The Death of Microsoft's MIX Conference
Posted: 24 January 2012
ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley posted today that Microsoft's annual MIX conference is now dead: Microsoft to replace Mix with a new developer conference. Microsoft also announced it today on their official blog: Thinking About Developer Events.
I'm disappointed but not surprised that MIX is now gone. I think MIX has suffered from an identity crisis for the last few years. It originated as a conference heavy in web design and web development. It was a great conference for someone like me who likes to wear the programmer, UI/UX developer, and designer hats all at once. It was also web-centric.
The last two times I went to the conference (2010 and 2011) I felt that the content really started to get away from design, user experience, and the web. The sessions were starting to get much more technical. Sure it was still web-centric, but I thought that the conference was starting to feel a lot like Dev Connections (except with major technology announcements). There was more emphasis on coding and programmer tooling.
I think MIX felt a need to start appealing more to developers. I think they were right in doing so, but as a result MIX has lost its identity. It's become just another developer conference. How does it differ from other Microsoft dev conferences?
Microsoft has also recognized that it can't distinguish MIX from other conferences:
"the notion that the 'web community' is somehow separate and distinct from the community of developers we care about no longer makes any sense."
"Developers were confused, and asking us about which event to go to."
Source: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2012/01/24/thinking-about-developer-events.aspx
I think it makes sense for Microsoft to ditch a separate conference about the design and development of the web. It makes sense that web development would be a part of any developer conference. However, if Mary-Jo's prediction that Microsoft's developer events will be more focused on Windows 8 is true, then I think Microsoft might be taking a big risk:
"This year, instead, the company is planning a developer conference likely to focus on Windows 8."
Source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-to-replace-mix-with-a-new-developer-conference/11721
Windows 8 will be a very important technology I will need to work with in my career, but I would hate to see web development take a back seat at Microsoft events. I think Microsoft needs to bet on the web just as much as it is betting on Windows 8. Web development will be just as big as native development on Windows 8.
I've already started seeking out alternative conferences and venues where I can get my web fix (the JavaScriptMN meetup group, as an example). I will likely still attend a Microsoft conference or two in the next year, but I'll be scrutinizing the value I get out of them more than in the past.