Conferences • Hacker News Board

Re: Conferences

#11

Post by [deleted] » Sun, May 31, 2009, 10:30 PM UTC

mellis wrote: post #9

unbannable wrote: post #2

Invitation-only events don't belong in the technological scene. There is an all-out, bitter war going on between property (connections, inherited wealth, resources) and energy (talent, ambition, hard work). One is past, one is future, and each wishes to demote the value of the other. One side has power but lacks the vision and talent to use it; the other has the capability but not the means. Nerds are supposed to be…

Invitation-only events are not only for people with "property". They also allow those with "energy" to keep an event from being diluted by those without it. Why shouldn't a group of hackers be able to get together with people they choose? Wouldn't the YC weekly dinners fit this category?

[deleted]

Re: Conferences

#12

Post by wannabetechgeek » Sun, May 31, 2009, 10:32 PM UTC

Timely for me as I'm missing TWTRCON (which costs $600!), but following the Twitter stream as I write this. Yup, conferences are great for networking especially for newbies like myself who don't have existing contacts in the industry. The best way for newbies to go about it though is to find all the free or inexpensive conferences available, or offer to volunteer. At least in the Bay Area, there's no shortage of opportunities. I'm volunteering at two in exchange for attendance, and have another four lined up that are free or under $25. The BarCamp movement and related is great for tech newbies and really speak to unbannable's points above.

Re: Conferences

#13

Post by menloparkbum » Sun, May 31, 2009, 10:33 PM UTC

mellis wrote: post #9

unbannable wrote: post #2

Invitation-only events don't belong in the technological scene. There is an all-out, bitter war going on between property (connections, inherited wealth, resources) and energy (talent, ambition, hard work). One is past, one is future, and each wishes to demote the value of the other. One side has power but lacks the vision and talent to use it; the other has the capability but not the means. Nerds are supposed to be…

Invitation-only events are not only for people with "property". They also allow those with "energy" to keep an event from being diluted by those without it. Why shouldn't a group of hackers be able to get together with people they choose? Wouldn't the YC weekly dinners fit this category?

I'm obviously a fan of HN and by proxy, YC... but to be a devil's advocate...

The people at the HN weekly meeting didn't choose to get together with each other, the rich guys who gave them money chose them and told them to be there.

In contrast, superhappydevhouse is open to anyone who shows up.

Re: Conferences

#14

Post by neilc » Sun, May 31, 2009, 11:01 PM UTC

rms wrote: post #10

unbannable wrote: post #2

Invitation-only events don't belong in the technological scene. There is an all-out, bitter war going on between property (connections, inherited wealth, resources) and energy (talent, ambition, hard work). One is past, one is future, and each wishes to demote the value of the other. One side has power but lacks the vision and talent to use it; the other has the capability but not the means. Nerds are supposed to be…

I don't think TED is as hard to get into as it seems. You just need to have the $4,000, apply right after they open applications and make yourself sound interesting on your application.

The fact that you have to pay $4000 is a big reason why it is effectively hard for most people to get into TED.

Re: Conferences

#15

Post by rms » Sun, May 31, 2009, 11:03 PM UTC

neilc wrote: post #14

rms wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think TED is as hard to get into as it seems. You just need to have the $4,000, apply right after they open applications and make yourself sound interesting on your application.

The fact that you have to pay $4000 is a big reason why it is effectively hard for most people to get into TED.

Right, I mean the $4000 is the hard part, not the invitation.

Re: Conferences

#16

Post by ankhmoop » Sun, May 31, 2009, 11:04 PM UTC

alain94040 wrote: post #8

tudorachim wrote: post #3

I don't know what the point of going to a conference is, if you can get videos of the talks afterwards, like TED.

There is a huge difference between watching the talks and actually being there. 50% of the value is the content of the talks, which supposedly described the latest and greatest. Just like in academia, the talks are actually dated: they have been prepared months before and don't really represent the latest . To know the latest, you need to chat with various people to find out what they are working on right now, that t…

Given that the talks are canned, and the materials they are based on are almost always published, why should I pay for a conference when I can already leverage existing networking/social channels to stay in touch with the latest?

Re: Conferences

#17

Post by ryanwaggoner » Sun, May 31, 2009, 11:09 PM UTC

unbannable wrote: post #2

Invitation-only events don't belong in the technological scene. There is an all-out, bitter war going on between property (connections, inherited wealth, resources) and energy (talent, ambition, hard work). One is past, one is future, and each wishes to demote the value of the other. One side has power but lacks the vision and talent to use it; the other has the capability but not the means. Nerds are supposed to be…

There is an all-out, bitter war going on between property (connections, inherited wealth, resources) and energy (talent, ambition, hard work). One is past, one is future, and each wishes to demote the value of the other. One side has power but lacks the vision and talent to use it; the other has the capability but not the means.

Sounds suspiciously like Marxism. People with wealth and connections are the bad guys, while the struggling guy at the bottom is the good guy.

What's ironic is that a) many of the people at the top started out at the bottom and earned their way to the top, and b) those at the bottom are ultimately trying to cultivate the same things: wealth and connections.

I find it incredibly naive to think that we're at some turning point in history where suddenly the world is going to become some kind of meritocracy and the people who are just starting out will behave any differently once they make it than people have been behaving forever. I also find it humorous that you think that people at the top are basically just dumb, boring people who lack vision and talent, and who have only their inherited wealth and connections to keep them on top. Give me a break.

Re: Conferences

#18

Post by sachinag » Sun, May 31, 2009, 11:24 PM UTC

But even ostensibly open conferences can be difficult - I'm going to E3, and I made sure I could get dual credentialed as press just to make it easier for other people to talk to me. Some places are conferences just for the cool kids, but the cool kids still self-segregate at open places. That's why Wilson's so smart - he knows that's going to happen any way, so he only goes to places where his time won't be monopolized by the people he can talk to any other time.

Re: Conferences

#19

Post by [deleted] » Sun, May 31, 2009, 11:56 PM UTC

unbannable wrote: post #2

Invitation-only events don't belong in the technological scene. There is an all-out, bitter war going on between property (connections, inherited wealth, resources) and energy (talent, ambition, hard work). One is past, one is future, and each wishes to demote the value of the other. One side has power but lacks the vision and talent to use it; the other has the capability but not the means. Nerds are supposed to be…

[deleted]

Re: Conferences

#20

Post by netsp » Mon, Jun 01, 2009, 12:06 AM UTC

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #17

unbannable wrote: post #2

Invitation-only events don't belong in the technological scene. There is an all-out, bitter war going on between property (connections, inherited wealth, resources) and energy (talent, ambition, hard work). One is past, one is future, and each wishes to demote the value of the other. One side has power but lacks the vision and talent to use it; the other has the capability but not the means. Nerds are supposed to be…

There is an all-out, bitter war going on between property (connections, inherited wealth, resources) and energy (talent, ambition, hard work). One is past, one is future, and each wishes to demote the value of the other. One side has power but lacks the vision and talent to use it; the other has the capability but not the means. Sounds suspiciously like Marxism. People with wealth and connections are the bad guys, wh…

Sounds suspiciously like Marxism.

Is that a reason to dismiss? This may be a stumble on an idea that Marx would agree with, but noone is asking you to accept marxism wholesale.

'Sounds suspiciously like..', is a defensive way of thinking. It's wanting to know who's side you are on so you know what position to hold. It's almost like being afraid of being persuaded by argument.