I am a React Tech Leader with a holistic approach to crafting code. Thanks to my years of experience I build clean and maintainable software solutions for our clients. I always take ownership of the application and put extra effort to improve the UX and assumptions behind the features I implement.

Arkadiusz Machalica

I am a manager, coach, speaker with more than 15 years in business mostly in IT, Advertising and Training industry working on Agile leadership and project management challenges with such companies as Cisco, Intel, or Unilever. I use my creativity in everything from running workshops to facilitating teams and fostering change. I am responsible for Selleo’s awarded recruitment process.

Dariusz Wylon

Selleo Developers

As an engaged team of developers at Selleo, we are focused on constantly learning and brushing up our expertise. That is why our juniors are on a **higher level** than your standard junior on the market. We provide them with a step-by-step detailed path with online mentoring before employment and 3 months of focusing on application building.

We also strongly encourage everybody in our community to participate in conferences, where we can learn from the best of the best in a given technology. Even in those more challenging times when it comes to attending events, we made sure to still remain active conference-goers, so React Summit 2021, could not be any different.

## About the event

The **[React Summit 2021](https://reactsummit.com/)** took place on April 14th through 16th. The first two days consisted of two presentation tracks with dedicated chat rooms with various speakers and thematic chat rooms with special guests. There were also Discord chat rooms and afterparty activities including interactive games. A very nice thing was the usage of [spatial.chat](https://spatial.chat/) so people could watch the presentations together even though we all were participating remotely.

The very last day only had one presentation track without any breaks, which was kind of a pity as more discussions with speakers and networking would be nice.

![Img](https://a.storyblok.com/f/86602/800x689/1980776afb/image1.png)

This is our team during the event. Me and Marcin “sitting” on the left in the first row, and Daniel right behind us in the second row all on spatial.chat during Michael Jackson's presentation about Remix.

![Img](https://a.storyblok.com/f/86602/800x664/63e2c266f5/image4.png)

Me and Marcin on a spatial.chat with Kent C. Dodds

## The review of React Summit by Selleo developers

In this post, I wanted to share not only my experience with the virtual event, but also my colleagues, so I decided to divide this section among all of us, giving each a chance to share individual insights.

### Daniel, Front-end developer

In my opinion, overall, the remote conference was **very well executed**. I loved the spatial.chat although it was pretty silent. I also think there should be a discussion going on about the talk, but hopefully, it will all mature with time.

When it comes to the workshops, the most impactful for me were definitely the ones showcasing Blitz.js and Richard Moss workshop *“Incrementally Adopt Modern React Patterns in a Legacy Codebase”*. I learned some things I didn’t know before and was able to code a bit alongside the hosts, really cool!

Unfortunately, I did not participate in any afterparty/additional activities but it was not because they were not interesting, it was mostly because I was tired after the conference and needed to rest and reset.

### Gosia, React front-end developer

I really **missed the ‘conference feeling’** when you feel united with other developers in the remote setting. I would much prefer to be there in person. However, the remote edition had some advantages. I could stay at home, work almost normally and yet gain a lot of knowledge just sitting on my couch. I did feel like it was a bit more about showing each company’s product than sharing advanced skills, but it was still nice to learn about these tools.

Speaking about workshops and presentations I got a lot of knowledge about libraries and tools that would be useful in the future. I learned some tricks with hooks as well as got a better understanding of CDNs. I learned quite a bit about accessibility. The *“SVGs to Make Your Blog Stand Out”* was super fun and I also really liked the workshop about Blitz.js. If I ever get the opportunity to create a full-stack app I will give it a try. The presentation about React Query inspired me to replace some [legacy code](https://selleo.com/blog/fixing-and-updating-legacy-code) - hope that I will have some time for refactoring!

I did not participate in any additional activities as it was rather hard to do my work and stick to my training between tasks and workshops/presentations. I found myself mentally exhausted and wasn’t able to watch everything in time.

<Baner name={react} />

### Marcin, Junior front-end developer

This was my first time ever attending a remote conference. I was excited about the workshops and the speakers, but in the end, got disappointed. I feel like the workshops did not fully represent the advanced level.

However, the workshops with Blitz.js turned out to be the most impactful. I found out some new things there and I really want to use them in future projects.

As far as the after-party activities go, I participated in a few conversations in the rooms with hosts and played the game *"Codenames"* where Kent C. Dodds was the most popular person.

