FFConf 2024

On Friday, I attended my first conference in a long (long) time. I headed to Brighton to attend my first ffconf.

I'd encourage you all to seek out more from this year's speakers and watch the videos as they come online. It's great to attend a conference where people appreciate the whole picture of tech rather than what framework is best.

While all the talks were fantastic, I wanted to highlight a few of my favourites.

Build Better Webs

Olu opened the conference with a talk about the web. Not specifically the web, but a web. We are all better when we are connected and sharing our ideas freely. We should be adding to the network for the greater good and not to benefit the likes of Meta or Google.

It was the first talk of the day and I had already had my first realisation. I had stopped sharing as much online since Twitter exploded and I felt I didn't have much to add on other platforms or in these longer-form setups that wasn't being said by those much wiser than me. But it's not just about me. There's still insights I can add here to help others, or groups to join to help my projects however small.

AI and Accessibility: The Good, the Bad, and the Bollocks

Léonie walked us through the intersection of these two crucial areas of technology and what they do well and... not so well. It's great at pattern recognition - giving a detailed description of the theatre we were in at the time - it still has a long way to go. If you're relying on AI to navigate your life, hallucinations go from minor annoyance to potentially dangerous.

It was great to watch a talk about AI that wasn't just wholly on one side or another. I'd be the first to be skeptical of any claims AI is the be-all and end-all, but it was great to get a first-hand account of how it's actively benefiting people today despite being far from perfect. We are clearly still at the tip of the iceberg and we have a long way to go, but hearing a description of a scene fed in real time from a smartphone shows just how useful this technology is becoming for those who need it.

It all means nothing in the end

Amy spoke about burnout and how the uphill struggles in work and the world in general left her demotivated and struggling for purpose. For someone driven by a career, it can be hard to keep going when there's no let up and no end in sight. We can set so many goals, but it's giving those goals a sense of purpose unique to the person and a way to track progress on that goal that is going to drive people forwards.

I have a never ending battle with burnout and no amount of SMART setting or charting seems to help. While I've been thinking more about what I should be aiming for, I've never considered why I should be aiming for them. The higher ranked job title or "increased knowledge" is just another rung up the ladder. I should be consider what my driving force is and the rest will click in to place.

This was an updated talk from one given at State of the Browser earlier in the year.