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Alex Jones

I lead teams at the intersection of strategy and design. Autodidact. Polymath. Barbecue acolyte. I start fires (the good kind).

Explore

Where Should I Start: Conference Speaker

This is the second entry in the Where Should I Start series, a part of my larger focus on Exploration. I truly enjoy the opportunity to help others by teaching and passing on the knowledge and experience that I have gained over my last 10 years in Web development.

I’ve had a good deal of experience presenting to groups large and small on several different types of issues, but I plan to expand my participation as a speaker and panelist at technical conferences during 2008. As such, here is the next question I need to address as the next step in my plan.

If I want to present at a technical conference, where should I start?

As a follow-up, I’d appreciate any recommendations as to preparations for larger conferences compared to smaller ones would be appreciated, as would any pointers as to specific conferences that are looking for speakers.

Where Should I Start?

As my themeword for 2008 is Explore (other people’s choices are interesting too), I am kicking off a new series: Where Should I Start. The premise is a simple one, ask or answer a question that starts with “If I wanted to [read/listen to/watch/learn about] something where should I start?”

There are so many amazing things in this world to experience, yet it can be hard to figure out where to begin – luckily the LazyWeb can help out.

To start things off, I’ll give a couple of recommendations and ask for some in return:

If I wanted to read a book by Leo Tolstoy, where should I start?

War and PeaceWell, I assume War and Peace is as good a place as any. In fact, I recently picked up a copy as I have never read this epic depicting Napoleon’ invasion of Russia and some of the lives impacted by the war.

After going through a ton of reviews on Amazon, I believe I found a translation that will be both accessible and close to the original in terms of narrative flow and rhythm.

If I wanted to experience Miles Davis, where should I start?

Kind of Blue by Miles Davis Kind of Blue, recorded in 1959, is by far his best album, the highest selling jazz record of all time and one of the most beautiful jazz recordings ever made.

Kind of Blue tends to be near, if not at the top of many critics’ lists of best albums of all times and is definitely one of the most influential Jazz albums ever released.

Over to You!

  • If I wanted to listen to music by Django Reinhardt, where should I start?
  • If I wanted to introduce a non-geek to science fiction which books should I recommend to them? Yes, I know non-geeks reaf sci-fi, but I’m looking for interesting sci-fi.

If you have answers to these questions, or would like to add your own to the series, please leave them in the comments!