Over the course of JSConf US events, we have spotlighted individuals that would otherwise never get a stage. We have given a platform for risky, wild, absurd, and amazing things to flourish into even bigger, more widely-known products, ideas, and libraries. We take incredible pride in the fact that many of the brightest things in JS over the last ten years have their roots deeply ingrained with JSConf. We push ourselves each year to take riskier and riskier speakers, because they define the discussion about JavaScript over the years to come.
Unlike other events, attendees do not come to JSConf to learn JavaScript. They come to have their minds blown about what they had never conceived JavaScript could accomplish.
Node.js, React, PhoneGap, Cappuccino, Firefox OS, PDF.js, Three.js Editor, Appcelerator, Yahoo! Mojito, WaterBear, Sashimi, Gordon, Cloud9, YepNope, Fab, Google Traceur, Jed Schmidt Just a handful of examples of technologies and ideas first presented at JSConf US
Our aggressive self-dedication to spotlighting the next generation of ideas has been something fundamental to everything we do.
As we have always done, we are seeking out new ideas and concepts that push the boundaries of JavaScript and the JavaScript community. We welcome strange and unusual presentations as long as they remain within the boundaries of our well-established Code of Conduct. We are looking for talks focused on all parts of JavaScript, including but not limited to:
- Data Management
- Web Security
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- Cloud Computing
- WebAssembly
- Server-Side JavaScript
- Mobile Web
- The Future of JavaScript
- Performance and Optimization
- Real-time, Peer-to-peer Communications
- IoT, Hardware, and Embedded JavaScript
- Education and Outreach of Computer Programming
- Life of a Developer
- Putting JavaScript into places no one expected
- Your Passion!
Inverse Call for Speakers
In additional to the typical "Call for Speakers" process, we also offer an "Inverse Call for Speakers". If you want to nominate a person and idea that you would like to see, you can submit that as well with the form above. If you are submitting yourself, which is completely cool and encouraged, please mark your submission as "this is me", so we can write to let you know whether or not your submission was accepted.
Selection Process
All submissions are anonymized in an attempt to remove any conscious or unconscious biases towards the submitter.
All submissions are reviewed and voted for by our organizers and volunteers. Each talk is categorized in one of several categories:
- Data
- Design
- Infrastructure
- AI/ML
- UX/UI
- JS Library
- Mobile
- Nerdcore
- Other
- Server-Side
- WTF
Each talk is rated on a scale from 1 to 10, taking into account the following criteria:
- Coherence and clarity of proposal
- Relevance to the JavaScript community
- Novelty and originality of the topic
- Reasonably communicable in the time allotted
The top submissions are then de-anonymized so we can take speaker details into account. This ensures a diverse speaker line-up of people from all backgrounds and speaking experience.
Increase Your Chances of Selection
Every year we've run JSConf US, we get a non-trivial amount of talk submissions that don’t make the cut due to a few simple mistakes. We want everyone that takes the time to submit to have a chance of being selected. Following these guidelines will improve your chances of being selected to speak.
Show Us You Care
Take the time you need to condense your idea into one or two well-written paragraphs. Check for typos, proper punctuation, and grammatical errors. Submissions like "A talk about React" are nowhere near detailed enough and will almost surely result in a rejection. Come up with something original and try your best to communicate it with as much clarity as you can.
We receive over 500 submissions vying for one of twenty speaking slots, so it is in your best interest to make a good first impression.
Still struggling to come up with a topic? Take a minute to watch some of our previous year's talks and be inspired on how the various topics were presented.
Talk About Your Passions
Given two submissions on the exact same topic, the proposal that communicates the most passion will almost always win. Even the most mundane of topics can be engaging if presented with genuine passion.
One Idea per Submission
Do you have multiple talk ideas but can't narrow down which one you are most passionate about? Submit all of them!
But if you do, please submit one per submission.
Combining all your ideas in one submission will make it harder for our selection committee to assign it a category and a score, which means it will most likely be rejected. Please, submit each idea you have individually.
Consider Our Selection Criteria
We are interested in original ideas that will fuel the future of the web, highlight underrepresented or misunderstood topics, soft skills that may be undervalued in the community, or even a joke totally serious discussion about sorting. We've all seen "Intro to Framework X" talks. They are easy to come by and, let's be real, they are boring. You know what is interesting? Knitting with JavaScript. Controlling a Nintendo. Reimplementing a modem using the WebAudio API. Or, how about the ridiculous idea of blowing away the entire DOM any time your app state changes?
Not only are these ideas informative, cutting-edge, and maybe even a bit weird, but they are interesting and clearly presented.
Commit to the Idea
Before you hit that submit button, make sure that the topic is something you'll still be interested in by the time the conference takes places. Having a change of heart after being selected is unfair to the other talk proposals and to the selection committee that took the time to compare your idea with everyone else's. Besides, your first instinct is usually correct!
Never Say Never
If you have a hint of an idea but you think you'll never get picked, stop right now, head over to the submission page, and fill out that form. Do not let any of the above guidelines deter you!
We want you to speak and you'll do great!
Perks
If your proposal is selected, here is what you'll get:
Travel to the Venue
We will pay for your reasonable travel expenses to and from the conference. We are happy to assist with booking your itinerary, but if you can book your own travel, we prefer to offer reimbursement. Having people manage their own travel helps us remain focused on making the conference even better.
Accommodations
We will provide you with a hotel room at the venue, starting the day before the conference. This will allow you to get settled in, recharge, and participate in the Welcome Reception. You are more than welcome to come earlier and/or stay later, but you will be responsible for those extra nights.
If your employer can cover your travel and/or hotel costs, we will be happy to list them as a company sponsor. The money we save will be reinvested into the general running of the conference.
The venue and hotel are accessible for wheelchair users and people with reduced mobility. Please review our Accessibility Statement for more details. If you have any questions or concerns about whether all your needs can be met, please contact us.
Tickets to the Conference
When you are not speaking, enjoy the conference! You'll have full admission to the entire conference, social events, activities, and everything that takes place during the conference. Please note that we may not be done with the speaker selections by the time tickets go on sale. If you are selected to talk, let us know that you have purchased a ticket and we will provide a refund.
Video Recording
We record all talks, slides, and on-stage interactions given during the course of the conference and publish them for free on the JSConf Family YouTube channel. We do this to allow everyone in the JavaScript community to gain from the knowledge shared over the course of the conference.
If you do not wish to have your talk shared, please let us know and we will take whatever steps are necessary to accommodate your request. This may include not recording the talk at all (if we are given enough notice) to marking the video as "unlisted" so that you may control sharing it on your own terms.