Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, August 26 through Sunday, September 1, 2024. That’s right — September is starting! This list includes both in-person and online events.
Note that each item in the list includes:
✅ When the event will take place
✅ What the event is
✅ Where the event will take place
✅ Who is holding the event
But first, a quick promo:
My YouTube channel on technology, Global Nerdy (same name as my blog) is just getting started! If you’re looking for interesting takes on technology, tech news, and software development, check out the channel and subscribe!
This week’s video is An AI roasted my LinkedIn Profile! In this video, I try out the LinkedIn Profile Roaster on my own LinkedIn profile, and the results are useful and hilarious.
This week’s events
- Monday, August 26
- Tuesday, August 27
- Wednesday, August 28
- Thursday, August 29
- Friday, August 30
- Saturday, August 31
- Sunday, September 1
Monday, August 26
Tuesday, August 27
Tuesday at 10 a.m., online: Computer Coach’s webinar, webinar, Professionalism Rebooted: Reviving the Basics of Business Etiquette, will refresh your knowledge of essential business etiquette, elevate your professionalism and help you stand out in any professional setting. Find out more and register here.
Wednesday, August 28
Wednesday at 2 p.m., online: Join Gen AI Tampa as they participate in Data Science Connect’s “Generative AI for Data Executives” webinar series with the latest installment, Harnessing Generative AI for Predictive Maintenance and Anomaly Detection. This will be a deep dive into how Generative AI is revolutionizing data observability, enhancing predictive maintenance, and detecting anomalies for more resilient operations. Find out more and register here.
Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., Embarc Collective (Tampa): Join Tampa Bay Innovation for Idea 2 Product, an intimate fireside chat with Ned Pope. He’ll share his insights on turning ideas into successful products, and you’ll be able to network with like-minded innovators and gain valuable knowledge from a seasoned entrepreneur and thought leader. Find out more and register here.
Thursday, August 29
Thursday at 12 p.m., online: Computer Coach presents A Professionally Evil Intro to Prompt Injection, where Information Security Consultant Cory Sabol will show you the essentials of recognizing and defending against prompt injection attacks. Find out more and register here.
Thursday at 6 p.m., Coppertail brewing (Tampa): Cocktails and Security is a vibrant monthly meetup where cybersecurity enthusiasts gather to enjoy free beverages and engage in lively discussions on the latest information security issues. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting, you’re welcome here! Find out more and register here.
Thursday at 6 p.m., 501 E. Kennedy (Tampa): Tampa Bay AWS Group presents Hands-on: Build a GenAI Chatbot with Amazon Q for Business. This hands-on workshop will teach you how to build chatbots using cutting-edge generative AI technology. You will learn how to create conversational AI that can understand natural language and generate human-like responses. By the end, you will understand the skillset needed to deploy smart and useful chatbots for real-world applications. Find out more and register here.
Friday, August 30
Saturday, August 31
Sunday, September 1
About this list
How do I put this list together? It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.
In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.
What goes into this list? I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:
- Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
- Tech project management / agile processes
- Video, board, and role-playing games
- Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
- ️ Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
- Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
- Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
- Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
- Anything I deem geeky
Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, August 19 through Sunday, August 25, 2024. This list includes both in-person and online events.
Note that each item in the list includes:
✅ When the event will take place
✅ What the event is
✅ Where the event will take place
✅ Who is holding the event
But first, a quick promo:
My YouTube channel on technology, Global Nerdy (same name as my blog) is just getting started! If you’re looking for interesting takes on technology, tech news, and software development, check out the channel and subscribe!
The latest video, How to maintain mental health during a layoff, talks about maintaining your mental health during a layoff. It explains why being laid off generally isn’t your fault, followed by tips and tricks for staying mentally healthy during this stressful time:
This week’s events
- Monday, August 19
- Tuesday, August 20
- Wednesday, August 21
- Thursday, August 22
- Friday, August 23
- Saturday, August 24
- Sunday, August 25
Monday, August 19
Tuesday, August 20
Tuesday, 10 – 11 a.m., online: Computer Coach presents Boost Your Career Journey with Confidence, a live webinar where you’ll discover how confidence can drive your perseverance and resilience in landing your dream job. Find out more and register here.
