JavaScript Meets Paris — Highlights from DotJS

In June we took the opportunity to join "The world's sharpest Javascript conference" in Paris.

DotConferences started in 2012, it is a series of global tech events (like DotAI, DotPy, DotSecurity etc.) that always take place in Paris. This was the 9th edition of the DotJS conference after 4 years break during Corona.

We expected engaged speakers, top notch technical talks, networking opportunities, and - of course - great food and a stunning venue. Expectations met?

Let’s hear from the participants:

Natallia

The organization of the dotJS conference was truly impressive. Every detail was carefully planned, making the event run smoothly from start to finish.

Organisers did a great job and even ensured there was a children’s room, which was a game-changer. Many people often skip conferences due to childcare obligations. By offering a space for children, dotJS ensures that parents can balance their personal responsibilities and professional growth. This opportunity might have been crucial for one of the speakers, Lea Verou, as she attended with her amazing daughter. It made her great speech API design is UI design possible.

It's always great when a speech is full of amazing insights mixed with a lot of jokes. It keeps the audience engaged and focused, something that Ben Halpern did very well. He found a perfect balance between the funny and technical parts. You can find his speech here.

The conference started with an interesting ice-breaker game where attendees were encouraged to find their "programming family." This activity was a fantastic way to kick off the event, helping everyone to network and connect with others in a fun manner. It helped me expand my network and make valuable connections.

We didn't have to worry about repeating speeches or sharing insights, thanks to the wonderful organization. All speeches were available firsthand on this link. However, being there in person offered much more than just watching online. The atmosphere exceeded all my expectations. Looking forward, we will definitely attend again next year.

Dahlia

For me this conference checked all the boxes: Not only did the speakers deliver state-of-the-art talks on a variety of topics, but the possibility to ask questions during the Q&A sessions - or in the breaks - just made my day: I was actually able to talk to Stoyan Stefanov - an expert in web performance - and Ben Lesh about their approaches on my current task - tackling performance issues!!!

The organisation matched the topic and speaker selection: There were enough breaks to network, an impressive location, delicious food, merch… But - what mattered most to me - was the single track schedule with the mix of short and longer talks: No chance of missing a talk, due to single track and an abundance of expert speakers to look up later, due to the 5 minutes talks (e.g. Eleanor McHugh)

The cherry on top - of course - was spending time with my awesome colleagues in Paris.

I would highly recommend joining this conference (and I also hope that I am able to join again next year).

Yauheniya

The dotJS conference was a fantastic experience, mainly because of the amazing speakers and the interesting topics they covered. Every speaker was friendly and easy to talk to, which led to some really insightful chats.

The topics were top-tier! Here are some of my personal favorites:

• Ben Lesh - Thinking About Your Code: Push vs Pull: This talk was all about figuring out the consumers and producers in your code, and what each of them can do. Really useful stuff!

• Lea Verou - API design is UI design: This was a great talk on how to make APIs that are focused on the people using them.

• Minko Gechev - Converging Web Frameworks: This was a cool look at how different web frameworks might seem at first glance, but they actually have a lot in common when you look closer.

All in all, I'd give this conference full marks - 10 out of 10. Everything from the location and speakers to the agenda, food, and attendees was top-notch.

Umut

I highly appreciate the dotJS Conference, and here's why:
To start with, I appreciate the focus of the talks, as they significantly enhance concentration throughout the day. That said, I believe having an option to select the talks I'm interested in during the day could further improve my experience at the conference.
What stands out for me about the conference is the chance to interact with speakers during the breaks and the engaging open panel sessions that take place. These interactions enable insightful conversations with renowned speakers, such as Ben Lesh and Minko Gechev. I greatly value these personal touchpoints, as they provide a glimpse into their backgrounds and the journey they took to reach their level of expertise. These exchanges always help to broaden my perspective of my professional career.

Daria

To me, conferences are an opportunity to meet like-minded people, hear from great experts, get a glimpse of cutting-edge technologies, and find inspiration to apply those in my day-to-day work. While networking wasn't the highlight for me this time—since most of the attendees were based in France—I still enjoyed the rest of the event.

The single-track format helped to stay focused and ensured I didn't miss a thing. The schedule featured a mix of full-length talks (around 20 minutes) and lightning talks (about 5 minutes). Each full-length talk was followed by a brief interview with the speaker and a Q&A session, where attendees could submit questions online during the talk.

This year, I noticed a trend in the presentations: many talks reflected on the past to summarize what has happened in the industry and tried to predict what awaits us in the future. It was a great opportunity to take a step back and give yourself a moment to imagine what's next for the development world.

Conclusion

After all, it was a truly unforgettable experience to attend such a well-organized conference, listening to captivating talks, chatting with some of the top minds in the industry, and, of course, hanging out with colleagues in the beautiful city of Paris!

Exciting news: it has already been announced that next year’s conference will take place on April 3rd, and Early Bird tickets are already available! Don’t miss out ;)

Published by...

Natallia Shydlouskaya

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Dahlia de Candido

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Umut Hatipoglu

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Yauheniya Basaranovich

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Daria Pimenova

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