May 05, 2015 Anne Baker
Today is the official kickoff of Collision, the massive Las Vegas tech conference. I’m excited to be here with my coworker, Jessica Elkus, representing InkHouse for the first time. I’m also honored to be selected by conference organizers as a “woman in tech.” Beyond the heat, here are three things I’m looking forward to about Collision:
1. The media list. Please bear with me while I nerd out for a second. Thanks to my job, I see a lot of event media lists. And, frankly, they’re normally pretty dull. Collision’s, on the other hand, has some of the most exciting reporters in the industry. Everyone from USA Today stalwart Jon Swartz to the New York Time’s Molly Wood to Kurt Wagner from Re/Code. It’s a good list. And not only that, but many of these reporters are actually speaking on panels. I’m jazzed to hear directly from them on what’s exciting them in the industry and what they really think.
2. The attendees. Tech conferences tend to be separated by title – either you have a ton of CEOs or a ton of start-ups. Collision, by design, has both. The “bump and connect” factor is huge. Keep your hopes high for me that I run into Stewart Butterfield in line for coffee.
3. Women in tech. Gender diversity is, of course, one of tech’s most daunting problems. I was thrilled to see Collision acknowledge that issue by giving away 150 tickets to women in the tech industry. I was even more thrilled to be one of them. Conferences are at their most productive when they foster genuine connections and conversations among their attendees, and those are best had among a cross-section of people. Kudos (and thanks!) to Collision for recognizing that, and actually doing something about it.
Are you in the city of sin for Collision? What are you looking forward to? Stay up to date on our whereabouts by following @inkhousepr!
