Amber describes Material much better than I could:
There’s an element of magic in the air that you get to grasp and breathe in when you gather in the same place with so many different people – people with stories and paths they could write books about. The passion, the ideas, the stories of difficult journeys (the behind-the-scenes that you never see on social media). All of this makes not a basic recipe for a good time, but one for a delicious, enlightening experience that I’ve not seen replicated in any other environment.
The only thing she neglects to mention is that her talk was very much part of what made the event so special.
I’m am soooo there!
Iceland, July 22nd: a conference about the material of the web …right up my alley.
You can get a ticket by backing the project on Kickstarter. Be sure to check out all the options.
See you in Reykjavík!
This was a day of big conversations, but also one of connection, curiosity, and optimism.
Seeing it all laid out like this really drives home just how much was packed into Research By The Sea.
Throughout the day, speakers shared personal reflections, bold ideas, and practical insights, touching on themes of community, resilience, ethics, and the evolving role of technology.
Some talks brought hard truths about the impact of AI, the complexity of organisational change, and the ethical dilemmas researchers face. Others offered hope and direction, reminding us of the power of community, the importance of accessibility, and the need to listen to nature, to each other, and to the wider world.
Research by the Sea was one of the best conferences I’ve been to in yeeeeeears. So many good, useful, inspiring, thoughtful, provocative talks. Much more about ethics and power and possibility than I’d expected. None of the ‘utopian bullshit’ you usually get at a product or digital conference, to quote one of the speakers!
I’m going to share this with the organisers of that conference I pulled out of recently.
Here’s Paul’s take on this year’s CSS Day. He’s not an easy man to please, but the event managed to impress even him.
As CSS Day celebrates its milestone anniversary, I was reminded how lucky we are to have events that bring together two constituent parties of the web: implementors and authors (with Sara Soueidan’s talk about the relationship between CSS and accessibility reminding us of the users we ultimately build for). My only complaint is that there are not more events like this; single track, tight subject focus (and amazing catering).
Divergent, then convergent.
Three days of excellent talks and workshops in the heart of the city.
Research By The Sea was an excellent day out!
A one-day conference in Brighton on Thursday, February 27th that isn’t just for researchers.
Why I withdrew from speaking at two different conferences with uncomfortably homogenous line-ups.