I went to the Rocky Mountain Ruby conference in Denver, Colorado and had an incredible time. I was feeling a bit anxious about taking the time to go to this conference because of commitments I had at work and at home. I really understand the incredible burden that conferences have to make it worthwhile for someone to take time off work and away from their family. A conference is not a vacation for most people. It is a big expense. It costs them money, time, and attention. Extremely valuable things. But once I got there I remembered why I love going to so much. The ideas you get from the talks. The thought-provoking conversations you have in the hallway and at lunch. The inspiration you get from meeting people doing things you've dreamed of but never attempted. The rush of giving a lightning talk. The energy I get from conferences is unparalleled in my experience. And although it was a long week and I was tired I was still about to fulfill my commitments at work and at home. A couple long days are worth the several weeks of energy and inspiration I get. The tradeoff is very much worth it for me.

I ended up doing a lightning talk at Rocky Mountain Ruby and of course I gave a plug for Blastoff Rails at the end. This was especially fortuitous because I didn't come prepared with a lot of promotional stuff like I wanted to do. I had planned to maybe get some shirts and stickers made to pass out and for one reason or another I didn't get it done in time. There was definitely a spike in traffic to the conference site the day of the talk and the day after so I think it worked.

I am going to SF Ruby conference in November so I need to start planning now for what promotion I am going to do there.

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