You would have found me last week at the Kansas City Convention Center for my first KCDC, as an attendee and a speaker. This year’s conference is their sixteenth edition with over 1700 attendees and over 150 sessions.
Though the organizers might wryly smile, knowing how much effort goes into running a conference of this size, to us outsiders the conference is definitely well-organized and well-executed: timely and complete communications; easy travel approval process; thoughtful welcome bag waiting at the hotel which clearly laid out logistics; speaker dinner at large event venue with plenty of space AND plenty of Kansas City BBQ; speaker preparation rooms. Everything you hope for but are unsure about until you get there. And perhaps most important/impressive: incredibly friendly people all around.
My Talk
My talk was scheduled first thing Thursday morning, right after the opening keynote. Though the official feedback is pending, I felt good and had a number of ad-hoc conversations later. And since I only gave one talk, I was free the rest of the conference, to attend other sessions of interest, talk and network, or just hang out and enjoy.
Final Thoughts
KCDC was not previously on my radar until an English friend said KCDC was a fave of his and suggested I submit a proposal. Thanks, Steve, you were spot on, my expectations blown away by the conference’s overall quality, and have already recommended KCDC to a couple of peers. In fact, I’m already mulling over potential 2026 talks to submit for KCDC 2026!
