January 28, 2011

PyCon: No Dead Kittens This Year

What, me, harm an innocent kitten?
Last year I was perhaps a little over-enthusiastic in suggesting that if people didn't sign up for PyCon then kittens might be harmed. After a certain amount of retraining at the hands of the ASPCA (who may be kind to animals but surely know how to chastise a recalcitrant human) I am sadder but wiser, and will be threatening absolutely no more tiny harmless furry animals. People misunderstand one's motivations so easily.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to bring to your attention the fact that for the first time this year places at PyCon US are limited. There is a boat, and it's sailing, so if you want to be on it make sure you proceed straight to registration. Proceed directly to registration. Do not pass "GO", do not collect $200. Why are you still reading this? Didn't I just tell you to go straight to registration?

It is true that registration will have to increase somewhat (about 30%) over last year for the cap on places to be reached, but PyCon has had a growth spurt like that before, and places are definitely selling earlier than they did last year. And why should this be a surprise? After all, Python is one of the faster-growing programming languages at the moment. I have an idea there might not be many last-minute places available this year.

If you or your employer is looking for greater visibility among the Python community PyCon is by far the best place to achieve it, and there are still sponsorship opportunities available. Go to it!

And yes, I have already booked my place. I got the early bird rate. You'll have to get there earlier next year ...

No comments: