Lone Star PHP 2014 Review 02 :: Spotlight On Jeremy Lindblom’s Stay @ #lsp14 – Let’s Continue To Learn & Share #CommunityWorks

What Is This All About?

Lone Star PHP is a PHP conference which takes place yearly in Dallas/Texas. This year, it took place some weeks back on the 25th-26th April 2014. So what was the buzz, the happenings and the PHPing all about in there? To serve this purpose, 7PHP brings you some reviews based on the personal experience of the people who actually attended and/or spoken at that conference. With this edition, we are at the 2nd review of #lsp14. Stay tune as 7PHP plans to bring more reviews, even one with the organizers!

In this Series till now:

• Review 01 – we talked with Chris Tankersley

 

NOTE: You can view all the speaker’s slides and ratings here on joind

 

And Now Let’s Visualize #lsp14 Through The Mind Of Jeremy

>> Hey Jeremy, please tell us a bit about yourself

Hi, I’m Jeremy, or @jeremeamia on Twitter. I’m a PHP software engineer at Amazon Web Services where I work on the AWS SDK for PHP (https://github.com/aws/aws-sdk-php) and help other PHP developers learn about the AWS cloud. I’m also one of the co-organizers of the Seattle PHP User Group (@seaphp).

>> Is Lone Star PHP 2014, your first one to their yearly “party”?

Yes, this is the first time I’ve been to Lone Star PHP.

>> Could you describe how it was when you landed at lsp14? Your feelings, the environment, the people..etc

I came right from the airport to the speaker dinner, where we had some delicious BBQ. We had a big group out in the patio seating, and it was like seeing bunch of friends. PHP developers are a friendly bunch. 🙂 The conference itself was very nice. Being in a small conference center made the whole event seem very tightly-knit, and you knew that everyone there was someone you could easily converse with.

>> What are the things that you really enjoyed there?

Being in a small conference center made the whole event seem very tightly-knit, and you knew that everyone there was someone you could easily converse with. I also liked how the after parties were very relaxed. Oh, I also loved the Dublin Dr Peppers.

>> The top talks that marked your spirit?

I’m sure everyone would agree that the keynotes by @snipeyhead and @crell were really great. Because I was sick some of the time, I missed a number of sessions, though. Of the ones I did see, I really enjoyed @CaseySoftware‘s APIs talk and @jmikola‘s Beautiful, Measurable Software talk.

>> The #1 Talk that really went beyond, and why?

@snipeyhead‘s keynote was really first class. She has a great presence on stage and was able to call upon her extensive experience in security to provide unique perspectives and insights on web security.

>> Anyone you’ve chat with and who have made a high impression?

I listened in to a conversation with some of the Drupal folks (@crell and kris). It seems like they are a very smart and fun group.

There are so many others that I enjoyed talking with as well. If I have to name a few, then I’ll go with @eliw, @auroraeosrose, @dshafik, @jmikola, @michellesanver, @dragonmantank, @jcarouth, @elnoelle, @shrtwhitebldguy, etc. I could keep going, but let’s just say that there were a lot of awesome people there.

I was also great to meet the LSP organizers and Dallas PHP people like @enygma, @jakefolio, @omnicolor, @dcousineau, @bobmajdakjr, and probably some others that I can’t remember off the top of my head.

>> What did you take home from #lsp14 – the ideas, lessons and take-aways that you would like to share..

PHP developers are an awesome bunch of people. Let’s continue to learn and share #CommunityWorks

>> You’ve also been speaking, tell us about it, how it was, the reaction of your audience..etc?

I have had the honor to speak at a few PHP (and other) conferences in the past year-and-a-half, and I am looking forward to a few more opportunities this year. I enjoyed my talks at Lone Star PHP a lot, and I hope the attendees did as well. I was in the small room, but it was full each time, and I had a lot of audience participation.

>> Were you satisfied with your talk, if no what would you like to improve on for next time?

Yes, I felt that they went well (despite that I could barely speak due to illness), and that I was able to provide good information for the attendees. I received some helpful feedback on joind.in as well that I can use to tweak those and future talks.

>> Will you be speaking again there next year?

If they’ll have me, then sure!

>> How was this conference different from other conference you’ve attended?

I felt like this conference was very close-knit; everyone was all together in the small conference center. The after parties were more like big family gatherings. Oh, and there was BBQ.

>> Aspects where you feel this conference went ‘A-class above’?

I thought they did a good job creating a comfortable, low-pressure atmosphere for the attendees in both the sessions and after parties.

>> Any improvements you would recommend to them?

I think everyone would agree that the wifi was a problem. It’s easier said than done to fix, so good luck to them on that.

>> Any other “behind the scene” things you would like to share with us?

I had a conversation in the hall with @shrtwhitebldguy, @auroraeosrose, @jcarouth, @adamculp, and a few others to try an figure out who @phphugs is. The results were inconclusive. 🙂

Also…

I think I may have been the very last #lsp14 attendee to leave Texas. I got stuck there after becoming ill (double ear infection) and was not able to fly home until after a full week later. That was a very long, but tasty week, since I was able to try some of the restaurants that I missed while the conference was still going. @omnicolor also invited me over one of the days that he was brewing beer. I don’t drink alcohol, but the brewing process is very interesting.

>> Last but not the least, if you want to add more things to share with us..

Nothing I can think of. 🙂