Categories
Conferences Tampa Bay

The Data4 conference: Wednesday, February 26 in Tampa!

The tl; dr

  • The event: Data4 conference
  • When: Wednesday, February 26, 2025
  • Where: Embarc Collective, Tampa
  • What: “A fun and friendly environment for all data professionals, no matter the industry, to meet and grow through shared contributions, interests, and mutual discovery. You’ll hear from data thought leaders, make connections across the tech ecosystem, and expand your network. You won’t be sitting down all day listening to speaker after speaker. Discussions won’t be focused on only one industry.
  • How much: $99. There’s also a government and student rate of $50!

A data conference?

You’ve heard the saying: “Data is the new oil.” That observation is generally attributed to Clive Humby, who’s said to have first used it in 2006. The idea is that data shares a lot of qualities with oil:

  • It’s a valuable resource.
  • It’s not useful in and of itself; it needs to be extracted, then refined and processed before you to highlight the idea that data, like oil, is a valuable resource that needs to be extracted, refined, and processed — but after that you get a lot of benefit  from it.
  • And finally, like oil, it’s a key driver for several industries  and the economy in general.

Something this valuable needs a conference, and we’re having such a conference here in Tampa!

That conference is Data4.

What will the talks be?

Here’s the list of talks and their speakers / panelists:

Lakehouse Catalogs 101 – Governing and Transporting your Iceberg, Delta and Hudi tables

Alex Merced
Senior Tech Evangelist, Dremio

Explore one of the most critical frontiers in the lakehouse ecosystem: catalogs. Alex will demystify leading catalog solutions such as Apache Polaris (incubating), Nessie, Unity Catalog, Gravitino, Dremio Catalog, and AWS Glue, and guide you through navigating this evolving landscape to effectively manage your lakehouse.

AI Safety: Crafting Certainty in an Uncertain World

John Licato
Founder & CEO, Actualization.ai

Unpack how robust design, user-centric interfaces, and regulatory collaboration can transform AI from a black-box risk into a predictable and valuable tool.

The Great Analytics Data Strategy Heist!

Pradnya Chavan
VP Decision Science, JPMorganChase

Learn to refine problems and apply iterative systems thinking, drive continuous improvement for data initiatives, and develop successful data strategies to reach business analytics objectives.

Defense as a Market: Overcoming Barriers for Tech Innovation in DoD

Jim Smith
Former Acquisition Executive for the United States Special Operations Command

Casey Johnson
VP of Business Development, Certus Core

Daniella Diaz
VP of Revenue and Marketing at Lumina AI

Rocio Frej Vitalle
CEO, Improving Aviation

Uncover insights surrounding Data, AI, and delivering game changing solutions to the DoD.

Using Top-Level Ontology for Better Governance – A Vendor Risk Case Study

Tim Toohill
CTO & Co-Founder, Certus Core

Joe Blankenship
CDO, Certus Core

Explore how top-level ontologies align disparate data sources to address governance challenges in knowledge graphs.

Mapping Ever Larger Data with PostGIS, DuckDB, GeoArrow and deck.gl.

Jared Lander
CEO – Lander Analytics

Learn how to make a high performance geo workflow on large data through covering the four key aspects of the geospatial pipeline.

From Data to Dominance: Navigating Edge and Enterprise Data Needs for Scalable Insights

Lisa Costa
Former Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, U.S. Space Force | VC Partner

In a world defined by data ubiquity, success hinges on the ability to align edge-based and enterprise-level data strategies. This talk explores the nuanced differences between edge and enterprise data needs and how semantic frameworks, AI, and edge-based processing can bridge the two. Learn how to harness data at the right place and time—enabling hyper-localized decision-making, predictive analytics at scale, and adaptive cyber defense to create resilient, value-driven organizations in an interconnected global ecosystem.

Driving Data Innovation in Telecom: Trends and Opportunities

Antra Malhotra
Associate Director of Software Development, Verizon

 

Prescription for Precision: Building Smarter Pharma Sales Forecasting Dashboards

Tanya Cashorali
Founder & CEO, TCB Analytics

Ensure your regional sales goals are on track while identifying problem areas in real-time.

 

There’s also a rumor that there might be some accordion entertainment during the day. Just sayin’.

Afterparty

And yes, there’s a happy hour after the event at American Social. Better still, there’ll be door prizes for a few lucky attendees!

How much will it cost to attend?

