Speaking at a User Group is also a great way to get started presenting - the environment is relaxed and welcoming, and community members are great for feedback. You’d be surprised how often the group is just as excited about a tool or technique as you are!
We are fully independent as well, so there is no need to be guarded in your presentation. We welcome all views about AWS, so long as it is presented respectfully.
Companies
If you’re a company looking to spruik your AWS-related product, please note we do not accept sales pitches or product demos. We’d much rather a technical presentation demonstrating your capabilities or contributions to the open source AWS ecosystem. We may accept a technical case study from one of your customers on a case-by-case basis, but note that all proposals from companies are assessed by the organisers primarily on the value they provide to the User Group.
First Time Presenters
We encourage and welcome first time presenters! We actually have a 10-minute lightning talk at the beginning of each meetup reserved for first time presenters. Its a great chance to dip your feet in the waters without having to be on stage for a full presentation.
Lightning talks can be on any subject you like, as long as its somehow related to AWS, or things that run on AWS. It doesn’t have to be a technical talk either.If you’ve found a cool tool or technique, learnt something interesting about an AWS service, or feel like you (or your employer) have a really great process for something, we’d love for you to share that knowledge with the community!
Mentorship
We also provide speaking mentorship, particularly for first time presenters. We can provide an ear, review slides, and just generally walk you through whats involved in presenting. Please contact the organisers if you’re interested.
Technology Setup
We use our venue’s AV setup. This allows you to plug in either USB-C or HDMI from any device. Usually this doesn’t cause any issues, but if you’re giving a talk please make sure to come on time so we can quickly test and you can make sure your screen settings are configured correctly.
We also live stream all presentations and upload the recordings to our YouTube channel after each event. If you don’t wish for your presentation to be recorded or streamed just let us know. We also have a floor mic that we run around if you take questions so that the questioner can be heard on the recording. The previous recordings will also give you a good idea of the AV setup that we use and the layout of the venue.