How to “work the room” at KCDC 2026

Kansas City Developer Conference (KCDC) is happening this week! KCDC is one of the larger multidisciplinary developer conferences. It’s organized by members of Kansas City’s tech community, and it typically draws an attendance of about 2,000 people. Wednesday is the workshop day, followed by the main conference days on Thursday and Friday, and finally, the Kids Tech Day happens on Saturday. Started in 2008 by Lee Brandt (whom I know from my time at Auth0; he did DevRel on the Okta side), the first KCDC had 120 attendees. By the mid-2010s, it had grown past 1,000 attendees, and this year, there should be over 2,000 people spread over 180 sessions over two days. Anitra and I are speaking at KCDC this year, and we’re just two of the many, many people you can meet. But meeting people requires a skill called “working the room.” Fortunately for you, my life, whether as a developer advocate, musician, community organizer, and generally unhinged extrovert has me working the room regularly,…