Introduction
Hi there. A bit belated, but Happy New Year!🎍
I’m Hasegawa and in charge of developing Money Forward Pay for Business.
It’s been almost three months since I attended RubyConf TH in Bangkok.
I participated in the conference alongside officials from Shimane prefecture and Fukuoka prefecture, as well as members from local companies.
The conference was really lively, so I’d like to take this opportunity to recap it.
Technical Exchange Party
At this conference, a technology exchange party called Ruby Night was held the night before, featuring local companies and conference participants, including Thailand Ministry of Industry officials.
The party kicked off with Matz’s Lightning Talk.
Then Shimane Prefecture and Fukuoka Prefecture took the stage to promote the charms of their respective regions and the excellent development environments they offer.
Following this, participating companies delivered presentations, introducing their development systems and showcasing how they utilize Ruby. I did my best to promote our services and development environment (of course I got cold feet), and I was also relieved to hear my Thai joke that the expat told me just before my presentation went well (perhaps).
The party provided a relaxed atmosphere for open discussions on various topics, including development with Ruby and recruitment, with attendees from local companies.
It was a truly meaningful experience.
gem install ruby_conf_th
Well, Matz’s Lightning Talk in front of over 200 attendees also set the tone for the conference!
Everyone listened intently, and I was personally impressed by how the Ruby community is maintained and its essential role in the language’s development.
It fills me with pride that this language, originating in Japan, has grown into a worldwide community. Besides, I am grateful for the opportunity to create products using such a language.
Then the main talk sessions followed one after another. I have attended RubyKaigi in Japan several times, but at this RubyConf, I was a bit surprised to see some speakers forcused on business-oriented topics rather than technical ones.
For example, “Learn to delegate; like a boss” by Elle Meredith and Lachlan Hardy was intriguing, because I thought it was about delegating methods or some technical issues initially, but it turned out to be about delegating real work literally. I felt it was meaningful to see not only technical topics but such practical know-how being shared at RubyConf.
While many sessions piqued my curiosity, if I had to pick just one, it would be the keynote “Breaking Barriers: Empowering the Unbanked with Innovative Tech” by Bernard Banta.
The main focus was on realizing the provision of information and communication services to users who, due to various circumstances, are unable to own devices with high processing power. Going by what he says, most of those users only own low-spec feature phones.
In my daily work, where we often develop relatively complex services, I tend to overlook whether those services can function well even in situations with limited computational resources. This session made me realize once again the importance of considering such perspectives.
The sponsor booths were also bustling with activity, and conversations were flowing everywhere!
As part of the Japan booth, we distributed brochures and offered some light refreshments.
Many local engineers visited the Japan booth, leading to engaging discussions.
The conference concluded on a high note, and the networking continued seamlessly at the official party……
Sequel
As a sequel, sparked by this conference, I engaged in discussions with officials from Fukuoka Prefecture, including Matz. Eventually, this opportunity led a recent visit by Matz to our Fukuoka branch office!
Khop kun khrup, Matz!😋
For Our Readers
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