So this year was my first year at the gotoAndSki(‘Switzerland’) conference and I didn’t quite know what to expect. Well, besides being part of an awesome speaker list that is…
First thing I couldn’t help but notice is the beautiful location, in the middle of the mountains covered with snow. This alone makes the trip worthwhile. It must be one of the most unique locations for a conference.
Then there’s the format of this conference, which is skiing and other activities during the day and sessions at night. And yes, I do mean AT NIGHT, because sessions didn’t stop before 1 AM at least. I still find it amazing to have so many people staying for the last sessions after a full day of intensive skiing.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that I haven’t been skiing for over 12 years, I didn’t want to risk breaking and arm or leg, but that didn’t stop me from having some fun in the snow. But you know, this isn’t a vacation, it’s a conference. Well, at least, that’s what I told my boss ;-).
About that conference, it has a great atmosphere. With a limited amount of participants the stress lies on networking. It is nice to be able to talk with so many geeks. I must say, I’ve had some inspiring conversations and got to know a couple of designing and coding nut cases.
As for my session, that was about using ORM in AIR (mobile) applications. At first I thought it would be way to much code oriented for this conference. Especially when I looked at the other session descriptions. But when I saw those sessions, I began to wonder whether it would be complex enough for this conference :-o. I knew some of the speakers already and from them I knew what to expect. But I was pleasantly surprised by the speakers I didn’t know. There was some really great talent there and I certainly got inspired by some of the sessions.
I want to express my thanks to Fernando Colaço for organizing this awesome event and for letting me be part of it. I’ve had a wonderful time, met wonderful people, got inspired and I hope to be part of it again next year. I’ll have to make sure I’ll take some skiing lessons before that though… :-).