I’m currently attending Google I/O 2010, and while the technical aspects of the conference are being well covered elsewhere, what I’ve enjoyed more is the “people watching” aspect, specifically the differences between a “geek” conference such as this one, and “non-geek” conferences such as the various CMS conferences I regularly attend.
While most of my observations have been made on Twitter, I thought I’d capture them here for perpetuity. Without further ado, I present to you “Signs You’re at a Geek Conference”:
Sign #42 you’re at a geek conference: the line for the men’s is out the door & the women’s is vacant.
Sign #117 you’re at a geek conf: presenter with European accent says “shart” & no one laughs – they know he’s talking scalability.
Sign #13 you’re at a geek conference: 87% of attendees are using Macs, and 47% of those have “Powered by Ubuntu” stickers on them.
Sign #1 you’re at a geek conference: you make lists of geeky things you see there and share with everyone you know 🙂 (from my good friend BRob / br524 on Twitter)
Sign #73 you’re at a geek conference: there are lots of attractive young ladies… …but what’s with the “staff” t shirts?
Sign #37 you’re at a geek conference: rickets is the most commonly discussed health issue.
Sign #64 you’re at a geek conference: you overhear “their PL/1 code wasn’t up to COBOL standards” (tip o’ the hat to LuisSala).
Sign #51 you’re at a geek conference: lots of tender loving talk about babies… …but 99% referring to stealth mode startups.
Sign #82 you’re at a geek conf: pool tables are empty but 5 of the last 7 foosball world champions are duking it out in the rec. area.
Sign #90 you’re at a geek conference: you compliment someone on their period costume, and they give you a death stare.
The CMS Curmudgeon 