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Posts tagged with 'speaking'

Speaking: Topics

July 11, 2018 mgroves 0 Comments
Tags: speaking

Note: This is not a typical blog post. As time goes on, I will be updating it.

The goal of this page is to be referenced from my speaking page, so that anyone looking for speakers can get an idea of my capabilities. I have a number of prepared sessions, but this page will give you an idea of topics I can cover.

Some things to know about me:

  1. I've never given a keynote, but I am open to it.
  2. I typically don't travel outside of North America, but I am open to it.
  3. I have given workshops in the past; I don't really seek them out anymore, but I'm open to it.
  4. If you are budget conconscious, don't let that stop you from contacting me! I can be very affordable!

Here are the topics I'd be very comfortable speaking on or discussing:

  • Couchbase and/or NoSQL. I use Couchbase every day. Couchbase is a data platform with a number of features. I can talk about them all at a high level, or drill down individually: JSON, document database, NoSQL, caching, session storage, full text search, analytics, SQL for JSON (N1QL), why NoSQL, when NoSQL, etc.
  • ASP.NET/C#. I don't write "production" ASP.NET right now, but I've written quite a lot in my day. I'm a Microsoft MVP and I help to run a .NET user group, so I try to stay as up to date on this as possible. I'm happy to speak about ASP.NET/ASP.NET Core and all the periphery, including WebAPI, Razor, C#, unit testing, integration testing, Azure, Visual Studio, SQL Server, OR/Ms and lots more.
  • Aspect-Oriented Programming/AOP. I wrote a book about AOP called AOP in .NET. It's been a while since I've written any AOP for production, but it's still a topic I'm very interested in. I can speak about AOP in general. I can also speak about tools like PostSharp and Castle DynamicProxy.
  • Podcasting/blogging/presenting/speaking/writing/developer advocating/teaching/streaming. I do a lot of this stuff, but this is kinda a meta-subject with a relatively small audience.
  • WordPress. I've used a lot of WordPress, installed a lot of WordPress, written plugins for it, taught people to use it, and more. In my current role it doesn't come up very much (except as a user).
  • jQuery. I don't use this much any more, but I've used a TON of it over the years.

Here are the topics I can speak about, but I'm not terribly interested or have limited experience with:

  • Angular. This framework doesn't appeal to me very much. I'll use it or speak about it if I have to.
  • ASP Classic / Visual Basic. I did lots of this early in my career, but I haven't touched it in a long time.
  • PHP. I've written a lot of PHP and used the CakePHP framework, but I have not kept up with the rapidly changing pace of the language.
  • Docker/Kubernetes. I've not deployed any of this stuff to production, but I use them often (especially Docker).
  • Xamarin. I've been on and off with Xamarin (aka Mono for Android aka MonoDroid) over the years. I'm not really a mobile developer, but I can talk about it a little bit.

Here are some topics that I have no authority/experience to speak about, but I am interested in:

  • Aurelia. Among the explosion of MVC/MVVM frameworks for JavaScript, this is the one I've enjoyed using the most.
  • Blazor. Or any tool that let's me write C# instead of JavaScript for the frontend. In my current role, I don't have a lot of need for it. But it's very interesting to me!
  • Apache Nifi. This is a very interesting visual data flow tool that I've immensely enjoyed working with, but I've only scratched the surface of.

Here are some topics that I have no authority/experience to speak about, and I'm not intersted in:

  • React. Another JS framework that I'm not very interested in.
  • Ruby, CoffeeScript, pretty much any language without the semicolon. For whatever reason, my aesthetic preference is to curly braces and semicolons. Same goes for meaningful white-space too. I'm happy that you like it and are productive with it, but as for myself: no thanks.
  • Politics. Once upon a time, I was very into politics and current events and all that stuff. The internet has pretty much killed my enthusiam for it. I still have opinions; I still vote. Just not interested in talking about it (especially on the Internet)

Other random stuff that no one will ever want me to speak about, but I could blab for hours on:

  • Baseball. Major League Baseball. The Reds. Everything.
  • Water. Water treatment, water softening, water filtering, water heating, hot tub, well water, septic systems. I've accumulated all this knowledge of water after buying a house with well water, and it's just sloshing around in my head.
  • Adventure Games. Sierra, LucasArts, and others. I love playing them and talking about them.
  • Doodling. I draw for fun sometimes, mostly logos. If you want someone to speak about this, you're much better off with David Neal.
  • 3d Printing. I'm a total neophite with 3d printing, but it's fun.
  • Christianity. I'm an active member of my church. Always happy to talk about it constructively (i.e. not on the Internet or with people I barely know).
  • RiffTrax / MST3K.

David Neal is taking over Twitter with his drawing. This episode is sponsored by Smartsheet.

Show Notes:

Want to be on the next episode? You can! All you need is the willingness to talk about something technical.

Music is by Joe Ferg, check out more music on JoeFerg.com!

(This is a repost of content that was originally posted on the Couchbase Blog: Upcoming #Couchbase Events in Chicago)

I’m going to be in Chicago for most of next week. If you’re in Chicago and interested in NoSQL and Couchbase, now is a good chance to attend some sessions, visit some great user groups, and ask me questions in-person.

Couchbase in Chicago

I won’t be at Wrigley Field (the above image was doctored :), but here’s where I will be:

Three different sessions and three great Chicago groups. There will be some surprises in store, and I’m going to bring whatever stickers and swag that I can fit in my luggage with me.

If you're in Chicago, why not tweet me and say hi!

Doing something cool with PostSharp or Castle DynamicProxy? Want to speak to other passionate developers about AOP? Now's your chance!

The Central Ohio Day of .NET 2013 (CODODN) is just around the corner!

Today, we open up the call for speakers. You only have until September 9th, so get submitting.

Never been a speaker before? I'd be glad to help you get started: I've got resources, ideas, advice, so just ask me!

Matthew D. Groves

About the Author

Matthew D. Groves lives in Central Ohio. He works remotely, loves to code, and is a Microsoft MVP.

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