So I guess I'm running a data conference?
Let's do something fun. Everyone can use some fun these days.
Somehow I always manage to post myself into these situations...
Given all the shit going on, I sorta wonder if the #dataBS community is in the mood for some kinda online conference of some sort, of nerdy fun, of course
— Randy Au (@randyau.com) 2025-06-10T23:50:30.545Z
but tl;dr, it sounds like people in the data community want another fun, lightweight, digital conference to get together and be nerdy. I've certainly missed having something like that given the horrible stuff going on in the news every single day. So, in the grand spirit of "screw it, let's do something" I'm in the initial planning phase of figuring out the logistics involved in getting a data community event going. Details further down.
Last time I did this exact pattern of behavior, I talked myself into hosting an annual gamedev conference and have run 9 of them 100% solo. How hard could running a data conference be? (Don't answer that).
But first! I want to emphasize that this hairbrained scheme is made possible thanks to all of the awesome paid subscribers to this newsletter. (Also, if you're a subscriber, don't forget I'm very slowly populating the paid subscriber section w/ stuff from the logs analysis class.)
Minus the monthly server/email send costs, I've been able to save up enough pennies that the newsletter itself will be able to front the zoom webinar* cost for one month to host a one off event. The cost scales with attendees, but it's about $1,000 for up to 3000 attendees, cheaper for less. I plan on setting up a tip jar or something so attendees can pay what they want, but I should be in a decent enough position to eat the whole cost if needed.
*Note: I've had people suggest before I use discord stage channels to host events since server boosts are cheaper (only costs about ~$550 in server boosts for 3000 attendees and steps are more granular). I need to look into the feature set first before deciding if it's appropriate. Anyone with direct experience please let me know. I know other webinar platforms charge in similar pricing. Zoom auto records the whole session, which is nice for uploading, but we'll manage either way.
Self funding is nice in my view because we're not beholden to anyone but ourselves! Par-tay! Not that I would turn down outside money so we can have budget for something fun, but there's lots of actual work and setup and contracts involved that I haven't had time to worry about right now. Having us financially in a "we go, no matter what" position means I can save that stuff for later and get to the important planning stuff first. If we get funding in other ways later, great.
Incidentally, if you've got access to a corporate credit card and want to pledge some dollars to help get this madness going, email me.
If you want to help plan
While I'm pretty confident that I could run an entire shoestring conference solo, from tech setup, talk review, scheduling/programming, web site, payments, and even MCing the day of, I don't really want to set that kind of precedent for this. I want other people to learn how it's done so they can decide one day to do it themselves if they wanted.
So I'm gonna ask for help figuring out details, hop onto my discord if you're interested in pitching in, whether it's ideas, or heavier lifting like volunteering to handle various tasks that need doing:
Right now we're deciding on the theme and what the heck are we going to name the event. Then we'll have to figure out how to call for speakers and what we're looking for. After that we'll have to review and set the program. Then all the logistics around promotion. Finally we'll need recordings, video editing and uploading to YouTube.
Everything is up in the air right now and I'm pretty much just deciding most things on the fly. There's plenty of opportunity to help out, learn how to run community events, or just in general be part of making stuff work. Pretty much anyone is welcome, just speak up in the discord. Drop in and out as your time allowed. I mostly intend to plan out in the open so there's plenty to learn from.
Things that have already been decided
- It'll be a data-related event, exact theme TBD soon
- It will NOT be Normconf part 2. Not my brand, not my intention. But given how I like my conferences, it'll inevitably share spiritual vibes.
- I want people to have fun when they attend. Everything else is bonus.
- Attendance will be free / pay what you want if we have costs. There may be an attendee cap due to software platform cost reasons. We'll worry about that as time comes.
- Timing: Early autumn, after all the summer vacations and events are over. Likely September/October. Very likely on a Saturday unless someone convinces me otherwise.
- Venue: Online only, maybe zoom webinar, maybe discord stage, maybe we find something else appropriate.
- Single track talks of about 20min+5min q&a
- Chat in discord probably