Jenn Schiffer and I are doing diversity sponsorships for http://2014.speakercampboston.com/
We need new voices and different viewpoints, and I figure anyone that wants to make the industry stronger should be helping promote those voices however they can. Then maybe one or two people in a future audience find themselves relating in ways that they wouldn’t relate to another straight-white-cis guy up on stage. Suddenly they’re thinking “hey, I could do that too—I could be up there.” That’s how we change things; that’s how we catalyze a more diverse industry.
Selfishly? I’m sick of seeing a bunch of me on stage. I’ve been me; I already think like me. I can only learn so much from someone with experiences so similar to mine. I want to learn from you. I want to be made to think about things I’d never considered before; to see things in a different way. That makes me better—that makes better developers, better people. That makes tech a more thoughtful, more empathetic place—and Christ, do we need more of that.
So yeah—pass this address along to anyone you can think of that might have an interest in getting up to speak. Introduce yourself at mat@matmarquis.com; tell me your idea(s) for a talk, or just tell me something about you. No formal application process; no pressure. I haven’t set a cap on tickets, and I don’t mean to.