A friend of mine let me know yesterday that it was the deadline for submitting speaking proposals at IAAPA, and it only took me two seconds to realize that I have no desire. Sure, part of it is that I was annoyed they way they dicked me around last year. I never really explained it back in April, but after speaking there the previous November, a couple of people on some committees or whatever were adamant about me submitting a proposal for '09 to cover this and that, and then they decided they weren't interested. Granted, it would've been nearly impossible to do in the long run since I started my job then, but still.
But the bigger issue was that I don't see a lot of upside for me to speak for free at a conference, at least not for that audience. I did it twice, but since I don't sell them anything and don't want to work for them, what's the point? That's a lot of expense for very little benefit.
Your perspective changes when you look at what goes on in other fields, for other shows and conferences. There's a pretty clear difference in the way different markets approach education, and the truth is that you generally get what you pay for. IAAPA pays zero, so unless you've got other business there, I guess it's not a very good value proposition either way. Since investigating opportunities to speak at conferences for code monkeys and such, I feel like I really sold myself short. Nice bullet points on the resume, I guess, but perhaps I should've asked for money.
That said, I think I would like to cover the show this fall and make a week in Orlando, assuming the lad is travel worthy and everyone is healthy. It's just too far in the future to truly make a prediction there. I'm sure I'll be looking for a project by then!
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