Blog - Posts tagged 2020

Conference highlights and thanks to the community!

2020-12-14T00:00:00Z

G’day everyone,

The Write the Docs Australia and India team is now emerging from the post-conference recovery period, and we wanted to send out a quick message to thank everyone for helping to make our joint Australia and India online conference such a success. We’re happy to share some of the highlights with you.

Conference recap

At over 125 people, this year’s conference was our biggest yet! We had the usual mix of main stage and lightning talks, and social events. Learning from our Portland and Prague events, we were very happy with how well all of our events transitioned to our new online format. We loved how the spirit of the community was so palpable even in an online event, which was even more special given the year we’ve all had.

Overall, we were excited with how our awesome community came together in our new virtual venue. Lots of knowledge was shared, and we had a great time.

Videos

Videos of the talks and lightning talks are now available on our YouTube playlist. We also included the Q&A recordings for the main talks.

Thanks again to Bart at Work for doing such a great job with these. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don’t miss any future content!

Sketchnotes

One of our fantastic volunteers from the conference did some amazing sketchnotes of all the talks at the conference, as a takeaway for attendees. These sketchnotes are now available for everyone at WTD AU and India 2020 sketchnotes.

Shirts still on sale

If you want a souvenir from this year’s conference, our Write the Docs Australia 2020 Pop-Up Shop is still open! We have loose and fitted options from different fabrics, and you can choose exactly the size and cut you want.

The campaign will run in 3-day batches until January 10th 2021. Shipping is available from the USA or Europe.

Code of Conduct transparency report

As with any Write the Docs event, this conference was covered by our community Code of Conduct. We aim to be as transparent with CoC incidents and enforcement as we can.

To ensure that our CoC was visible and accessible, we took a number of specific steps:

Every participant agreed to the Code of Conduct in advance during registration.
The CoC, or a summary, was included on the conference website and Hopin Reception
The CoC was repeatedly mentioned in our conference introduction and announcements.
We specifically stressed that the CoC applies to all conference spaces including the social event.
We encouraged all attendees to report any incident, even if they were not sure whether it was a violation.

None of our organizers were approached about any CoC concerns at this event. We know that this is, in part, a reflection of the thoughtful and inclusive community that we’re so lucky to have.

That being said, we’re also very conscious of the fact that just because nothing was reported doesn’t mean nothing happened. If there was any personal conduct or other aspect of the conference experience that did not meet the expectations of behaviour set out in the CoC, please email us at conduct@writethedocs.org.

Ready for more?

We are already talking 2021 folks! Our Portland conference has announced its dates for 25-27 April and CFPs are now open. You can submit a talk for the Portland conference until midnight Pacific time 25 January 2021. This conference is also virtual next year, so you can attend or present from anywhere.

Our Slack network has expanded yet again this year. Our #general Slack channel has been extra busy in the days and weeks leading up to the conference, and we hope that you will continue the conversations throughout the year. If you haven’t joined, now’s the time! Check out the Write the Docs Slack.

We’re also looking for more sponsors to make our other events just as magical as this year’s Australia and India event. You can see all our sponsorship options on our website.

Thanks again

We’re so grateful to our sponsors, speakers, volunteers, and attendees for making this conference possible. Whether you were able to come out this time or not, we hope to see you again next year – or even sooner at one of our other events!

Ticket Sales Closing Soon and Welcome Wagon Guide

2020-11-24T00:00:00Z

G’day everyone!

We’re just over a week away from the start of the conference, and we’re getting excited to invite you into our online venue for 2 days of content, collaboration, and conversation. We will be closing ticket sales this Friday, 27th November, so if you’ve been on the fence, now is the time to buy one!

If you were hoping to come to this years event, we recommend that you get your tickets soon.

We have done our internal testing of the platform, and we’re getting everything ready for prime time. As part of our internal testing, we’ve built out the Welcome Wagon Guide. This guide is our attempt to make sure that you get the most out of our events, and we’ve totally rewritten it for our online event.

Welcome Wagon Guide

Each year we create a guide to help our attendees get the most out of the conference. This year, we’re all first-timers at an online event, so we’ve totally rewritten our Welcome Wagon guide to help you get the most out of our event this year.