Wednesday, August 21
Wednesday, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Computer Coach (Tampa): Tampa Bay User Experience presents UX Stories: Finding a UX Job, featuring a panel of local UXers who’ve recently landed a new UX-related job. You will get to listen to their stories about how they went about finding a job, the application and interview process, and if expectations have met reality since they’ve started working. Find out more and register here.
Wednesday, 7 – 9 p.m. at Armature Works (Tampa): It’s time for another Tampa Devs “Meet and Greet!” Join the gang — and it’s a big gang — at Tampa’s food hall and gathering place and meet your fellow developers, technologists, and geeks for food, drink, and socializing. Find out more and register here.
Thursday, August 22
Thursday, 5 – 7 p.m. at the rooftop at Sage (Sarasota): Tampa Bay Infragard Members Alliance — a alliance of technologists and the FBI whose mission is to mitigate criminal and terrorist threats, risks and losses — is having their bi-monthly social event on the rooftop at Sage. Find out more and register here.
Friday, August 23
Saturday, August 24
Saturday, 9 a.m. – noon at Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea in Midtown (Tampa): It’s time for Tampa Bay Techies’ monthly study group at Joffrey’s in Midtown! As they describe it: “This is a space to socialize, show off your current projects, ask questions with others studying for similar topics, and enjoy a nice cup of coffee!” Find out more and register here.
Saturday, 7 – 8 p.m., online: Florida Software School presents Building a JSON API with Golang! Find out more and register here.
Sunday, August 25
About this list
How do I put this list together? It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.
In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.
What goes into this list? I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:
- Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
- Tech project management / agile processes
- Video, board, and role-playing games
- Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
- ️ Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
- Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
- Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
- Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
- Anything I deem geeky
The newest video on the Global Nerdy YouTube channel is now online! Its title will and thumbnail will evolve over the next couple of days, but as I write this (the evening of Sunday, August 11, 2024), the thumbnail looks like the one above and the title is Surviving a Layoff: Mental Health Tips & Tricks.
(YouTube titles and thumbnails can be changed even after the video is posted, and many YouTubers change them as they figure out which versions attract “search” and “browse” viewers.)
Selected moments from the video
Near the start of the video, I suggest to viewers that they try to come up with their own mantra to help them through their layoff journey:
I also remind viewers that there’s a difference between being fired and being laid off:
Here are some layoff stats to reassure you that if you’ve been laid off, you’re not alone:
Making things worse is the fact that shareholders love layoffs — they’re cost savings, which can boost stock prices:
Remember this motto:
I also go through some of the items in the Life Events Inventory, a ranked list of the most stressful events in life. Guess where getting laid off is in the list — I won’t show you kere, though; you’ll have to watch the video!
Here’s the most pithy advice I have for expressing the emotions you may have in the aftermath of being laid off, courtesy of Scott Hanselman:
I talk about the benefits of exercise…
…remind the viewer that it’s always 5 p.m. somewhere…
…and yes, I make a reference not just to “That Site,” but That Site’s identifying drum riff:
You don’t need a unicorn gratitude journal to make it through a layoff, but you should practice gratitude to help you through the process:
I suggest that it might be therapeutic to get rid of at least some of your (former) company swag, but hang on to the stuff that’s useful. I’m hanging on to the Patagonia sweater they sent to me (ironically, a week or so before they laid me off) because it’s nice and warm, and I’m willing to put up with the “VC Bro’ vibes it gives off:
And finally, here’s one of the images I use to explain that if you need therapy or counseling, get it:
This month’s Tampa Bay Product Group meetup happens this Tuesday, August 13 at Kforce’s offices in Midtown Tampa. The topic: a panel discussion on driving and executing product strategy featuring:
- Om Patel
- Brian Orlando
- Mike Miller
Want to know more, or attend the meetup? Find out more and register here.
Here’s a little bit about each of the panelists:
Om Patel
Om is an enterprise business agility consultant with many years of experience coaching teams and leadership at clients in several industries. He has played different roles in his career from developer, product manager, project manager, and scrum master. Om has led agile transformations at companies like Walt Disney World, Atex Global, EY and PwC. He is actively involved in the agile community.
Brian Orlando
An expert in business agility, product, and an advocate for product-led growth. Brian builds and connects teams to vision and strategies, and continually transition my organizations toward a product-led culture.
