PGDay Lowlands 2024 Reflections

Introduction

This year, PGDay Lowlands 2024 was paired with PGDay UK 2024, which gave me the chance to try something new—taking the train directly from London to Amsterdam. Naturally, I was curious about passing through the famous tunnel under La Manche (some folks call it the English Channel, but I am still unsure why 😜). Spoiler alert: there's nothing cool to see, just darkness. 🙂

If you want to read about PGDay UK 2024, I recommend the blog post of my friend Stefan Fercot. Thank God he did a great job, so I can focus only on one event instead of two! 😅

A Special Connection with Amsterdam

PGDay Lowlands 2024 marks the first year of this event, but Amsterdam holds a special place in my professional journey. My first ever PostgreSQL community conference was in this beautiful city, way back in 2011, during pgconf.eu. So, Amsterdam isn't just another city for me; it's a key part of my community and professional life. I always love coming back here.

The conference schedule was pretty packed, so I only had a little time to visit my favorite places in Amsterdam this time. But the experience of the conference itself made up for that.

My Talk: "Customizing the Wordle Game Experience with PostgreSQL"

My presentation was titled "Customizing the Wordle Game Experience with PostgreSQL." Despite the fun name, the talk covered some serious and interesting topics, like full-text search dictionaries and customizing psql. The best part? We ended the talk by playing Wordle with the audience, where they had to guess PostgreSQL 5-letter keywords. I'm happy to report that Gianni Ciolli is officially the best keyword professional among us! 😄

A Second Chance

I initially presented this talk once at PgConf in New York, but unfortunately, my slot was in parallel with Bruce Momjian's session. Naturally, many attendees chose to go to his talk (honestly, I would have done the same!). That left me with little feedback and some doubts about the talk's appeal. So, I'm incredibly thankful to the PGDay Lowlands Call for Papers committee for giving me a second chance! It was such a relief to see that the audience loved it and to have great questions and discussions afterward.

A Friendly and Perfect Atmosphere

The atmosphere at PGDay Lowlands was perfect—so friendly! One of the aspects I loved the most was having a meetup the day before the main event. It was the perfect opportunity to get to know the venue, meet some other speakers, and get into the conference mood. It was a brilliant idea, and I hope it becomes a tradition.

I met many old friends and, of course, many new faces. It's always refreshing to reconnect with familiar people while getting to know new community members.

Memorable Talks

All the talks were great, including the lightning talks. Still, one session stood out for its humor and creativity: "PostgreSQL High Availability Poker." The speakers took on roles like actors in a theater, and it was honestly one of the best comedies I've ever seen at a conference! It brought a unique and entertaining twist to the event.

The Venue Was Amazing

The conference was held at an amazing venue! I absolutely loved the stage with a couch on it—it felt so relaxed yet professional. The side monitors displaying Mastodon feeds and additional conference information were also great. I was especially impressed with the AV team. They were incredibly attentive, ensuring every speaker was fully prepared with mics before stepping on stage.

PGDay Lowlands 2024 is easily one of the best PostgreSQL conferences I've ever attended. Next year, I hope they'll include a little local flavor — perhaps some Dutch cuisine like herring on the tables? 😉

The Growing PostgreSQL Community

The PostgreSQL community is growing steadily, and it's heartwarming to see. More meetups, more events—it's a true sign of progress. It's such a pleasure to witness this growth and be part of it.

Local events like PGDay Lowlands are significant for the global growth of PostgreSQL. These smaller regional gatherings lay the groundwork for more extensive global initiatives. They help foster stronger connections within local communities.

I'm already looking forward to the next PGDay Lowlands! The organizers are working on securing another excellent venue for next year, and I'm sure it will be another fantastic event.

Exhausted But Satisfied

After a week of traveling and attending two major conferences, I was definitely exhausted. Traveling is more challenging than it used to be when I was younger! But at the same time, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. We accomplished so much, and it was all worth it.

More Exciting Events on the Horizon

For me, there are still three crucial PostgreSQL events left this year:

• PostgreSQL Europe Conference in Athens
• PASS Data Community Summit in Seattle
• PGDay/MED in Napoli

I'm excited to see what's in store at each of these incredible events! See you there!