↓Skip to main content

My first Unconference - experiencing Open Space

·3 mins

SoCraTes is built on a simple observation, that typically, a conference experience is defined by how much you enjoyed the coffee break conversations.

I had heard about the conference a few times, and every time someone would mention it, they were kind of obsessed. You know when someone enjoyed something so much, it’s annoying you, because you’re jealous. Plus, I don’t like having my expectations raised too high.

Marketplace: the pitches you never get to hear #

If you go to the conference website even 5 minutes before it starts, there’s no schedule, because it doesn’t exist. I had been told several times that the agenda is set collectively, and kept wondering - what is that supposed to mean?

Basically, the day opens with a wide board of room/time placeholders. Everyone lines up and pitches the sessions. Sessions, not talks, because in a way, it’s not just the presenters pitching, but the audience as well. A de facto approach for talks is: “I am sharing my expertise/experience”, but who decided that? During the opening session, Pierluigi Pugliese reminded us to be more open-minded, because there are two other ways to connect with others:

  • I want to learn this, come help me learn
  • Let’s create something together

I won’t go on describing the experience for too long, because, first of all, you really should’ve been there™️, and second, I’d rather give you a minimal snapshot of the experience:

The sessions I decided to join #

  • Software organism - unexplored interplay of OpenTelemetry and OpenFeature
  • Modularizing the monolith - sharing approaches, strategies, experience. Found out about enforceable architectures
  • Measuring performance in the engineering team - discussion prompt from a co-founder of a scale-up, whose investors just found out what a PR is and asked him to start tracking produced LOC
  • General GitOps discussion
  • AI writes code / How to protect knowledge - this was a “what do we do” session.
  • Let’s talk Data Mesh (this was me yay)
  • Centralize the loop - how to get our development environment off our laptops (my unrealized dream)
  • Pub Quiz
  • Laya prompting - Someone wanted to try out this open-source system one model (like jev). It was quite fun to go to the landing page as a group and try to navigate it

A few I wanted to join but couldn’t #

  • Hiring in the age of Agents - designing technical interviews for testing ai skills
  • A few other GitOps sessions… One of them was about doing GitOps and RG deployments with docker-compose…
  • Creating programmatic audio-visual experiences using llms
  • Something about cool vintage tech
  • Zen and the art of Common Lisp
  • Architectural snapshot testing
  • Walk and talk
  • PowerPoint karaoke

The anywhere/anytime category #

  • “I brought a card game about designing CI pipelines; it will be at the front desk”
  • “I just finished a seven-year DnD campaign”
  • “Let’s play Hybrid digital/physical game about pushing” (I was as confused as you are)
  • “I brought whiskey”
  • “I am writing a book”

Also, two unusual topics. They are very related.

  • How to avoid AI in modern Software Development
  • How to choose a new career if you want to leave Software Development

I’ll wrap up with 5 principles of Open Space: #

  • Whenever it starts is the right time
  • Wherever it is is the right place
  • Whoever comes is the right people
  • When it’s over, it’s over
  • Whatever happens is the only thing that could have

These posters were on the wall in the main room, but I don’t think they’re only about the conference.