Brian is also host of the Arguing Agile podcast, where he shares learnings, experiences, and stories from across his career. He strives to create quality products that solve real problems for the users and the business.
Mike Miller
Mike Miller is the kind of product nerd you’re glad you have around. With nearly 20 years in IT and 12 of those years dedicated to agile product management, he has seen just a out everything under the sun. Working on digital products in RMM, eComm, manufacturing, and finance* has blessed him with an inside track on the most common dysfunctions in agile product management – and how to solve them!
*Previous recipients of Mike’s wisdom include IBM, Connectwise, Ashley Furniture, PwC, Gerdau, Trellance, Discover, and quite a few more.
Happy Friday, Tampa Bay! Hopefully, you’ve emerged from Tropical Storm Debby unscathed. I had a little yard clean-up to do, but that’s about it.
Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, August 12 through Sunday, August 18, 2024. This list includes both in-person and online events.
Note that each item in the list includes:
✅ When the event will take place
✅ What the event is
✅ Where the event will take place
✅ Who is holding the event
But first, a quick promo:
My YouTube channel on technology, Global Nerdy (same name as my blog) is just getting started! If you’re looking for interesting takes on technology, tech news, and software development, check out the channel and subscribe!
The latest video, Tough Job Market!, is a reminder that it could take a long time to hear back from a prospective employer after sending an application. It also features my four-word plan for thriving in the current job market:
This week’s events
- Monday, August 12
- Tuesday, August 13
- Wednesday, August 14
- Thursday, August 15
- Friday, August 16
- Saturday, August 17
- Sunday, August 18
- About this list
Monday, August 12
Tuesday, August 13
On Tuesday morning, there are a couple of interesting online meetup options…
Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., online: The Lean Coffee meetup will get together to discuss whatever puzzles you about Lean & Agile topics, as well as other workplace challenges. Find out more and register here.
Tuesday at 10 a.m., online: Computer Coach will host their webinar, Career Changing Without Resetting Your Journey, where they’ll cover recognizing your current skills and seize new opportunities without starting from scratch. Find out more and register here.
Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Kforce (Tampa): Tampa Bay Product Group will hold their monthly meetup, and it’ll feature a panel discussion titled Driving and Executing Product Strategy with panelists Om Patel, Brian Orlando, and Mile Miller. Find out more and register here.
Wednesday, August 14
Wednesday at 6 p.m., online: Google Developer Group Central Florida is hosting A Fireside Chat about Potential Legislation for Artificial Intelligence, fetauring a panel including Congressman Darren Soto from the 9th District in Florida. Find out more and register here.
Wednesday at 6 p.m., online: Tech4Good Tampa Bay is relaunching with a kickoff meeting! This is a fantastic opportunity for our existing members to connect with the new team, learn about their expanded mission, and share your insights and ideas for the future, as well as for new members to learn more about Tech4Good and how to get involved. Find out more and register here.
Thursday, August 15
Thursday at 5:00 p.m. at DTCC (Tampa): The Tampa Java User Group will feature Taking Off with the Java Flight Recorder, a presentation by Billy Korando, a Java Developer Advocate with the Java Platform Group at Oracle. He’ll show how this powerful and low-overhead observability tool built into the JVM that can help you track down those performance issues and difficult-to-understand bugs. Find out more and register here.
Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at Bar Louie at the International Plaza (Tampa): Lean Beer is happening on the Tampa side of the bay! Discuss any topics on Agile and Lean that are of interest to whomever is gathered. You suggest the topics, then they prioritize that list democratically, through a good ol’-fashioned vote. They manage our discussions via time boxes, and a Roman vote (drinks up/drinks down). Vegas rules apply! Find out more and register here.
Friday, August 16
Saturday, August 17
Sunday, August 18
About this list
How do I put this list together? It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.
In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.
What goes into this list? I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:
Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
Tech project management / agile processes
Video, board, and role-playing games
Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
️ Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
Anything I deem geeky
Two notes:
- “It depends” is actually true in most cases, but you can use it to stretch out a consulting contract.
- “Confucius” is a Latin name given to him by Jesuit missionaries — in Chinese, he’s generally referred to as Kǒngzǐ (pronounced KONG-zuh).