DjangoCon: DjangoCon US Talks I’d Like to See: 2017 Edition

A common question I get asked every year is “What topic should I submit to DjangoCon US?” So many people are unsure of what to talk about.

Since our DjangoCon US CFP deadline is a little over two weeks away, I thought I’d build an overwhelmingly long list of topic ideas to help anyone who’s struggling to come up with a talk idea.

Essential Skills

I hate the term “soft skills” so I’m calling these “essential skills.” Every year some of our best presentations come from this category.

• 12 Factor App
• Accessibility
• Community Development
• Documentation
• Hiring and Interviewing
• Kickstarter Howto
• Leadership
• Marketing
• Problem-Solving
• Project Management
• Public Speaking
• Raise Negotiation
• Self Care
• Time Management

If your topic falls into “not Django,” but is not listed here, submit it anyway!

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Frontend

My frontend topics are far from comprehensive because I don’t dabble as much here. If I’m missing something obvious or if there is something new and cool, let me know!

• CSS

• Design
  • Material Design - I don’t think anyone has covered material design previously.

• Native Apps (iOS / Android) - I have no idea if this can be covered in a 45-minute talk, but I’d love to see someone attempt it.

• Javascript
  • Flux, Reflux, etc
  • React.js - Are there best practices for covering a large app?
  • Vue.js

• Typography

• VR / AR - Last year we had a great talk on how to get started with VR and Django. I’d love to see someone dig a little deeper to build an app.

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Backend

If one of these topics looks appealing to you but you aren’t sure what to talk about, then please consider a getting started, best practices, scaling, or an advanced usage type of talk.

• AI and Machine Learning
• Automation
• Chatbots
• Debugging
• Django Channels
  • Mix with a JS technology like React.js, Vue.js, Reflux…
• Containers
  • “Django in the container age” via Jannis Leidel
  • Kubernetes
  • Serverless
• Docker
  • You have Django running in a Docker, now what?
• Image management
• Notifications
• ORM
  • Advanced Model Design
  • QuerySets
    • Advanced Lookups
    • Transform
  • Lookups
  • Query Expressions
  • Conditional Expressions
• Popular Django app? If you manage a popular Django app, then consider talking about it.
• REST / APIs
  • Django Rest Framework (DRF)
    • Using DRF with React.js via Reflux
    • Using DRF with Vue.js
    • Dynamic Clients from DRF via Emma
  • GraphQL
• Search
• Security
• Testing
• Voice Technology
• What’s new in Django 1.11
  • Django 1.11 release notes
  • New ORM Features via m_holtermann
    • Class-based model indexes
    • Subquery expressions
    • QS.union
    • faster migrations
    • nulls_first/nulls_last
  • Template-based widget rendering
  • django.contrib.postgres for a minor update has several new features which could fit into a talk. QS.iterator on PG
• What’s new in Django 2.0?

Your Feedback:

• API design via Renato Oliveira
• Django in the age of serverless via Daniel Roy Greenfeld
• How to contribute to an open source project. How to create an distributable app via Maikel P
• “marketing for open source” via Pablo Rivera

What did I miss?

If you aren’t into public speaking or if there’s a topic that you’d like to see covered, then please let me know on twitter and I’ll add it to the list. Thank you!

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Thanks to Heather Luna aka. , Rebecca Kindschi, Emma Delescolle, Markus Holtermann, and Jannis Leidel for advice on and corrections to a draft of this article.