It’s that time of year again, fewer than 10 days until the deadline for your last chance to speak at XML 2005. This year we kept a lot of slots open for late-breaking talks (which don’t have to be only on really late-breaking subjects, good presentations on other topics that don’t duplicate material already on the program will also be considered, so check what’s already on the program!) We would like to see submissions on newer topics that weren’t around in May, whether that’s WSDL for REST, or Ajax, or the technical underpinnings of Web 2.0. More details on how to submit are at Call for Participation / Late Breaking News.
And there are also the Town Hall meetings, which this year we’d like to make less formal, and more “the opportunity to voice their opinion on controversial topics” open mike, open-to-the-public, meeting.
And, of course, the product presentations, designed to give attendees a space to really look inside interesting products that implement standards, interoperate with other products, and/or are new on the market. One of the reasons I like having the product presentation talks on the program is that it gives attendees a way to find out about a product without worrying that they’ll be pestered by over-eager sales people — they can find out the info they need without handing in their business cards. Of course, lots of vendors aren’t as keen on these talks as they don’t get the business cards, but you never know what makes somebody buy a product or recommend a product — where did the original spark come from? It could be a booth demonstration, or a full-length product presentation. You just never know.
So, if you’re interested in speaking this year and you don’t already have a speaking slot, you have until September 16 to get those submissions in!