A developer conference for everyone

Today, I’m excited to announce Byteconf. It’s a different kind of tech conference, one that’s free and broadcast live on Twitch, so anyone on earth with a device and an Internet connection can attend.

Our first conference is byteconf_react_2018, a two-day, single-track conference where JavaScript and React developers can learn from some of the best React developers in the world. byteconf_react_2018 will take place on August 23–24, so mark your calendars!

Conferences have a special place in my heart — they’re where I’ve been introduced to new technologies that I now use every day, and to amazing developers working on incredible projects. As a new Ruby on Rails developer in 2013, attending Heroku’s Waza conference had a huge impact: it was one of the first times I had been surrounded by a large group of fellow developers. It was inspiring and motivated me to continue down the path of being a software engineer.

But conferences can be expensive. Between travel, lodging, and ticket prices, a lot of tech conferences are inaccessible to huge numbers of people.

Whether you’re a hobbyist or a professional developer, you should be able to attend a conference and learn from some of the best programmers and speakers in the world. Regardless of location, or economic status — being part of a community should be available to everyone. I’m trying to make that a reality with Byteconf.

Byteconf is quite different from a lot of conferences — we’re trading rows of chairs for a chat box, and HDMI cables for a live Twitch stream. It’s unexplored territory, but what I do know is that community is the most important part.

Want to attend byteconf_react_2018? You can join the mailing list to stay up-to-date as we announce speakers, sponsors, and more. Find us on Twitter too–hope to see you there!

Are you a React developer who wants to give a talk at byteconf_react_2018? Our Call for Papers is now open as well. Fill out our quick CFP form and we’ll be in touch!

Is your company interested in sponsoring byteconf_react_2018? We’re looking to partner with awesome companies that want to get their products in front of a dedicated audience of React and JavaScript developers all over the world. If your company is interested, get in touch with us.

Kristian Freeman is a software engineer, teacher, and podcaster. He works at Product Hunt and also organizes Byteconf.