Quite a significant chunk of my time last year was spent organising dConstruct 2014. The final result was worth it, but it really took it out of me. It got kind of stressful there for a while: ticket sales weren't going as well as previous years, so I had to dip my toes into the world of... (shudder) marketing.
That was my third year organising dConstruct, and I'm immensely proud of all three events. dConstruct 2012--also known as "the one with James Burke"--remains a highlight of my life. But--especially after the particularly draining 2014 event--I'm going to pass on organising it this year.
To be honest, I think that dConstruct 2014, the tenth one, could stand as a perfectly fine final event. It's not like it needs to run forever, right?
Andy has been pondering this very question, but he's up for giving dConstruct at least one more go in 2015:
As we prepare for our tenth anniversary, we’ve also been asking whether it should be our last—at least for a while. The jury is still out, and we probably won’t make any decisions till after the event.
Y'know, it could turn out that dConstruct in 2015 might reinvigorate my energy, but for now, I'm just too burned out to contemplate taking it on myself. Anyway, I know that the other Clearlefties are more than capable of putting together a fantastic event.
But dConstruct wasn't the only event I organised last year. 2014's Responsive Day Out was a wonderful event, and much less stressful to organise. That's mostly because it's a very different beast to dConstruct; much looser, smaller, and easy-going, with fewer expectations. That makes for a fun day out all 'round.
I wasn't even sure if there was going to be a second Responsive Day Out, but I'm really glad we did it. In fact, I think there's room for one last go.
I've already started putting a line-up together (and I'm squeeing with excitement about it already!), and this will definitely be the last Responsive Day Out, but keep your calendar clear on Friday, June 19th for...
Responsive Day Out 3: The Final Breakpoint.
This was originally published on my own site.