Minnestar

Apr 11, 2015 ∞

Minnebar 10

Notes from Minnebar 10:

Session 1 was great Sleep Improvement session with Dan Grigsby.
Session 2 on Polyglot Persistence discussing NoSQL tech.
Giving my 17th Minnebar session today.
Session 3 How to Encrypt Your Personal Communication with Colin Bartol.
Fun conversation at lunch about privacy tech and encryption. Only at Minnebar!
Spotted Matthew Dornquast at Minnebar! 👋
Session 4 What Smart Watches mean for Mobile with Mike Bollinger. Session is packed! Very thought provoking talk.
I’m presenting Minnebar 10 on Minnebar now!

See also Minnebar collection.

Jul 31, 2014 ∞

Always fun night for Minnedemo!

Peter Zaballos introducing SPS Commerce to Minnedemo crowd! Go #TeamSPS!

Man in glasses and light blue shirt speaking into a handheld microphone on a dimly lit stage beside a copper podium at Minnedemo

Proud to be part of Minnedemo (Minnebar & Minnestar) in three different ways!

Three Minnedemo name badges for Jamie Thinglestad pinned to a dark shirt, showing roles as board member, community supporter, and sponsor.

Jun 19, 2014 ∞

Great lunch today with Elwin Loomis and Heather Mickman about the Minnestar mission with fellow board members Justin Porter, Casey Helbling, and Alex Ryan!

Apr 12, 2014 ∞

Minnebar 9

Notes from Minnebar 9:

Wonder if I’ll still have the most presenter sessions after this year. 14! 😊
Going back to Minnebar 2007 for today’s shirt.
Minnebar getting started!
Excited to hear David Hussman starting session 0!
Love joining LaTeX session by Peter Edstrom! Get your geek on. Who needs WYSIWYG? 😀
Standing room only at Andrew Korf UX design session!
About 98 °F in this room at Minnebar. Ugh.
Minnebar is run by all volunteer team. If you have a moment, say Thanks to the folks coordinating everything.
Come to Challenge at 1:40p for Minnebar 9 on Minnebar session and hear about how our non-profit is evolving, and share ideas you have!
Happy to see Nick Sieger at Minnebar! Last seen at Minnebar 1 nine years ago!
Missing Farhan Muhammad at Minnebar. RIP.
Great day at Minnebar! So wonderful to connect with everyone and enjoy great sessions!

See also Minnebar collection.

Apr 8, 2014 ∞

Fabulous breakfast this morning with Minnestar board member and catalyst Justin Porter.

Mar 2, 2014 ∞

Over recent years I’ve been growing increasingly concerned about the lack of women in technology careers. Perhaps it’s being a dad, or just getting older. Either way, I think this is bad for our industry. I believe we would have healthier cultures, better teams and make better software and products if we had more diversity.

I recently got an email invite to an event in town for tech entrepreneurs. The headline of the email exclaimed in large type…

Walk into a room of people just like you.

In the email were three photos to highlight the people just like you. All set in the gorgeous CoCo Minneapolis space.

Five men in casual and business-casual attire conversing in groups inside a modern open office or coworking space.

Group of men in business casual attire seated at a conference table during a tech networking event indoors.

Men in business casual attire seated at tables in conversation at a Project Skyway event inside a large hall.

Notably a room of people just like you, if you are a young, white man.

I’m not highlighting it because I think there was anything intentional with these images. But instead just to highlight something that I don’t think many in tech even see. We rarely notice the absence of any women in these scenes. We need to work harder to create an inclusive environment that draws the great women technologists into our events too.

On a related note, many know I’m on the board of minnestar which hosts minnedemo and minnebar. We are continuing to work hard to make sure we get all technologists to our events. We have a lot of work to do, but making sure that our imagery displays an open and accepting event is an important start.

Feb 13, 2014 ∞