CommunityNext Platform Conference, good times

Earlier this month Colin Quon (EQO Founder and CTO) and I went down to the valley for the CommunityNext Platform Conference. It was my first time in the valley, or TechMecca as they should call it, and a great time all around. CommunityNext was really interesting, featuring a keynote by Mitch Kapor on Platforms and presentations by almost every developer of a top20 Facebook application. Seriously, all of them.  It was really cool to hear the stories behind Vampires, (fluff)Friends, Where I've been, and so on. I met some great people and learned a few things, the most noteworthy of which are:

• Pick your platform wisely (they make the rules) and honor your choice (don't complain about the API because it's not productive, you chose them and they can do whatever they want) - Mitch Kapor
• Facebook is great because it lets you fail quickly and move on (never thought of it that way) - Keith Schacht, Grow-a-Gift
• The best Facebook apps are simple, social, universal, viral, and gather user data - Naval Ravikant, VentureHacks.com
• Accepting VC money is like hiring a boss, don't do it unless you have to - Naval Ravikant, VentureHacks.com (I liked him)
• Dressing down for a Silicon Valley VC is a button down shirt, jeans, and shoes that combined still cost more than my car

Other highlights of the trip for me included:

• Visiting Palo Alto, I've never felt so poor
• Visiting Mountain View, I've never felt so good looking
• Arguing with Colin for 15 minutes over the closest Apple store not realizing that our hotel was one block down the road from Apple HQ in Cupertino, then showing up just as they closed for the weekend.
• Visiting 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California
• Observing that valley developers really do drink giant quantities of RedBull and Rockstar
• Being right beside San Jose and not finding the Sharks vs my beloved Canucks on TV, more of a lowlight

I hope EQO sends me to the next one, good times.

Chris
EQO Customer Evangelist