Announcing SLOconf 2023 Local Events

Please note SLOconf 2023 has taken place. Stay tuned for 2024!

SLOconf was born from the virtual conference world. In addition to being entirely online, the conference brought a new format to the table by making most talks on-demand and accessible in a 5-10 minute “watch while you work” format. But of course, we’ve missed seeing people, too! So, this year we’re very excited to announce SLOconf 2023 Local Events.

SLOconf 2023 Local Events will span the entire globe and will provide people with a chance to meet up in person, socialize, and learn from each other. Moreover, each local event will be a truly unique experience reflecting the local community, while still feeling like everything that has made SLOconf so special to so many. You can expect screenings of highlighted SLOconf 2023 talks, local in-person speakers, refreshments, and plenty of socializing – the thing that has been most difficult in the virtual conference world.

So far we have announced local events in Dublin, London, Chennai, and Tokyo; but we’re also working on more! Keep an eye out on SLOconf.com and the @SLOConf Twitter account to ensure you’re up-to-date. Trust me, they’re gonna be great.

The reason we wanted to expand SLOconf in this way is that the last few years have been difficult, strange, and filled with change for everyone. In the tech industry, many of us had to switch to a work-from-home setup for at least some period of time, and plenty of us switched to permanent remote work. These changes brought other changes with them; the most relevant change to this post being the rise of the virtual conference.

As an industry, we love sharing our learnings and knowledge with others, and we’ve always done that via various formats: white papers, blog posts, clever and viral Twitter posts, etc. But also: conferences and meetups. Sharing things in person has always been important to the tech community, and suddenly we found ourselves in a world where that wasn’t possible.

Virtual conferences have been a great boon to our community. They’re often more accessible, friendly to those in far-off time zones, more convenient for those who can’t or don’t want to travel, and more within reach for those who may not have the resources to do so. I hope that all of the lessons we’ve learned from adopting or incorporating virtual aspects into conferences will be ones that stick with us.

But the point I’m leading to, of course, is that we’ve also missed seeing people in person. And over the last year, more and more people have felt comfortable with this. We’ve seen the return of many of our industry’s most notable conferences, and it truly feels like things have changed for the better.

Register for SLOconf today at sloconf.com/register to get started, then find your local event at sloconf.com and register there! These local events will be first-come, first-serve – but just as free as SLOconf has always been. Don’t wait! We’re looking forward to seeing you there.

-Alex and the SLOconf 2023 Team