I’m Joining Your Ranks: A Note from Tom

Hi everyone. Tom Ortega here, you know one of the organizer guys. :)

For those of you that missed the keynote or the gamejam, I made a lil announcement. I’m leaving 360Conferences. John is going to carry the torch moving forward. This is only the third show and we’ve only been in this space for little more than a year, but I’d like to think we’re making waves.

John and I started with 360Flex, our show on the Flash/Flex tech community.  After two years, we looked into expanding.  Well, actually, John wanted to leap earlier than that, but we never could find the right tech.  Finally, we found one: iPhone OS dev.  We weren’t sure but then O’Reilly cancelled their iPhone dev event and Apple announced they were leaving Macworld.  That solidified the notion in our mind.  The opportunity was too great to pass up.

New, up and coming tech communities are the sweet spot for 360Conferences shows.  We know this for a fact now.  When the community is just big enough to fill a few hundred seats and is looking for leadership, we know it’s ready for a show.  We don’t provide leadership, but instead put the strongest members of the community into speaking slots and panels.  This way, those with the power to lead can help float to the top through service and teaching.

The 360Conference events are amazing.  People tell us that all the time. As a developer, that made me both happy and sad.  Happy that we were doing a good job, but sad that I couldn’t attend! This revolution was going on around me and I couldn’t participate. It was frustrating, so I had to jump ship.

That’s right, I’m joining your ranks.  Flex development pays my bills and I do love Flex development.  However, the magical draw of the iPhone OS devices is too strong.  You guys are having soooo much fun that I have no choice but to jump in.

I’m happy to announce that I’m starting a new game company, Area 161.  It’s gonna be amazing fun since my best friend from high school will be my partner in this new venture. Our first few projects will be for the iPhone OS.  We have big dreams though….real big.

I’ll still see you guys at 360iDev, only now I won’t have to run off to fix something.  ;)

Thanks to all of you who took a chance on two guys completely new to your community.  We were outsiders, trying to organize you all.  Luckily, you let us in.  I’d like to think that’s something you guys don’t regret.  We look forward to growing with the community over the years.

My contact info is below. Don’t be a stranger, especially when I ask for help!  :P

Personal Info:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lordbron
Facebook: http://facebook.com/lordbron
Blog: http://lordbron.wordpress.com
Email: tom.ortega@gmail.com

Area-161 Info:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/area161
Website: http://area-161.com