wrox rocks

November, 2000.
By Molly E. Holzschlag. (Link to original article.)

Web2000 is over. If you attended, you learned a lot and were exposed to some awesome concepts along the way. But despite any conference's desire to give you broad and deep coverage of topics, you may find you need more than one conference to get to the heart of the matter.

Wrox offers a conference that is intimate and highly focused. Instead of thousands of attendees and hundreds of courses, there are about a thousand attendees and a specific set of tutorials and classes. So, because WebReview knows you need both the broad, the deep, and the specific, we'd like to let you know we think quite highly of Wrox's offerings, and encourage you to look into what they're doing.

By programmers, for programmers

Wrox Press writes books that are rock-solid references and tutorials, giving programmers the best up-to-date information on necessary topics. Sure, that's a sweeping, general statement, but of the ten or so Wrox books that I've read, I've walked away educated and satisfied. The reason is that Wrox embraces a programmer-to-programmer ideology. This means that the people writing Wrox books live and work with the technologies they're covering every day. And that makes a big difference.

The entryway to Wrox's main Pavillion

So when I found out that Wrox also hosted conferences, I wanted to go. I felt certain that it would be a great place to learn more about those very specific topics of interest to me. So a few months back I caught a quick flight to Las Vegas and joined the Wrox folk for a week of intensives and classes on a variety of Web-oriented topics.

Looking deep under the hood

Unlike a WEB2000 model, Wrox goes for very specific technologies and combinations of technologies. Some of the presentations included topics such as:

• XML, with a focus on server-side processing, interoperability, and e-commerce systems.
• XHTML, with a bent on innovation in XHTML modularization.
• XSLT, with a hard look at template and template functions to maximize transformation types.
• .Net Framework, with plenty of information on ASP+, ADO+, and components and controls.
• A look at WAP for ASP developers.
• Servers and tools use such as BizTalk and Application Center 2000.

Another interesting thing is that the presenters are the authors who have written Wrox books. And that means that they are programmers, not theoreticians. If you have a problem, the presenter probably knows the answer. The intimate nature of the conference also makes it easy for people to interact directly with presenters as well as each other, fostering good support and networking for all.

A few technical difficulties

Wrox is young at the conference game, and at times it shows. Technical problems are always bound to occur, such as courses not starting on time, difficulties with microphones, the lack of handouts for a specific course, and so on. These are not insurmountable problems, but they certainly can cause confusion.

Despite these challenges, the Wrox staff managed to handle them in good cheer. In fact, the Wrox conference staff is very vital and enthusiastic, and were on hand—recognizable by their red Wrox polo shirts—to ensure that any logistical problems were dealt with effectively and quickly.

Wrox staff is energetic and helpful

Something we do at Web2000 that Wrox might find helpful is to have an open feedback session with attendees. In these sessions, we ask for direct feedback about the conference, using a face-to-face, conversational manner. This helps conference developers to work for the needs of the audience. I think this sort of forum might help Wrox mature quite well into a very strong contender in the conference arena.

Another concern is that programmers do not always make natural speakers. In fact, many people are challenged to speak in public. Wrox has an advantage in that its speakers are its authors. So how about putting together a speaker training? There are many tricks that can be learned to improve the quality of a presentation. The brain trust of Wrox authors and presenters is incredible! So a little support in facilitating better presentation skills will really help this conference go from interesting to completely engaging.

Where the parties are

Conferences should always strive to have good parties. I say this not just because I love a good party—which anyone who knows me knows I do—but because parties are necessary to get attendees relaxed. Conferences are tough on everyone, whether they're staff, presenters, or audience. Long days, intensive sessions, and jet lag all play into the need for refreshment. Parties are also excellent places where, once relaxed, attendees can really network with one another and provide peer-to-peer support for given problems and so on.

Sebastian Schnitzenbaumer and Molly E. Holzschlag unwind poolside

Wrox did an amazing job of putting together one of the best conference parties I've ever attended. The food was awesome, the open bar more than generous, the live band entertaining. Speaking of entertainment, there were artists, fortune tellers, and jugglers on hand. And if you think programmers are boring, think again. Nothing like watching people dive into a pool fully clothed just for the fun of it!

The networking aspects of the evening were facilitated by giving people comfortable seating options. If you wanted to talk with others, you could grab one of the many round tables and do just that. It was a relaxing and fun atmosphere that encouraged people to unwind, meet new friends, make new professional acquaintances, and refresh themselves for the following day.

Love rocks

But the most awesome thing about the Wrox conference was a romantic story that I simply have to share. Karlie and Donna had met some years ago at Wrox where Donna was on staff, and Karlie was an author. They fell in love. They teasingly talked about marrying in Vegas, but I don't think either of them took it very seriously until suddenly, one night, they decided to make it so.

What happened next was one of the most spontaneous and touching things I've ever been fortunate enough to witness. Karlie and Donna Watson were married at the Little White Chapel to an audience made up of old friends, new friends, and even some attendees they didn't know who just came along for the ride! It was a really magical event, and one that I'll remember for all of my days.

Amsterdam, here they come

If you'd like to check out all the learning, fun, and spontaneity that the Wrox Web Developer's Conference has to offer, I encourage you to look into the Amsterdam event. It will be taking place November 28th to December 1st in Amsterdam at the RAI Congress Center. For more information about the event, see Wrox's conference site.