We have a lot of information about how to use Hopin, and lots of tips and tricks for the best way to plan your days.

We’ve taken all the transit and travel information out, but please do plan to spend a large part of your day with us from the comfort of your own home.

Access to online platform

Once we close out our tickets, we plan to send everyone a link to access the Hopin event. We plan to send this out by this weekend, to give everyone a few days to work through any troubleshooting issues that you might encounter. The Hopin access links will be sent to all Ti.to ticketholders, so monitor your inbox later this week for a message.

If you don’t get an email from us by the early next week, please email us and we’ll help you out! Once you’ve got your Hopin ticket, you will be ready to get started on Thursday morning!

Thanks so much to all our sponsors

We are so grateful to have our sponsors help in bringing these events to life every year.

Thanks so much to the following companies for supporting the Australia and India conference this year:

Redocly

Google

Red Hat

KnowledgeOwl

We’re excited to see all of you soon, and can’t wait to share a wonderful few days with you in our online space.

The Write the Docs team

Tickets selling out and conference platform registration

2020-10-13T00:00:00Z

Hey everyone!

We’re just shy of a week away from the start of the conference, and we’re excited to invite you into our online venue for 3 days of content, collaboration, and conversation. Tickets are going to sell out in the next 24 hours, so if you’ve been on the fence now is the time to buy one!

We have done our internal testing of the platform and we’re getting everything ready for prime time. This update includes information about accessing the conference platform and other recommendations that will help you make the most of the conference.

Tickets will sell out tomorrow

We wanted to let you know that we expect tickets to sell out on Octover 14th at 20:00 CEST. We’ve increased the capacity for this years even from previous years, but we still want to make sure the event keeps its manageable size and feel. If you were hoping to come to this years event, we recommend that you get your tickets soon.

If you already purchased a ticket you should have gotten an email from us with your Hopin registration link. After we stop ticket sales, we will send another email to everyone with a reminder and a link to access the Hopin event.

The Hopin access links will be sent to all Ti.to ticket holders, so monitor your inbox this week for a message. If you don’t get an email from us by the end of the week, please check your spambox first, and then email us and we’ll help you out.

Once you’ve got your Hopin ticket, you will be ready to get started on Sunday morning with the Writing Day!

Welcome Wagon Guide

We have a lot of information about how to use Hopin, and lots of tips and tricks for the best way to plan your days. We’ve taken all the transit and travel information out, but please do plan to spend a large part of your day with us from the comfort of your own home.

Shirts still on sale

The Write the Docs Prague 2020 Pop-Up Shop is still open! We have loose and fitted options from different fabrics, and you can choose exactly the size and cut you want.

The campaign will run in 3-day batches until November 30th. Shipping is available from the USA or Europe. However, due to the global shipping situation, we recommend you order your shirt at least 2-3 weeks in advance if you want to sport your new threads during the conference.

Thanks again to all our sponsors

We are so grateful to have our sponsors help in bringing these events to life every year. You’ll be able to chat with most of our sponsors at the Job Fair, and a few will have booths for conversations the entire conference.

Thanks so much to the following companies for supporting the Portland conference this year:

Google

Red Hat

Elasticsearch

KnowledgeOwl

We’re excited to see all of you soon, and can’t wait to share a wonderful few days with you in our online space.

The Write the Docs team

Announcing the full conference schedule

2020-10-11T00:00:00Z

Hello folks!

We’re less than two months away from the first online Australia and India conference and we’re working hard to make sure it’ll be as welcoming and as fun as the in-person event you’re probably familiar with.

Today, we’re announcing the full presentation schedule and the platform we’ll be hosting the conference on. We are working on more details for a few more activities during the conference, so keep an eye out for more information in our next mailing.

Conference platform

The conference will be held on https://hopin.to/. This platform not only provides a stage for our amazing speakers, but also has integrated chat, unconference rooms with breakout calls, expo booths, and even a virtual hallway. We’re updating our Welcome Wagon guide, to be released soon, so it’ll all feel familiar before you’ve even “hopped in” (pun unintended).

IMPORTANT: Please watch your inboxes during the next weeks for an email with a registration link to Hopin. We recommend that you register for the platform in advance, to avoid any last minute snafus.

