It's all about the people
So many times we try to tackle problems by throwing more technology or more process at them. Everything would be fine if we just used this new tool or followed this process. Technology and process can definitely help things to run smoother, but only if we first address the underlying issue, which is always about the people. It is always about gathering the right people, pointing them in the right direction, and then getting out of their way.
GDevCon N.A. 2022
As you may know, I am president of GDevCon N.A. and next month is our annual conference. Putting it all together is a lot of work and I certainly couldn't do it by myself. I needed help.
The Role of Technology
We certainly use technology at GDevCon N.A. We have a website and an automated e-mail system. We use QuickBooks to manage our books and Universe and Stripe to sell tickets. All those things are great and make our jobs easier, but they still need someone to set them up and maintain them. Even with all that automation in place, there are still plenty of decisions to be made and actions that need to be taken. It still requires people.
The Board
I want to take a moment to thank all the board members for all their help this year and last year. They have each contributed in their own unique and I very much appreciate each of them.
In no particular order and highlighting their main contributions :
- Ed Dickens - helped to recruit sponsors
- John Giannangeli - helped to coordinate with the venue
- Jeremy Marquis - helped solicit presenters and setup our schedule
- Laura Miller - helped manage updates to our website
- Bill Welch - managed our books and invoicing
- Jeff DeBuhr - Organized the agenda for our board meetings
The Presenters
This year we were overwhelmed with presentation submissions. It gave us plenty of options to craft an agenda that caters to everyone. Having high quality presentations is what GDevCon is known for and really drives our attendance. You can the list of selected presentations here: https://gdevconna.org/2022-schedule/
The Sponsors
We also have 12 sponsors. A few are large companies, but many are small NI Alliance Partners and one-man shops. The conference wouldn't be financially viable without them. You can check them out here: https://gdevconna.org/sponsors/
The Attendees
We're on track to beat our attendance from last year. A large part of any in-person conference is the hallway track. Those informal conversations lead to the creation and dissemination of new ideas. It's not too late to get tickets. You can get some here: https://www.universe.com/embed2/events/gdevcon-n-a-2022-tickets-JVW8YX
