When I see an announcement about a conference I've never heard of shutting down after 17 years, it's eerie. I've been in the software industry for more than twice that time. But I'm guessing this is in the UX part of the space.
Interesting to reflect how there the computing industry is like a galaxy. You can spend all your career in just one star system.
This is why I like HN. It's the only place I know where I can get eclectic exposure.
An Event Apart was started by the A List Apart people. ALA was/is a website that was very important for front-end development during the 2000s and early 2010s. Famously, the article that outlined the technique and name for"responsive web design" for the first time was published there in 2010: https://alistapart.com/article/responsive-web-design/
It wasn't UX focused, it was specifically front-end focused. And it was a hugely important part of the evolution of that domain.
I had a chance to attend An Event Apart ... er, event, in Chicago somewhere between 10-15 years ago and it was downright inspirational. There was a real sense of being together with other professionals to better learn about our craft. And there was so much back then that was still new! Amazing times
I also attended Chicago event a few years ago. I absolutely loved it, including the city of Chicago. My favorite part was accidentally having lunch with one of the attendees who happened to a speaker. https://gerrymcgovern.com/
I feel like UX as a discipline has changed so much particularly in the past few years that I've lost my love for it leading me to leave my job couple months ago to take a break.
To me, the Event Apart / A List Apart represent the golden days. While I'm sure the latter will live on, I will miss the Event Apart.
Small world. I, too, attended that event in Chicago and it's there that Twitter was the buzz and I first created my Twitter account, nearly 15 years ago.
Hmm it seems like they're associated, the A List Apart site links to this in the footer as part of the same network.
That said, I do wonder what happened over at A List Apart. Not sure if I'm missing something, but it feels like it's been way less active in recent years in general, with the last post earlier this month, the previous two posts in June and May, and the ones before that back in 2021. It's a shame too, since it's a good site with some interesting web design/development related articles, just one that gets updated so rarely it's not worth keeping track of anymore.
I was watching wild kingdom, with my mother. At the end of the show it said produced by Wolfgang Bauer. Directed by Wolfgang Bauer. My mother asks, do you suppose thats the same
Just attended what I guess was the last conference a couple of weeks ago in SF. Attendance was about 250. It was a solid group of speakers, and yes, front end/ux centric, but not limited to that. Unfortunately I got covid on the trip, and then gave it to my wife and 7 year old, which essentially took us all out for the holiday.
Really sad to hear this. I attended one AEA a few months before the Pandemic and it was amazing - expensive, to be sure, but totally worth it. The one thing it did really well was "breadth"; presenting on both design and technical topics and finding a way for them to fit together.
I was hoping to go to another this year maybe. I think (?) they still do Smashing conf so maybe I'll try that.
I enjoyed attending ALA events in the past. I met a few interesting folks and always learned something at each event.
It’s sad to see it come to a close but all things have their cycles, and I suppose ALA events are no different.
PS. Over the years, I purchased many of their books on topics like information architecture, accessibility, customer research, etc. The content is usually written with a practical lens and I found the advice easy to action.
I went to the Denver one this year. Great speakers and great time, but not well attended. Maybe 40% capacity which was a shame for such a good event. In person events are hard now. I hope they come back in a few years.
[+] [-] satisfice|3 years ago|reply
Interesting to reflect how there the computing industry is like a galaxy. You can spend all your career in just one star system.
This is why I like HN. It's the only place I know where I can get eclectic exposure.
[+] [-] dimmke|3 years ago|reply
It wasn't UX focused, it was specifically front-end focused. And it was a hugely important part of the evolution of that domain.
[+] [-] Malic|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pcurve|3 years ago|reply
I feel like UX as a discipline has changed so much particularly in the past few years that I've lost my love for it leading me to leave my job couple months ago to take a break.
To me, the Event Apart / A List Apart represent the golden days. While I'm sure the latter will live on, I will miss the Event Apart.
[+] [-] deepfriedbits|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] alanwreath|3 years ago|reply
I wonder if there is a relation between the two.
[+] [-] CM30|3 years ago|reply
That said, I do wonder what happened over at A List Apart. Not sure if I'm missing something, but it feels like it's been way less active in recent years in general, with the last post earlier this month, the previous two posts in June and May, and the ones before that back in 2021. It's a shame too, since it's a good site with some interesting web design/development related articles, just one that gets updated so rarely it's not worth keeping track of anymore.
[+] [-] newfriend|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mattl|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] billyt555|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dccoolgai|3 years ago|reply
I was hoping to go to another this year maybe. I think (?) they still do Smashing conf so maybe I'll try that.
[+] [-] megax|3 years ago|reply
It’s sad to see it come to a close but all things have their cycles, and I suppose ALA events are no different.
PS. Over the years, I purchased many of their books on topics like information architecture, accessibility, customer research, etc. The content is usually written with a practical lens and I found the advice easy to action.
[+] [-] slyall|3 years ago|reply
https://aneventapart.com/news/videos/
[+] [-] diob|3 years ago|reply
Between the years, some of the content was largely similar, which is understandable. But always really well put together.
Will miss the energy of those folks.
[+] [-] stevenhubertron|3 years ago|reply