Conferences, Hackathons, Meetups, Workshops... And Why

Recently I've been summarising what software developers do. My latest post explores what the best developer in the world might look like based on that model. The short answer that there is so much variation (see also: posts on commoditisation and differentiation) in the work that individuals with the same titles perform that it can be extremely difficult to make a comparison between any two. Technology choice and the concept of primitives go some way to explaining why that is the case. There is also the skill of navigating the field of truth in investigating issues and the ability to form and amend The Plan over time.

While we are exploring what developers do, I think it is relevant to talk about some of the norms that exist in the profession, but also extend beyond it.

There are conferences. There are hackathons. There are meetups. There are workshops.

There are a range of opportunities to connect with other people in the field. Is this so different to other fields? I believe that through emergence, it is. Through the posts about technology choice, the digital supply chain, the field of truth there is a story.

The story is that the digital world is so dynamic and complex that you could dedicate your entire life to it and at the end of it all remain a novice in many domains. There is always another application, another device, another framework, another language, another operating system, another package, another service, and so on.

The result of this is that the work of navigating the field has crept very well beyond what happens in education systems and what happens during 'ordinary business hours'. For many people, it becomes a lifestyle. This is particularly true for those that are early in their career who are still trying to form a mental model of which primitives are relevant to the path they're interested in walking, and what the field of truth looks like for that path.

The conference, the hackathon, the meetup, the workshop all work toward that end: to help technologists understand new primitives, to hone their abilities to navigate the field of truth and to form The Plan for new projects. To put them in a better position to create new factories that generate digital products.