Aaron Adams’s Blowhard Blog

Macworld’s call for papers due date is at the end of this week. For those of you not familiar with it, the call for papers is Macworld’s request for topic submissions for conferences that happen at Macworld Expo. Persons chosen to present their topic become Conference Faculty. Last year around this time, I submitted a paper about remotely and securely controlling Macs from remote networks and other platforms, and my paper was approved to become a conference session, and I was made a faculty member. This year, I’m not sure what I’ll do.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been to a number of Macworlds now and they’ve all been fun and informative. I’ve met some people I wouldn’t otherwise meet, and I’ve had a great time at the social events that happen after the show floor closes. This year, however, I don’t know if I’ll go.

Here’s the rub: What’s it in for me? Flying to SF and staying in a hotel for a week costs me about $1500, and everything else is an expense on top of that. I don’t have a sponsor or an employer paying my way to the conference. And while, as I said, I’ve enjoyed Macworlds in the past, I’ve been there and done that. For my investment of time and money, what do I have to show for it? Some recognition, sure. Some contacts, yes. Some stories and experiences, you betcha. But nothing that has changed my life in any measurable way. All of the Mac-related things that have impacted my life have been separate of Macworld Expo.

Deep down, I still want to go for the fun of it, and there’s a little paranoid voice in the back of my mind asking what opportunities I’ll miss. But I have other things to do with $1500 and a week of vacation. I’m a homeowner with a special someone, two dogs, and a kitchen that desperately needs remodeled. I’ve gotta prioritize, the logical part of my brain says.

My friend Shawn King gave me a very good idea for a Macworld conference, and I thought of one or two of my own, and someone asked if I’d be interested in making a presentation with them. As of now, I don’t have a plan to participate in any of those. I simply can’t justify it.

I could change my mind by the end of the week. I dunno. I’m not asking for anyone to attempt to talk me into one decision or the other, I just wanted to preemptively answer the inevitable question, why aren’t you going to Macworld this year?