CocoaConf, Washington, DC March 28-29, 2014

I hemmed and hawed about going to CocoaConf and after deciding that I did want to go I went to register only to find that it was sold out. I placed my name on the wait list thinking that it would be unlikely that a spot would open up. But then one did! And now after attending my first CocoaConf in Washington, D.C. March 28-29 I wish I hadn’t waited so long to attend one. The conference was well organized and graciously hosted by the Klein family was a sold out event. The session content and the presenters were top notch. Pre-conference all day sessions (available as part of the full conference package) had sessions suitable for neophytes (All Day iOS Tutorial taught by James Dempsey) to more advanced developers seeking to expand their knowledge. I attended AV Foundation Film School taught by Chris Adamson, which was great. And I’m sure the other two were as well — iOS 7 2D Game Development taught by Josh Smith and Jonathan Penn the authors of Build iOS Games with Sprite Kit and Introduction to OpenGLES and GLKit Handson taught by Ray and Vicki Wenderlich).

The sessions were presented by seasoned professionals and authors Jonathan Blocksom and Mark Dalrymple of the Big Nerd Ranch, Daniel Steinberg, Ray Wenderlich, Mike Ash, Josh Smith and Jonathan Penn, and Mark Pospesel to name but a few.

But what was totally unexpected was the level of sharing and community shown by the speakers. The keynote γνῶθι σεαυτόν (Know Thyself) by Mark Dalrymple as well as the keynotes by Casey Liss and Dave Wiskus were amazingly personal and sharing about each speaker’s challenges that had to be overcome in order for them to be creative teachers, artists, authors, and developers. All this sharing was meant to motivate the attendees to step outside of their comfort zones and achieve. Motivational therapy at a tech conference!

But it wasn’t all serious. There was lots of fun as well. The CocoaConf Game Show hosted by Daniel Steinberg was made all the more enjoyable by Jonathan Penn’s irrepressible imitation of Sir Jonathan Ive. The jam session by James Dempsey and the Breakpoints (you can buy his single “The Liki Song” on iTunes and sign up for his mailing list) provided light evening entertainment. And the Unprofessional talk show with hosts Dave Wiskus and Jaimee Newberry interviewing Casey Liss was a discussion on anything but iOS and work. And where else would you find Jonathan Blocksom being so kind as to give up his lunch time in order to take 3D pictures of attendees?

It was terrific to see that the traditions of the Mac developer community are being carried over to a newer, bigger, and better Mac and iOS developer community. And I for one hope to attend another CocoaConf conference and that you’ll decide to experience this community first-hand yourself. So if you are thinking of going go ahead and get a ticket!