Lightning Talk: Confreaks

by Cindy Backman

In her lightning talk at the Blue Ridge Ruby 2024 conference, Cindy Backman, owner of Confreaks, shares the inspiring journey of her video production company, which specializes in recording tech events, particularly Ruby conferences.

Key Points Discussed:
- Origins of Confreaks: Founded in 2007 by Kobi Branquist and Carl Youngblood, Confreaks was born out of the need to record tech conferences, specifically following a pivotal Mountain West Ruby Conference in 2006. Kobi and Carl, both Ruby programmers, realized the value of recording conferences after attending one that featured a keynote by Yukihiro Matsumoto (Matz).
- Growth and Community Integration: Initially, Confreaks operated on a small scale, filming Ruby conferences for cost coverage. The company's significance grew, especially after Kobi transitioned to a leadership role, focusing on filming and editing processes. By 2011, Backman was hired as the first full-time employee, integrating her into the Ruby community and allowing for stronger connections with notable figures like Aaron Patterson and Sandy Metz.
- Beyond Profit Motives: The company's goal transcended profit; they aimed to make conference knowledge accessible to a global audience, particularly those unable to afford travel.
- Company Developments: Confreaks eventually expanded to four full-time employees and filmed over 30 conferences yearly. Following Kobi's reduced role in 2015, Backman took over operations, navigating challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which required significant staff reductions and altered business practices.
- Current Status and Future Aspirations: By 2020, Backman became the sole owner of Confreaks, and the company now films 9 to 11 conferences annually. Her aim is to restore the company to its former level of activity, especially with its long-standing commitment to the Ruby community.
- Community Engagement: Backman emphasizes the importance of the Ruby community, its kindness, and a sense of support. She encourages attendees to connect with Confreaks if they need assistance during events.

Conclusions and Takeaways:
- Confreaks stands out as more than just a video production entity; it represents a passionate commitment to the Ruby community and its educational values. Despite recent struggles due to the pandemic, the goal remains to foster learning experiences from conferences across the globe. Backman invites community members to reach out and engage with Confreaks at events, promoting an inclusive atmosphere for collaboration and support.

00:00:11.759 Hey, I'm going to read so I don't go off on tangents and miss getting to what I want to say. My name is Cindy Backman, and I am the owner of Confreaks. We are a video production company that specializes in filming conferences, specifically tech events.

00:00:19.160 Confreaks was started in 2007 by Kobi Branquist and Carl Youngblood. You may wonder why I'm telling you all of this, or even more so, why a video production company would want to give a lightning talk at a Ruby conference. Did you know that Confreaks was started because of Ruby?

00:00:39.440 In 2006, Kobi and Carl attended the Mountain West Ruby Conference organized by Mike Moore in Salt Lake City, Utah. Yukihiro Matsumoto, better known as Matz, was the keynote speaker at that conference, which was one of the earliest conferences in the U.S. where Matz spoke about Ruby. There was so much information at the conference that Kobi and Carl discussed afterwards how great it would have been if it had been recorded. A few months later, Confreaks was born. These two Ruby programmers started a side company to film Ruby conferences mainly so they could attend more Ruby conferences for free.

00:01:16.240 They were friends with those who were already organizing Ruby conferences and offered to record them if their costs were covered. After several years, Kobi bought out Carl's ownership and it became a one-man show. Kobi had a real job and did this on the side, which meant that it would take him 8 to 12 months to edit videos for an event after it concluded.

00:01:38.480 In early 2012, Kobi hired me full-time, making me Confreaks' first official employee. The reason Kobi hired me was because he is my brother. I needed a job after going through a tough divorce and raising two kids. While married, I hadn't been allowed to work, so I was struggling financially and living with my parents. Kobi needed someone to edit and start working full-time, as he couldn't dedicate much time to Confreaks anymore.

00:02:04.960 By 2011, Kobi was running two conferences with friends called Ruby on Rails and La Ruby Conf, which helped integrate me further into the Ruby community. I got to know various people like Aaron Patterson, Sandy Metz, Katrina Owens, Sarah May, Jim Wyrick, Ryan Davis, Jonan Shaffer, Jim Remich, and many others. The Ruby community was very important to Kobi, and it soon became important to me as well.

00:02:41.960 We didn't just film events for money; we filmed tech conferences because they meant something to us. We provided many conference recordings for the cost of flight and hotel, giving discounts to those that agreed to release the videos to the public for free on YouTube. It was important to Kobi that people in other countries, where attending conferences could be financially out of reach, still had the opportunity to learn from these amazing events.

00:03:10.799 As we grew, we eventually had four full-time employees. In 2015, Kobi stepped further away from Confreaks, only signing paychecks while I took over daily operations. By 2019, we were filming more than 30 conferences a year, with the largest conference we ever filmed happening that year, consisting of 12 tracks.

00:03:39.959 At the end of 2019, I bought Confreaks from Kobi. On January 1st, 2020, it was officially in my hands when the pandemic occurred. I had to let my other employees go and barely managed to keep the business afloat on my own through 2020 and 2021. Currently, Confreaks films 9 to 11 conferences a year, and I am the only full-time employee, hiring contract workers for larger events.

00:04:11.879 I hope to return Confreaks to its former level of activities from 2009 in the next few years. My point with this lightning talk is to emphasize that Confreaks isn't just a video production company; we are part of the Ruby community. We have filmed RubyConf since 2007 and RailsConf since 2012, except for this year due to the union situation. I did edit all the videos and they should be available soon.

00:05:04.910 We filmed many regional Ruby and Rails events through the pandemic, but much of that knowledge has been lost due to changes in event organizers and a completely transformed board at Ruby Central. Not all information gets passed down, and these conferences matter to me just as they did to my brother. From my perspective as an outsider, the Ruby community is an amazing one to be a part of. I have filmed hundreds of tech conferences, and the Ruby community is my favorite; you are the kindest and most supportive group I have encountered.

00:05:44.910 So, if you see Confreaks at an event, please come say hi. If you're a speaker, volunteer, or organizer and need help with something, don't hesitate to ask. I want to help. Confreaks is on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, and I have stickers. Thank you.