$99 for general admission. And that includes breakfast, lunch, and the happy hour.

Find out more about tickets here.

Categories
Conferences Programming

PyCon US 2025 has just been announced!

PyCon US 2025 — the big Python conference — is taking place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the following dates from Wednesday, May 14 through Thursday, May 22, 2025!

Here’s the breakdown of that schedule:

Dates What’s happening
Wednesday, May 14 – Thursday, May 15 Tutorials
Thursday, May 15 Sponsor Presentations
Friday, May 16 – Sunday, May, 18 Main Conference Days—Keynotes, Talks, Charlas, Expo Hall, and more
Monday, May 19 – Thursday, May 22 Sprints

The PyCon US 2025 site is now live, and the call for proposals is officially open! You can submit proposals for:

  • Talks
  • Tutorials
  • Posters
  • Charlas

The deadline to submit proposals all tracks is Thursday, December 19, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET (UTC-5). They’ve set up a “Call for Proposals Countdown” so you can view  how much time you have left to submit, and see what the deadline is in your local timezone. You can find out more about proposals on their Proposal Guidelines page.

You can also find out more about the conference in the announcement post on the PyCon US blog.

Categories
Conferences Tampa Bay What I’m Up To

Scenes from DevOpsDays Tampa Bay 2024

DevOpsDays Tampa Bay 2024 took place last Thursday, September 19th, and I’m pleased to report that it was a success, with 230 attendees, great talks, an enthusiastic audience, and a lot of participation, all in my favorite conference venue!

DevOpsDays is a worldwide series of community-run technical conferences covering topics of software development, IT infrastructure operations, and the intersection between them.

DevOpsDays Tampa Bay is “The Other Bay Area’s” edition of DevOpsDays, organized, produced, and executed by volunteers from Tampa Bay and beyond, for the benefit of the tech scene here on “The Other West Coast.”

Here are my photos from the event…

Andrew Clay Shafer opened the conference with his keynote, The Ghost of DevOps Past…

…which was followed by PJ Hagerty’s presentation, DevOps — Philosophy vs. Practice. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any photos of his talk, as I was getting ready to give my talk, Python Meets DevOps!

Photo by Maria Seenarraine.

I was followed by Aman Sharma’s presentation on what he termed “GenOps” — in other words, DevOps for Generative AI applications:

After Aman was Omer Farooq, who gave his talk, Modernized Approach to Container DevSecOp through Software Development Lifecycle.

And then: lunch!

One of the best things about last year’s and this year’s DevOpsDays Tampa Bay was that they took place at Armature Works. It’s not just a great conference venue, but also a great place to eat!

Rather than feed us standard-issue tech conference food, we were each given a $25 coupon redeemable at any of the food vendors.

I decided to try out a new-to-me place, Bap Bap and selected their Korean fried chicken and kimchi fries. I definitely would order it again:

Immediately after lunch was Micahel Levan’s presentation, Production-Ready Platform Engineering: From Conception To Build To FAIL, followed by Gwyneth Allwright’s Escaping the Legacy Infrastructure Labyrinth:

Next up was Al Rodriguez, with DevOps Like a Dev:

…follwed by Luis Hernandez with In The Deep End: My Experience as a Linux Kernel Mentee:

The final talks of the day were:

  • Mike Butler, who introduced the Open Space portion of the conference with his quick talk, Open Spaces – The Greatest Thing about DevOpsDays,
  • Ed LeGault, with Optimizing Software Delivery with DORA Metrics and EBM, and
  • Josh Lee, with Modern Application Debugging: An Intro to OpenTelemetry.

Afterwards, we had 90 minutes devoted to Open Space discussions — I pretty much stuck around the AI-related discussion.

At the end of the Open Spaces portion, the conference came to a close with a quick curtain call by the organizers (listed from left to right, as they appear in these photos):

  • James Gress
  • Troy Koss
  • Obie Muzon
  • Seni Aguiar
  • Chris Ayers

Assisting them were a number of volunteers, all of whose names I don’t have — but my thanks to them for keeping things running smoothly.

DevOpsDays Tampa Bay was a fun conference to speak at, attend, catch up with old friends, and make new ones. I’m looking forward to next year’s event!