Full presentation schedule

The conference website is now updated with the talk schedule for the main stage presentations, so you can start planning your time (and getting excited!) for the conference. We’re excited to have live Q&A after most talks, which will come from your questions but be moderated by an MC.

All our events and activities

Write the Docs is more than a conference. Every year we make sure to have a variety of activities that our attendees can enjoy, whether you want to learn something, meet new people, or share knowledge. And even though this years conference is held online, we’re holding to that plan.

Lightning Talks. We’ll have lightning talks each day after lunch. These are 5 minute presentations and a lot of fun. They can be about anything you want, this is your chance to share something you are passionate about with the audience. Slides are not required.
Unconference. We’ll be running the Unconference all day Monday and on Tuesday afternoon. Want to chat with like-minded folks about a specific thing? This is the place.
Social event. On Thursday night the conference platform will become the social event space. The main stage will be closed and the focus will be on attendee-created sessions. You’re welcome to create sessions for board games, trivia quizzes, karaoke, or any other social activity that you want to share with your fellow documentarians.
Conference Help Desk. If you have any questions about navigating the virtual event, we’ll be running the Write the Docs Helpdesk booth, where you can chat with one of the organizers and the Welcome Wagon team.

The Schedule page has the latest and most complete information about all our events. This is where we will also update any changes/cancellations if they should occur.

Thanks so much for all your support and enthusiasm so far – we’re so excited to see you all in December!

The Write the Docs team

Announcing Full Schedule

2020-09-25T00:00:00Z

Hey everyone!

We’re less than a month away from the first online Prague conference and we’re working hard to make sure it’ll be as welcoming and as fun as the in-person event you’re probably familiar with.

Today we’re announcing the full presentation schedule and the platform we’ll be hosting the conference on. We are working on last-minute details for a few more activities during the conference, so look out for more information in our next mailing.

Conference platform

The conference will be held on https://hopin.to/, which not only provides a stage for our amazing speakers, but also has integrated chat, unconference rooms with breakout calls, expo booths, and even a virtual hallway. We’re updating our Welcome Wagon guide, to be released soon, so it’ll all feel familiar before you’ve even arrived.

IMPORTANT: Please monitor your inboxes during the next weeks for an email with a registration link to Hopin. We recommend that you register for the platform in advance, to avoid the “Monday morning rush”.

Full presentation schedule

Start thinking about Writing Day

Our pre-conference Writing Day will happen on Sunday, and it is much more fun when folks come with their own projects in mind!

If you have a project or are part of a community that you think would benefit from a writing sprint, start brainstorming now about what you might want to focus on. If you’d like us to include your project on the Writing Day page, drop us an email at prague@writethedocs.org. Or just show up on Sunday ready to introduce your project!

Shirts on sale

The Write the Docs Prague 2020 Pop-Up Shop is open! We have loose and fitted options from different fabrics, and you can choose exactly the size and cut you want.

The campaign will run in 3-day batches until November 30th. Shipping is available from the USA or Europe. However, due to the global shipping situation, we recommend you order your shirt at least 2-3 weeks in advance if you want to sport your new threads during the conference.

All our events and activities

Lightning Talks. We’ll have lightning talks each day after lunch. These are 5 minute presentations and a lot of fun. They can be about anything you want, this is your chance to share something you are passionate about with the audience. Slides are not required.
Unconference. We’ll be running the Unconference all day Monday and on Tuesday afternoon. Want to chat with like-minded folks about a specific thing? This is the place.
Job Fair. As with the previous few years, on Tuesday morning we’ll have a job fair where you can find your next documentarian friendly job.
Social event. On Monday night the conference platform will become the social event space. The main stage will be closed and the focus will be on attendee-created sessions. You’re welcome to create sessions for board games, trivia quizzes, karaoke, or any other social activity that you want to share with your fellow documentarians.
Conference Help Desk. If you have any questions about navigating the virtual event, we’ll be running the Write the Docs Helpdesk booth, where you can chat with one of the organizers and the Welcome Wagon team.

The Schedule page has the latest and most complete information about all our events. This is where we will also update any changes/cancellations if they should occur.

