I started my speaking career with the Sitecore community many years ago, but today I largely focus on general technology conferences, especially around .NET and JavaScript.
The Point
Because it's been so long since I've spoke in the Sitecore community, I was looking forward to speaking at Sitecore Symposium 2024... but NOPE, none of my sessions were selected.
Let's talk about what didn't make the cut!
The Best of the Rejects
What high-quality content are you missing this year? Check out these golden goose eggs:
Using Generative AI Responsibly By Learning From Others' Mistakes
The Idea: I love watching companies make hilarious mistakes while flinging themselves aimlessly at the latest hot new tech - in this case generative AI. Of course there are lessons to be learned here, and I really want to see teams succeed in using gen AI as a flexible tool, not a replacement for creativity or honest-to-goodness work.
The Reality: Sitecore is leaning heavily into generative AI capabilites, so this topic might've been a little insensitive given the target audience for Symposium.
Build Better Websites by Getting Back to Basics
The Idea: Tech is so friggin' hard nowadays; the best solution to any problem is always the simplest one. With this session I wanted to describe my approach to building simple, performant websites with Sitecore's products, namely XM Cloud and Personalize.
The Reality: There's going to be plenty of content around tooling and architecture at this year's Symposium, so this was just a crowded field.
Making Business Sense of Hybrid Headless, Composable, AI and other Industry Buzzwords
The Idea: Acronyms suck. Buzzwords suck. Full stop. I had a few dozen buzzwords and phrases that I wanted to disect, translate, and poke a little fun. I really wanted to help the business crowd understand the importance and value behind the buzzword slurry they hear every day.
The Reality: Maybe there weren't enough composable AI DXP headless synergies in this topic? IDK.
A Guide For Marketers: How to Get the Most From Your Next Product Demo
The Idea: Demoing software is part of every sales cycle and it's basically my full time job, so I have a few opinions on what makes a great demo - from both sides of the aisle. This session was going to help educate customers on what they can bring to the table for a successful product demo.
The Reality: Okay, I'll admit it: this just sounds boring. And to be really honest, as a sales engineer this was going to be a 25 minute venting session anyhow.
So now that you know what you're missing, go check out what you won't miss.