What’s next for Spec, our conference for builders

Here’s (almost) everything you need to know about our annual developer event, which returns October 22–23 to San Francisco

By the team at SlackJuly 8th, 2019

If you’re someone who customizes Slack—someone who simplifies work by connecting key tools, data and alerts to channels—then Spec is the conference for you.

Spec is a once-in-a-yeartime experience where talented developers who build on Slack come together to trade insights and push each other’s work forward. It’s a chance for anyone in our global community of customers, partners and developers to learn about brand-new Slack functionality and features and get hands-on demos and advice from our platform team.

The conference will happen on October 22 and 23 in San Francisco, and you can register now for early-bird pricing.

What Spec is all about

Last year, we inaugurated Spec alongside a bevy of engineers, customers and partners during a single-day conference. There were 16 sessions, presented by experts from Slack and pros from Workday, HubSpot, Zendesk, Asana, GitHub and Twilio.

We debuted Block Kit Builder, Actions, OpenAPI updates, and a slash command to open GitHub projects right from Slack. Sessions ran in two concurrent tracks, both of which are back for 2019:

  • Plan: This track offers user research insights, onboarding best practices, tips for refining your app’s business model and more.
  • Build: Focused on frameworks, code and design, this track offers hands-on experience, alongside developers solving the same challenges as your own team.

While we’ve categorized every session into either Plan or Build, attendees aren’t beholden to one or the other. You can mix and match to best fit your needs.

What to expect at Spec 2019

This fall, Spec’s going to be even bigger than before. That means more speakers, more sessions and more chances to connect. Sessions will range from keynote talks and fireside chats to hands-on workshops, with plenty of opportunities to meet one on one with peers and share best practices for building on the Slack platform.

The conference will culminate in a talk from renowned leader Sarah Franklin, the EVP of developer relations and GM of Trailhead at Salesforce. Franklin has worked tirelessly on spreading equality in STEM careers and making technology more accessible. She’ll speak about the expanding role of developers and how to build a healthy development community.

Spec 2019 will take place at SVN West in San Francisco on October 22 and 23. It’s a big space, but we expect it to fill up. So get your tickets today, before early-bird pricing ends.

We look forward to building with you.

Keep checking Slack HQ for more news about Spec in the coming weeks, including additional exciting speakers.

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