The talk I gave at @webstock in 2012 (https://www.webstock.org.nz/talks/when-we-build/ …) was actually the second of three versions of that talk that I ever gave. The original was at @buildconf (RIP) in Belfast, and I gave a truncated version at Do Lectures in Wales later that year.
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I got a lot of reactions to that talk, more than any other talk I've given before or since. I still occasionally get a kind email from someone who just watched it. I'm very grateful that what I had to say seemed to resonate with people in a meaningful way.
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I was really nervous about giving that talk in the first place. It was really personal, I felt like I'd spent way too much time working on it (at one point I counted that I'd written at least 9 complete versions). It was... weird, and a little grandiose.
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It's a testament to people like
@andymcmillan (Build) and@tashmahal (Webstock) and the environments they created with their conferences that I even remotely felt like I could try to deliver a talk like that, and that those places and audiences were so welcoming to it.Show this thread -
I was reluctant to give any talks after that one. Not that I thought it was so great, but I never thought I could live up to the standard I'd set for myself just in terms of the amount of effort I put into it and how far I out on a limb I felt.
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I'll admit I'm nervous again about this one. I don't have time to rewrite it 9 times this time. But it's still personal, and it's still weird, and probably a little grandiose.
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I'm worried about how it will come across (too cynical? too optimistic?) and I'm worried that anything I have to say will be meaningful enough to anyone to justify centering my perspective and taking up space that I could cede to other voices.
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So this is fair warning, I guess. I don't have any practical takeaways or digestible insights. I don't have any emotional videos or theatrical music. I don't even have any slides! I have a lot of questions, some ideas from people smarter than me, and some books you should read.
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All that said, it feels good to be doing this again. Pulling all of these thoughts together, and taking the time to consider how to share them, and how to contribute to the conversation. I hope to make it worth your attention.
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