Co-Authors: Chuck Ha, Senior Member of Technical Staff Jorge Castro, Senior Member of Technical Staff
KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America can be overwhelming. There are 340 sessions happening over the course of three days, and there are expected to be around 12,000 people moving about the venue. Staying organized and having a plan is the key for getting the most out of your attendance. To help you get started, we've picked out some talks that we think will be good for folks just getting engaged with Kubernetes and the community as well as a couple of general tips to help you have the best experience possible.
Monday, November 19
Before 5:00 pm: Register!
Many of the conference hotels let you register directly in their lobbies. You can even register at San Diego International Airport this year in both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. The main takeaway is to register before Tuesday. You don’t want to miss the keynotes because you have to queue for registration.
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm: The Lightning Talks ⚡️
The lightning talks are a great way to get a pulse on the Kubernetes community. You'll discover that people are doing things you never thought possible with Kubernetes. You will see radical ideas and learn about new projects that people are working on. You'll also get a chance to familiarize yourself with the venue so you don't waste any time being lost on Tuesday.
Tuesday, November 19
9:20 am – 9:45 am: Keynote: CNCF Project Updates
Learn about various CNCF projects and get a feeling for where Kubernetes fits into the picture.
11:50 am – 12:25 pm: Contributor Experience Intro
Learn what it’s like to be a contributor to Kubernetes. If you make it to this talk, you won’t need to attend the Contributor Experience Deep Dive on Wednesday unless you want to go even deeper into the world of contributor experience.
Wednesday, November 20
10:55 am – 11:30 am: A Week in the Life of the Kubernetes Community or SIG Testing Intro
A Week in the Life of the Kubernetes Community is designed for new contributors to get their bearings within the Kubernetes community. If you already have your bearings within the community and want to get more technical, check out the SIG Testing Intro to see how Kubernetes is kept stable.
4:25 pm – 5:00 pm: Contributor Experience Deep Dive
Learn what it’s like to be a contributor to Kubernetes. Skip this if you made it to the Contributor Experience Intro and something else grabs your interest during this time slot.
Thursday, November 21
2:25 pm – 3:00 pm: State of the Kubernetes Union
This talk will show you how project-level decisions get made in Kubernetes.
Wrapping Up
This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are three full days of talks, so take a look at the schedule and build your own agenda on the event site. Using this site helps both the speakers see who is attending their sessions and you by providing you with your own customized schedule.
After you're happy with the sessions you’ve selected, you can share your schedule using the mobile site and import it into your favorite calendar. This is handy for people who want to attend talks while scheduling other meetings throughout the day. It's also a convenient way to share your schedule with anyone who is interested in the talks you’re attending.
The talks and tips we listed above should give you some great starting points for conversations with fellow attendees and, we hope, inspire you to engage with the Kubernetes community.