Categories
Conferences Current Events Tampa Bay

How to work the room at DevOpsDays Tampa Bay 2024

It’s been my experience that some of the most important things I’ve learned and all the connections I’ve made at conferences didn’t happen at the presentations. Instead, they happened between presentations, when I worked the room in the hallways, lounges, lunches, and social gatherings, chatting with the speakers, organizers, and the other attendees.

If the phrase “work the room” sounds like sleazy marketing-speak and fills your head with images of popped collars and wearing too much body spray, relax. Working the room means being an active participant in a social event and contributing to it so that it’s better for both you and everyone else. Think of it as good social citizenship.

It’s especially important to talk to people you don’t know or who are outside your usual circle. Books like The Tipping Point classify acquaintances with such people as “weak ties”. Don’t let the word “weak” make you think they’re unimportant. As people outside your usual circle, they have access to a lot of information, people, and opportunities that you don’t. That’s why most people get jobs through someone they know, and of those cases, most of the references came from a weak tie. The sorts of opportunities that come about because of this sort of relationship led sociologist Mark Granovetter to coin the phrase “the strength of weak ties”.

This observation is so common that it’s given rise to “unconferences” like BarCamp, whose purpose is to invert the order of things so that the conference is more “hallway” than “lecture theatre”.

The best way to make weak ties at a conference is to work the room. If you’re unsure of how to work the room, I’ve got some tips that you might find handy…

Have a one-line self-introduction

A one-line self-introduction is simply a single-sentence way of introducing yourself to people you meet at a conference. It’s more than likely that you won’t know more than a handful of attendees and introducing yourself over and over again, during the conference, as well as its post-session party events. It’s a trick that Susan RoAne, room-working expert and author of How to Work a Room: The Ultimate Guide to Making Lasting Connections In-Person and Online teaches, and it works. It’s pretty simple:

  • Keep it short — no longer than 10 seconds, and shorter if possible. It’s not your life story, but a pleasantry that also gives people just a little bit about who you are.
  • Make it fit. It should give people a hint of the cool stuff that you do (or, if you’re slogging it out in the hopes of doing cool stuff someday, the cool stuff that you intend to do.)
  • Show your benefits. Rather than simply give them your job title, tell them about a benefit that your work provides in a way that invites people to find out more. Susan RoAne likes to tell a story about someone she met whose one-liner was “I help rich people sleep at night”. That’s more interesting than “I’m a financial analyst”.

My intro these days is something along the lines of “I’m a rock and roll accordion player, but in my main side gig, I’m Tampa Bay’s Python/AI/tech advocacy guy, and in my side side gig, I put together the Tampa Bay tech events list and run a couple of coder meetups in town.”

How to join a conversation

You’ll probably see a group of people already engaged in a conversation. If this is your nightmare…

Click the screenshot to read the Onion article.

…here’s how you handle it:

  1. Pick a lively group of people you’d like to join in conversation. As people who are already in a conversation, they’ve already done some of the work for you. They’re lively, which makes it more likely that they’re open to people joining in. They’ve also picked a topic, which saves you the effort of having to come up with one. It also lets you decide whether or not it interests you. If they’re lively and their topic of conversation interests you, proceed to step 2. If not, go find another group!
  2. Stand on the periphery and look interested. Just do it. This is a conference, and one of the attendees’ goals is to meet people. Smile. Pipe in if you have something to contribute; people here are pretty cool about that.
  3. When acknowledged, step into the group. You’re in like Flynn! Step in confidently and introduce yourself. If you’ve got that one-line summary of who you are that I talked about earlier, now’s the time to use it.
  4. Don’t force a change of subject. You’ve just joined the convo, and you’re not campaigning. Contribute, and let the subject changes come naturally.

Feel free to join me in at any conversational circle I’m in! I always keep an eye on the periphery for people who want to join in, and I’ll invite them.

More tips

Here’s more advice on how to work the room:

  1. Come with goals. Decide what you want to achieve at DevOpsDays Tampa Bay. Is it making new contacts? Landing a job interview? Learning something new?
  2. Arrive early. This allows you to meet people in a less crowded, more relaxed setting.
  3. Take advantage of the Open Spaces in the afternoon. It’s your chance to be an active participant at DevOpsDays, and its smaller groups provide better opportunities for meaningful conversations.
  4. Listen! Yes, you’re there to talk, but so is everyone else. Make sure you listen to other people in the circle as they speak, and ask questions, too! One of the reasons you go to DevOpsDays is to get exposed to new ideas. As I said earlier, learning goes beyond the talks. Try to learn three new things at every event.
  5. Use social media. Follow the conference hashtag and connect with attendees online.
  6. Be more of a host and less of a guest. No, you don’t have to worry about scheduling or if the coffee urns are full. By “being a host”, I mean doing some of things that hosts do, such as introducing people, saying “hello” to wallflowers and generally making people feel more comfortable. Being graceful to everyone is not only good karma, but it’s a good way to promote yourself. It worked out really well for me; for example, I came to the first DemoCamp (a regular Toronto tech event back in the 2000s) as a guest, but by the third one, I was one of the people officially hosting the event.
  7. Move around. Don’t stay in one spot; circulate to meet people you might not otherwise meet.
  8. Beware of “rock piles”. Rock piles are groups of people huddled together in a closed formation. It sends the signal “go away”. If you find yourself in one, try to position yourself to open up the formation.
  9. Beware of “hotboxing”. I’ve heard this term used in counter-culture settings, but in this case “hotboxing” means to square your shoulders front-and-center to the person you’re talking to. It’s a one-on-one version of the rock pile, and it excludes others from joining in. Once again, the cure for hotboxing is to change where you’re standing to allow more people to join in.
  10. Put your stuff down. Carrying your bag or other stuff is a non-verbal cue that you’re about to leave. If you’re going to stay and chat, put them down. When you’re about to leave, take your stuff and start saying your goodbyes.
  11. Show and tell. Nothing attracts our eyes like shiny, whether it’s an interesting pieces of tech, a new book, a new t-shirt you’re fond of, or even some local knowledge, such a new restaurant, cafe, or bar that just opened. It’s why I carry my accordion around; I think of it as a device that converts curiosity into opportunity (and music as well). Got an interesting thing or idea? Got a neat project that you’ve been working on? Whatever it is, park yourself someplace comfortable in the hallway, show it off and start a conversation!
  12. Save the email, tweets and texts for later, unless they’re important.They’ll draw your attention away from the room and also send the message “go away”.
  13. Mentor. If you’ve got skills in a specific area, share your knowledge. Larry Chiang from GigaOm says that “It transitions nicely from the what-do-you-do-for-work question. It also adds some substance to party conversations and clearly brands you as a person.”
  14. Play “conversation bingo”. If there are certain topics that you’d like to learn about or people you’d like to have a conversation with, put them in a list (mental, electronic or paper) of “bingo” words. As you converse at the conference, cross off any of those topics that you cover off the list. This trick forces you to become a more active listener and will help you towards your learning goals. Yelling “BINGO!” when you’ve crossed the last item on the list can be done at your discretion.
  15. Follow up. Connect on LinkedIn or via email with people you meet.
  16. Be yourself. Authenticity helps form genuine connections.
Categories
Conferences Tampa Bay

The poweredUP Tampa Bay Tech Festival happens Wednesday, May 22!

The annual event returns — the poweredUP Tampa Bay Tech Festival will take place at St. Pete’s Mahaffey Theater on Wednesday, May 22!

Topics at this year’s poweredUP will include:

🎵 Music & Technology: Explore the intersection of tech and tunes, uncovering how AI is reshaping the music industry.

💂‍♂️ Military & Innovation: Dive into the latest advancements in defense technology and how innovation is shaping modern defense efforts.

🤖 Practical Applications of AI: Discover real-world applications of artificial intelligence across industries, from healthcare to finance.

🏙️ City Security & AI: Delve into the realm of urban security and learn how AI is enhancing city safety measures.

There will also be opportunities to:

  • Network with industry leaders, tech enthusiasts, and potential collaborators
  • Check out the booths run by the Geek Row vendors
  • Lunch options available for purchase in the upstairs ballroom from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • The post-event happy hour with complimentary drinks

Here’s poweredUP’s agenda:

WhenWhat
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noonDoors open/morning networking
12:00 noon – 12:05 p.m.Opening remarks w/ Meghan O’Keefe, Executive Director of Tampa Bay Tech
12:05 – 12:40 p.m.Keynote Speaker: Igor Jablokov, CEO at Pryon
12:43 – 1:13 p.m.AI-Powered Retail Innovation with Just Walk Out Technology, Featuring AWS
1:16 – 1:46 p.m.Innovation Nexus: An Innovation Panel Bridging Corporations, Startups and Higher Ed, Featuring Accenture, USF, VU Studios and Vinik Sports Group
1:49 – 2:24 p.m.Navigating AI: Practical examples for delivering business value, Featuring Revstar, CDW, JP Morgan Chase and Trellix
2:24 – 2:34 p.m.Intermission
2:34 – 3:09 p.m.Harmonizing Innovation: Technology’s Impact on Music, Featuring TrueFire Studios, Symphonic Distribution, DJ Fresh Events and Pasco County Schools
3:12 – 3:47 p.m.AI-Powered Security: Safeguarding Assets in the Digital Age, Featuring SoftServe, TelcoNet and Nvidia
3:50 – 4:25 p.m.Innovating Defense: Thinking Differently for Modern Security Challenges, Featuring Abacode, USCC, USF IAE and HAYS
4:25 – 4:30 p.m.Closing remarks w/ Meghan O’Keefe
4:30 – 6:00 p.m.Radically Connected® Happy Hour

Tickets are $75 to attend, and Tampa Bay Tech members can attend for free (email team@tampabay.tech for details). Register to attend here.

Categories
Artificial Intelligence Conferences Tampa Bay What I’m Up To

I’m speaking on the “AI Superpowers Unlocked” panel on May 15!

Masterminds Tampa Bay is holding their AI Superpowers Unlocked panel on Wednesday, May 15th with the following panelists:

  • Ken Pomella, CEO of RevStar, known for leveraging AI to enhance business growth and scalability.
  • ​Lenar Mukhamadiev, from IdelSoft, focusing on GenAI solutions for organizations and developing an AI-powered startup.
  • Sat Ramphal, CEO of Maya AI, a serial entrepreneur with deep expertise in AI applications in regulated industries.
  • Yours Truly, Joey de Villa, Supreme Developer Advocate for Unified.to, AI enthusiast, Python instructor, and general computational person about town.

Here’s Tampa Bay Masterminds’ description of the event:

Unlock the future of Artificial Intelligence at “AI Superpowers Unlocked: An Expert Panel,” an event meticulously crafted for entrepreneurs, tech enthusiasts, and forward-thinkers ready to explore AI’s transformative potential. Join us to gain practical insights on becoming a leader in AI application and connect with industry pioneers.

AGENDA

  • 6:00 PM – 6:30 PM: Socializing Time
  • 6:30 PM – 7:15 PM: Expert Panel Discussion
  • 7:15 PM – 8:00 PM: Audience Q&A / Conclusion

Main Takeaways:

​🧠 Understand the crucial role AI plays and why mastering it is essential.

​🧠 Learn strategies to best leverage AI for 2024 and beyond.

​🧠 Discover essential AI tools beyond ChatGPT.

​🧠 Explore best practices, ethics, and more through interactive FAQs.

Why You Should Attend:

🚀 Tailored for Forward-Thinkers: Designed for those poised to disrupt markets and lead innovations, this panel will help you stay ahead in the AI curve.

🚀 Unparalleled Insights: Spend an hour with AI luminaries discussing strategies and visionary applications to outpace competitors and drive success.

🚀 Networking Opportunity: Connect with like-minded professionals and innovators, and perhaps discover your next great collaboration.

This is a paid event — attendance is $35 and supports Tampa Bay Masterminds’ mission of fostering innovation and education in technology, with all ticket sales considered donations.

Want to attend? Register at lu.ma/superpowers!

Categories
Conferences Programming Tampa Bay

Attend Civo Navigate Local Tampa 2024 with my super discount code!

You can register for next Tuesday’s Civo Navigate Local Tampa 2024 conference, happening at Armature Works, for the low, low price of TEN DOLLARS with this discount code…

…as opposed to the regular price of $40 (still a deal, but you can spend the $30 you saved on Bake’n Babes cookies or whatever else you prefer from Armature Works’ food stalls).

What’s Civo Navigate Local Tampa?

Civo Navigate Local Tampa is a one-day version of Civo’s 2-day Navigate conferences, with a stronger focus on local organization and techies. It will feature four topic categories…

  1. Cloud Native
  2. AI/ML
  3. Emerging Tech
  4. Thought Leadership

…over two tracks:

  1. A main stage track with panels and presentations, and
  2. A workshop track with lightning talks and workshops

Want to know what Civo’s two-day conference is like? Here’s a video summary of the most recent one, held in Austin in February:

Want to know more? All the details are on the Civo Navigate Local Tampa site.