As many do this time of year, I'm taking a few moments to review last years' goals and set new ones for this year. I don't do this lightly. I simply share them here as a form of public accountability. Without further ado...

So, it's your first conference. Yes, it can be a little intimidating. Yes, it will be exciting. Yes, it will be exhausting. Here are some tips to get you started:

Do: Look at the schedule to find your "must see" sessions. Once the conference is running, you're going to be overwhelmed. If there's a session you absolutely need to attend, you need to figure that out now and plan accordingly.

Don't plan to attend every session. I know, I know... you want to "get your money's worth". You want to get exposed to every great new idea out there and you can't wait to dive in. First of all, no one can handle that much in a few days. Even the sharp guys over at North Carolina State University were overwhelmed at their first conference. Second of all, you can't forget the "Hallway Track".

In just over two weeks, I'll be packing up to head to locations west for the first CodeWorks Conference Tour.  If you haven't followed along so far, CodeWorks is a little different than most conferences.

First, there's the format.  Instead of the normal "you come to us" thing, we're coming to you.  Codeworks is a traveling conference scheduled to hit a total of seven
cities over the span of 14 days.  We'll be visiting San Francisco, Los
Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Washington, DC, and New York City.

Second, we've worked with each of the local Users Groups and had them nominate a local presenter for their city.  So in each, there is at least one (sometimes two) speakers from the User Group themselves.  I've talked or worked with all of the local speakers are there are some fascinating presentations in the works.  Combined with the rest of the conference and there are some great things in store.

Around this time every year, something happens within the PHP community.  We come out of the lazy days of summer with focus and excitement.  It's due to a number of things - like kids going back to school - but  one of the biggest on the calendar is ZendCon.

While php|tek has a definite community or "friends getting together" vibe to it, ZendCon is definitely corporate.  It's reflected in the attitude, the clothing (lots of khakis and polos), and the formal exhibit hall, etc.  There are still numerous friends getting together, but what happens when you spice things up a bit?

If you were paying attention a few months ago, you know that for php|tek 2009, MTA put together a free webcast series. We had great turnout, feedback, and success with them, so we're doing it again:

We have the FREE CodeWorks 2009 Webcast Series!

It works basically the same as last time around.  About every other Friday over the next three months, we'll have a ~30 presentation starting at 1pm Eastern Time.  We tend to start on time, so don't be late.  But if you have to miss it or are running late, the video and slides will be posted afterwards.  Where?  We're not sure yet, stay tuned.

In recent days and months, I've been left pondering a question that initially I thought was simple... but seems to be getting more complex every day:

What makes an unconference an unconference?

There are a few qualities that I've always associated with an unconference and after an exchange with Aaron Brazell and Geoff Livingston last week, I thought I'd share them here.  I happen to respect them both and don't mention them to criticize.. just to contrast some differences.  In no particular order:

A free/cheap cost to attend - While "cheap" is a relative term, I believe the key to this one is making it accessible to people.  For example, BarCamps are usually free.  PodCampBoston was bitten by this one a few years back when shirts were purchased based on 1500 signups and only 700 people appeared.  Ouch. The natural - and reasonable - reaction to this was to charge a fee and PodCampBoston did the following year.

Disclosure: There's lots of disclosure on this one.  First, the conference series is hosted by Marco Tabini and Associates who are friends, partners, and unindicted co-conspirators.  More importantly, I've been drafted by The Man himself - Marco Tabini - to be the "community guy" for this effort.

In case you haven't followed the news and chaos out of php|tek 2009 this year, you've missed the announcement for CodeWorks 2009.  In case you haven't guessed, I'm a big advocate of going to conferences.  The people - and not just the presenters - that you'll meet are amazing.  I believe some of the biggest and best ideas, contacts, relationships, and business come as a result of them.