Returning from An Event Apart in Seattle last week, I found difficulty in explaining to my peers the benefits of attending a conference that was focused on pushing web-standards and exploring the changing industry landscape. I came to the conclusion that while the topics were not groundbreaking, it was the experience and the raw inspirational gathering of minds that really pushes the web forward.
There are many reasons developers and designers world-wide attend events such as An Event Apart (AEA). One of those primary reasons is content. Although we can all agree that content is king, it will not be the topic of this post. For a brief recap of some of the great talks at AEA, Jeffery Zeldman has put together a quick highlight post here.
What I do want to quickly talk about is what else you take away from a conference like this. Beyond the code, the standards, and the sexy CSS, you take away something else — something intangible. You walk away inspired and rejuvenated.
This industry is still young. The web might not be the wild-west it was back in the 90’s, but it still hasn’t graduated to pant-suit status either! There are so many things designers and developers are getting to experience for the first time. We can finally pick our own fonts. We can animate without relying on third-party propriety software. We can have our thoughts, designs, ideas and dreams sent directly into the mobiles of people all around the world.
With all these opportunities, we all face new challenges.
The people that will face these challenges and overcome them are not necessarily going to be the brightest – they might not know the most languages, or have every aspect of the HTML5 spec memorized. They are going to be the ones with that little idea and aspired to bring it to life. They are the ones that love what they do and the people they do it with. That is what gatherings like AEA celebrate – the love of this sport. I may not have realized this until the dramatic closing in Seattle presented by Jeffrey Veen, who surely made some of the attendees a bit misty eyed (along with himself). His passion was not only human, but also inspirational – which is something you just can’t get from sitting at home reading blog posts on the subject.
So who else loves this sport? I know I do.