because everyone has to speak, there is no incentive to harshly criticize
others. There is just no showing off.
If you get a chance to help organize a BarCamp, even better; you’ll get to
network early on. Organizing events takes all kinds of people, not just hard-
core developers and rock star designers.
Attend and Speak at Conferences
Attend conferences whenever you can. They are priceless opportunities to
network and to get to know people who you read about “in the flesh.” It’s a
great feeling to ask a question of someone you’ve learned from and
respect, and it shows them their work is appreciated.
Don’t get bogged down taking notes; that’s the job of the organizers.
Instead, chat a lot, give out cards or — even better — swap Twitter handles.
Go with the flow of the conference; if it’s time for beer, then it’s time for
beer and chatter, not time to discuss highly technical matters.
Use the time during the talks and after the conference to your advantage:
tweet about the talks and what you liked about them using the official hash
tag, and publish a “Conference XYZ in my view” blog post as soon as
possible. Immediately after a conference, there is much discussion among
those who attended, but sometimes even more among those who didn’t.
Yo u c o u l d b e t h e p e r s o n w h o te l l s t h e l a t te r g ro u p w h a t t h e y m i s s e d , a n d
they just might remember you for it.
Keep your eyes peeled for chances to submit proposals for conferences.
Clever conference organizers offer a “B” track — alternatives to the main
speakers — and that could be your chance to get a foot in the door. There
is always a need for fresh speakers, so don’t be shy.