This year at RVAsec, we are introducing something new: a Birds of a Feather room, or BoF for short.
The term comes from the old idiom, “birds of a feather flock together,” and that is exactly the idea. This room is for people who want to gather around a shared topic, idea, question, or discussion.
The BoF room will be located downstairs and will only hold about 50 people, so space will be very limited.
What is a BoF talk?
BoF talks are quick, informal 15-minute talks or discussions led by attendees and sponsors.
We do our best to provide a great conference schedule, but we also know many of you have topics you want to discuss, ideas you want to share, and things you want to hear more about from our sponsors and the community.
This room is designed for that.
Have something to say? Want to lead a quick discussion? Want to ask the community about a topic? Sign up.
Old Skool Format
This is intentionally old-school.
There are no slides, no screen, and no microphone. You just get up and talk.
There will be a podium available, so you can use your laptop to keep yourself on track, but there will not be a screen to project slides. This is not meant to be a polished main-stage presentation. It is meant to be quick, useful, interesting, and community-driven.
How Signups Will Work
The BoF room schedule is intentionally fluid.
Half of the available speaking slots will be reserved for sponsors, and half will be reserved for attendees. Each slot is 15 minutes only.
Are plan as of now is to have an old-school flip chart outside the room for topics, signups, timing, and “who’s up next.” If we need to move to a digital backup plan, we will publish a spreadsheet for signups.
Talks begin after lunch on Day 1, so you will have time to think through your idea and sign up.
BoF Room Timing
The BoF room will be active during the following times:
Day 1: 1:00 PM – 4:45 PM
Day 2: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM – 2:45 PM
Each day will include a mix of sponsor-led and attendee-led BoF talks, and the schedule will alternate between the two.
Day 1 will include 8 sponsor slots and 7 attendee slots.
Day 2 will include 6 sponsor slots and 7 attendee slots.
Important Note
This room is intentionally informal and community-driven.
Anyone in the room is part of helping make it work. That means helping keep things moving, respecting the 15-minute limit, keeping things rapid fire and helping the next person get started.
Bring Your Ideas
If there is something you want to talk about, teach, ask, debate, or explore with the RVAsec community, this is your room.
Think through your idea, keep it tight, and sign up outside the BoF room.
We are excited to see what the community does with it.