkey Jesus." James Mickens is so funny! #Oredev pic.twitter.com/9eRptpCC2q

— Chiu-Ki Chan (@chiuki) November 6, 2014

Christian Heilmann explained why we are not using HTML5, with great visuals.

Props

In the "props" category I have The Internet of Things Magic Show and Oculus Rift.

Internet of Things Magic Show with @steveonjava #Oredev pic.twitter.com/UdB6f6UAdb

— Chiu-Ki Chan (@chiuki) November 6, 2014

Oculus Rift desk demo was so convincing that when @mattiasask tried to touch the virtual lamp, his brain yelled, "you have no arm!" #Oredev

— Chiu-Ki Chan (@chiuki) November 7, 2014

Great insights

Lots of great insights on how we interact with computers:

Your autocorrect is changing how you communicate. Don't let the algorithm push you around. Fight back. - Brian Christian at #Oredev

— Chiu-Ki Chan (@chiuki) November 7, 2014

There is a need for an offline web, but we conditioned people not to believe in it. @codepo8 at #Oredev

— Chiu-Ki Chan (@chiuki) November 5, 2014

People hate their computers, but love their phones. - @catehstn at #Oredev

— Chiu-Ki Chan (@chiuki) November 6, 2014

Celebrity

To top it off, Øredev invited Nile Rodgers for a candid chat!

A superbly run conference

Øredev is the best run conference I have ever been to. The attention to detail is amazing.

A round badge! With a lens in it!

The podium seen through the Øredev lens.

Sign posts pointing to the rooms. Much easier to see than signs on walls, which they also had.

A smoke screen!

Lightweight feedback screen at the door of each room.

Other impressive things:

• There were at least 20 minutes between the sessions, so even if one session ran overtime it wouldn't eat up time from the next session. Also gave you time to hang out in the hallway and talk to people, grab a coffee etc.
• Speaking of coffee, there were plenty of food: breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner!
• And they treat their speakers really well. All travel costs are covered, and they pampered us with so many speaker activities.
• Finally, all sessions are recorded, and uploaded right away. They were so efficient, I don't even know how they did that.

Here are my two talks:

Tack så mycket, Øredev!