My experience at yesterday’s DataConf, a fantastic event organised by two people I adore, Candice Mesk and Mercia Malan, perfectly illustrates this. My day began as usual: catching up with friends and desperately trying to convince the Bootlegger coffee people to open early just for me. ☕
I had my first serendipitous moment before the day even began. Quinn Grace asked me what I thought comes after AI. The conversation and the ideas that came from that discussion were awesome, and I am still thinking on it as I write this.
Another moment of serendipity happened after lunch. I was unsure which talk to attend, so I simply stayed in the main room without even really knowing what the talk was about. It turned out to be the most practical talk of the day for me: “How to craft teams of exceptional analysts” by Lisema Matsietsi. The title alone screamed that this was NOT a talk for me, and like many attendees, I never read the description, so I was flying blind. This was pure serendipity. The talk was entirely leadership-focused and helped illuminate parts of team dynamics I hadn’t deeply understood. I’m so glad it was at the event; it just goes to show how you can end up in the right room at the right time—despite yourself.
The Learning Was in the Talks
I initially thought I’d written enough on the topic, but Duncan Dudley told me my posts were too short. I also thought I’d steal a page from Dale Nunns wonderful post on the event (he even has photos… I am way too lazy for that), so here are some of the actual learnings that happened for me.
I had the pleasure of watching certified genius (certified by me - still counts) Michael Johnson talk about data engineering. As the resident “not data” guy, his talk was incredibly useful, giving a wonderful look at the history of the field and why we are where we are. It really helped me understand the landscape better.
This was followed by Pippa Hillebrand who has the genius and laser focus of your favourite super villain, but without the desire to take over the world. Her talk on AI privacy was so powerful, focusing not on how we build AIs, but on how we run them and the risks involved.
Pippa’s talk was a perfect lead-in for the funniest and most genuine speaker of the day, Georgina Armstrong. Her talk on recommender systems was genius. I wish DataConf had recorded these talks because hers is a must-see, if for no other reason than so my partner didn’t have to listen to me go over every detail when I got home.
I’ve already mentioned Lisema’s talk, so I’ll move on to Marijn Hazelbag, PhD talk on digital twins with cellphones and fibre networks. While it was entirely pointless to my work, it was SO interesting (also extra points for the only live demo of the day, which helped captivate me more). It opened a door to a world I didn’t know existed. I have no idea if I’ll ever need that knowledge, but serendipity may have a plan for it.
The talks of the day concluded with Carike Blignaut-Staden, who gave a must-see talk for any team building a dashboard. I’ve been guilty of doing all the things she said you shouldn’t do, which is a great place to learn from because it’s all about improving from there.
What a wonderful day. I hope this encourages you to try a conference. And when you do, maybe skip a talk to discuss the future of work or go to a talk you wouldn’t normally have chosen. It just might lead to an even better experience.
Originally posted to my LinkedIn but thought would share here too for those who don’t follow me there: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/serendipity-conference-robert-maclean-342pf/?trackingId=shsYleAzXj22zxAHwx6J%2BQ%3D%3D