Interview with Alexandra Masterson at GOTO Chicago 2015

Hi, it’s Mike with UGtastic. I’m here at GOTO Conf 2015. I’m sitting here with Alexandra Masterson who is the conference organizer today and thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me. Now conference manager, I said conference organizer, conference manager, what is the conference manager and how did you come into that position? So essentially the conference manager is someone who just makes sure that everything is running smoothly, makes sure sponsors are happy, that things like this are happening at the conference, that people outside of the space can interact and see what’s going on. Also just to make sure attendees are happy as well. That’s the most important thing. You’re kind of like the MC, the party host, making sure everybody’s got enough to drink, you need more coffee, just kind of making sure everybody’s having a good time and has what they need. And you’ve actually helped me because I needed an iron for this earlier. So you’ve been very helpful and I also appreciate this room which none of you can see but it’s very nice. It’s beautiful. And it’s quiet too. So, you know, GOTO Conf and how do you came to be the conference manager? You know, first off it was, did you come to GOTO Conf or did you happen to grow into a role with GOTO? Yeah, so I actually met my company Trifork while I was at my sister’s conference, Scala Days Amsterdam in Berlin. Oh, so tech conferences are a family thing. Yeah, apparently. We kind of fell into that. And I met Trifork there and I had past experience with conferences and so we just kind of grew our relationship from there. And Nealey is our original conference manager, but she is on maternity leave. Yes, she is probably having a baby right now. She has had her baby. Oh, yeah, she has had her baby. It’s a little boy. Congratulations, Nealey. And yes, that’s wonderful. Yeah, last year we interviewed with Nealey and she’s been a fantastic supporter of UGtastic, so best of luck and best health to her. So, but here at GOTO Conf, you know, looking at the ramp up to this year, there were some interesting events that took place and one of those was a meta meetup. Can you tell me a little bit about the ramp up or the road to GOTO Conf? Yeah, so we like to do, A, the Chicago tech community is really important to us and we’re just essentially trying to build and strengthen that community feel. So we like to host events, bring speakers to certain user groups who are looking for speakers. We work with the Chicago Java user group a lot. We’ve worked with Vivek at Morningstar. And we also host a meta GOTO Night, which is for meetup organizers, community leaders, tech influencers to kind of come together, brainstorm and trade ideas on what they want to see from the Chicago tech community. Yeah , and I’ve been involved in some of those, and they’re really interesting because it’s bringing the GOTO banner as a kind of a rallying point for groups that might not otherwise interact together. Yeah, so yeah, it’s great. I mean, that ‘s one of the unique things I see about GOTO Conf. Not only that you guys keep inviting me to come back and do interviews, but that you’re really actually focused on not just, oh, this is a day of conference or a week of conference, but then there’s this whole kind of buzz building and ramp up to the actual day of the event. Yeah, we want the community to make sure that we know that we’re involved and we want to support you guys and make sure that we can help as much as we can to make it the best that it can be. So one last question. As a conference organizer, I always hear about the one thing they would like to have their attendees keep in mind that helps with things like costs and things like that. One thing I’ve heard in years past is water, another is the cost of coffee. So if you were to say, like, conference attendees, please do this one thing. Is there anything you can think of that you would say as advice? Maybe, I guess, just for our conferences in particular, one of the questions that we get the most is what is the Wi-Fi password? And all of our Wi-Fi passwords are actually cleverly located on the bottom of our badge on the front page. So if you are curious what your Wi-Fi password is, it’s right there. It’s also at the bottom. So just read your badge. This is a Bible of information. Yeah. And it’s one of the interesting things about GOTO Conf in, in itself, is that you guys have this, all the information is right around the neck. Yeah. And I was commenting on that on a little preview video earlier that it’s something I think all conferences should consider if they have the budget for it. Yeah, it’s, these badges are amazing. They have our full schedule, speakers, sponsors, maps of the venue, and QR code readers so that sponsors and other attendees can scan each other and stay connected. Yep . So yeah, so there’s, there’s value that, you know, when we click on an ad on a web page, you know, we’re helping support that web page, but when you come to a conference and you let the, the sponsors, the vendors, scan your badge, they know that they’re getting value here at the conference, so they want to come back. Yeah. Okay, so remember your badge. It’s got everything you need. It’s your Swiss Army tool badge. Well, thank you very much, Alexandra. Thank you, Mike. I appreciate it, and I appreciate being here at GOTO Conf again. Thanks for coming.