Thanks so much for all your support and enthusiasm so far – we’re so excited to see you all next month!

The Write the Docs team

Tickets Selling Out Soon and Welcome Wagon Guide

2020-07-31T00:00:00Z

Hey everyone!

We’re just over a week away from the start of the conference, and we’re getting excited to invite you into our online venue for 3 days of content, collaboration, and conversation. Tickets are going to sell out in the next couple of days, so if you’ve been on the fence, now is the time to buy one!

Welcome Wagon Guide

Tickets will sell out soon

We wanted to let you know that we expect tickets to sell out by August 4th. We’ve increased the capacity for this years event past the 500 from previous years, but we still want to make sure the event keeps its manageable size and feel. If you were hoping to come to this years event, we recommend that you get your tickets soon.

Once we sell out our tickets, we plan to send everyone a link to access the Hopin event. We plan to send this out mid next week, to give everyone a few days to work through any troubleshooting issues that you might encounter. The Hopin access links will be sent to all Ti.to ticketholders, so monitor your inbox next week for a message. If you don’t get an email from us by the end of next week, please email us and we’ll help you out! Once you’ve got your Hopin ticket, you will be ready to get started on Sunday morning with the Writing Day!

Thanks so much to all our sponsors

Thanks so much to the following companies for supporting the Portland conference this year:

Microsoft

Google

Redocly

Splunk

Slack

Cloud Native Computing Foundation

twilio

Mozilla

Salesforce

MongoDB

We’re excited to see all of you soon, and can’t wait to share a wonderful few days with you in our online space.

The Write the Docs team

Announcing Full Schedule

2020-07-17T00:00:00Z

Hey everyone!

We’re less than a month away from the first ever online Portland conference and we’re working hard to make sure it’ll be as welcoming and as fun as the in-person event you’re probably familiar with.

Conference platform

The conference will be held on https://hopin.to/, which not only provides a stage for our amazing speakers, but also has integrated chat, unconference rooms with breakout calls, expo booths, and impromptu 1-on-1 meetings. We’re updating our Welcome Wagon guide, to be released soon, so it’ll all feel familiar before you’ve even arrived.

Full presentation schedule

Start thinking about Writing Day

Our pre-conference Writing Day will happen on Sunday, and it is much more fun when folks come with their own projects in mind!

If you have a project or are part of a community that you think would benefit from a writing sprint, start brainstorming now about what you might want to focus on. If you’d like us to include your project on the Writing Day page, drop us an email at portland@writethedocs.org. Or just show up on Sunday ready to introduce your project!

Shirts on sale

The Write the Docs Portland 2020 Pop-Up Shop is still open! We have loose and fitted options from different fabrics, and you can choose exactly the size and cut you want.

The campaign will run in 3-day batches until August 30th. Shipping is available from the USA or Europe. However, due to the global shipping situation, we recommend you order your shirt at least 2 weeks in advance if you want to sport your new threads during the conference.

All our events and activities

Lightning Talks. We’ll have lightning talks each day after lunch. These are 5 minute presentations and a lot of fun. They can be about anything you want, this is your chance to share something you are passionate about with the audience. Slides are not required.
Unconference. We’ll be running the Unconference all day Monday and on Tuesday afternoon. Want to chat with like-minded folks about a specific thing? This is the place.
Job Fair. As with the previous few years, on Tuesday morning we’ll have a job fair where you can find your next documentarian friendly job.
Badge Flair Contest. We’re working on adapting this to the new format. Details will be posted as soon as we have them.
Social event. On Monday night the conference platform will become the social event space. The main stage will be closed, the main focus will be attendee-created sessions. You’re welcome to create sessions for board games, trivia quizzes, karaoke, or any other social activity that you want to share with your fellow documentarians.
Conference Help Desk. If you have any questions about navigating the virtual event, we’ll be running the Write the Docs Helpdesk booth, where you can chat with one of the organizers and the Welcome Wagon team.

The Schedule page has the latest and most complete information about all our events. This is where we will also update any changes/cancellations if they should occur.

Thanks so much for all your support and enthusiasm so far – we’re so excited to see you all next month!

The Write the Docs team