Looking Back at A Decade Apart (video)…and Ahead to 2016

See Jeffrey. See Jeffrey point. See Eric. See Eric tap. See Jason. See Jason grip the podium. Enjoy the humble beginnings of An Event Apart—the way we were, in this video clip from 70 internet years (i.e. one earth decade) ago.

Filmmaker Ian Corey captured the first-ever An Event Apart at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute in December 2005. Presenting were Jason Santa Maria (his first time speaking!) plus co-founders Eric Meyer and Jeffrey Zeldman. About 150 early Apartniks attended the homespun one-day show.

As basic as the venue and presentation formats may have been, the focus on forward-looking design, development, and content was already razor-sharp. Looking back on that first show, AEA co-founder Eric Meyer writes:

It was as lo-fi as it gets without paper megaphones, and we made a whole slew of rookie organizer mistakes—but we got the essentials right, the same essentials we've kept alive all these ten years: present in-depth, practical, higher-level content to an audience of savvy web folks, and treat them right. As we've grown over the years from one day to two to three, and from three speakers to twelve (and sometimes eighteen), we've kept one central goal in mind: to create a conference we'd gladly pay to attend, every time.

We're celebrating our first Decade Apart with special prizes, events, and giveaways we'll share soon, and more importantly with topics ranging from the latest in CSS layout to the deep roots of smart web development, from designing for radically new input channels to developing for performance, from unifying your UX to animating your interface. Our first three shows of 2016 include a true who's who of amazing designers, developers, and content specialists. Check the complete speaker lineups for each of our first three cities in 2016:

• Nashville: March 14–16 • Seattle: April 4–6 • Boston: May 16–18

Celebrate our first Decade Apart: save $125 on any 2016 conference when you check out using coupon code AEADEC15. This is the biggest discount we'll offer throughout 2016. But hurry! This code expires December 31, 2015, so pick your 2016 event and register now!