/killer-talks

A list of talks that are worth watching.

Killer Talks

One of the distinct joys and privileges I've had as Community Manager at Basho is being able to attend, view, and facilitate technical talks. Technical talks are a form of intellectual currency; talented speakers are heralded and sought after (for good reason), and fanboys like me memorize URLs of favorites so they can get credit for introducing a classic to a newcomer. ("Bro, you haven't seen Hickey's Simple Made Easy?")

When you see a talk you love, it sticks with you. Why was it so memorable? A few potential reasons:

  • The ideas and assertions were actually novel and new, and presented with passion (even if you disagreed with them)
  • Someone was able to take esoteric concepts and turn them into something comprehensible and concrete
  • The speaker was a pure entertainer, and had a perfect mix of technical depth, wit, wisdom, and passion
  • The slide quality and talk preparation were second-to-none
  • The speaker didn't use slides, and it blew your mind
  • The production quality (filming, editing, etc.) was exceptional and should be emulated

As usual, pull requests are encouraged. I'll be updating this regularly but there are scores of killer talks out there, and I've only seen a trivial portion of them. If you're contributing a talk, include a few words on why you're adding it and some sort of self-attribution so that people can know from whom it came.

Mark

Talks (in no particular order)