### Kamil, Front-end developer

Personally, I only participated in the “*Advanced, Fancy TypeScript”* workshop by Michel Weststrate and I rate them 4.5/10. In my opinion, there were too many basics for an ‘advanced-level’ workshop. It was more like a presentation than a workshop. The overall time of the exercises part was no longer than 30 minutes, so it was more ‘from basic to advanced in 8 hrs' workshop. I felt like I was wasting my time.

Taking into consideration the overall price and the quality of the workshop, I would rate it 2/10. Although I learned something, I think if I were to spend 8 hours on advanced TypeScript on YouTube I would have learned more.

### Bernadetta, Junior front-end developer

This React Summit was my second conference ever. The first one I attended was a Next.js conference. I enjoyed React Summit, much more than the previous one. Thanks to using chats and polls it was more engaging. These tools also allowed me to feel that there were really other people watching.

The most impactful for me were the presentations on [testing](https://selleo.com/blog/beginners-guide-to-gherkin). I never had a chance to work on a project where tests were set up correctly and there were always a lot of pain points. So having these presentations show real components of how the tests should be composed and what to test was really helpful. I already applied some of this knowledge to my current project and it's working great!

I didn’t participate in any additional activities because usually, the conference ended late in the evening and after a whole day of work + a few hours of watching presentations, I was just too exhausted.

### Arek, React front-end developer

At last, let me share my personal experience with the event. At first, I was unsure if a remote conference would be any good, but soon enough, I changed my mind. The staff and other participants were very **accommodating and friendly**. Thanks to the amazing atmosphere I quickly started participating in discussions. But what would a conference be without good presentations?

The first one was *“‎Internationalizing React”* by Daria Caraway which I immediately found useful since at that time I was implementing i18n on my commercial project. Insights from Daria’s talk and the later discussions helped me avoid making some mistakes during the development process.

Another great one was *“‎Stories and Strategies from Converting to TypeScript”* by Josh Goldberg. Together with my team, we would like to migrate our existing project to TypeScript, so battle-tested techniques will help us make this process as smooth as possible.

I was blown away by the workshops *“Hybrid Cloud Development with Next.js, AWS, and Tailwind”* by Nader Dabit. He showed there the power of AWS services to quickly set up production-ready applications which will be super useful whenever I or my team would like to create some new internal applications.

I could go on and on, as there were many more enlightening presentations. But I think these were my favourites.

From the non-presentational experiences I enjoyed the most, was talking with the speakers in dedicated chat rooms as I was able to ask about things missing in the presentations, or about different parts of their expertise. Especially the chats with Kent C.Dodds and Shawn Swyx Wang. It was also easier to discuss with the presenters as you could just post the question in the chat and wait for your turn. This was especially helpful for introverted people who, in other circumstances, would not ask the question in person. Also, the virtual chat rooms could fit tens of people around the main speaker without an uncomfortable squeeze.

I was impressed with the staff helping people who for some reason did not have access or had other problems.

## Summary

The React Summit 2021 was the first conference I participated in remotely. I was curious how it all will be organized, especially the networking part.  
Now I can say it was done surprisingly well - there was no need to run between two presentation tracks, as they were only a click away.

Other Selleo developers, in general, said the same thing - the summit was very well executed, despite the unfortunate circumstances. The Blitz.js workshop was definitely the most popular among them, which makes me really happy. I really hope they learned something new that will be useful in our future projects.  
However, I have to agree that it was almost impossible to participate in additional activities after a full day of sitting in front of the computer. This is the one thing that cannot be replicated in a remote environment.

All in all, I can say the conference was rather **successful** and I’m excited about the next edition of React Summit. I hope next year we will be able to attend in person, but at the same time, it would be nice to still have the remote option as it allows people from all around the world to attend without hours of travelling.

If you stumbled across this post and are currently looking for a [React development team](https://selleo.com/react-expert-developers-team), contact us to schedule a call. We will gladly discuss your idea and come up with a suitable proposal. Also check out our [portfolio](https://selleo.com/portfolio#react) to find out what we can do for you.

My experience from a remote React Summit 2021.

Insights From An Online Conference: React Summit 2021 Recap

****

**Fall in love with IT** - this is the slogan advertising the first IT festival and conference in Bielsko-Biała - BBDays4.IT.
The week-long event took place from September 9th and aimed to attract IT enthusiasts, developers looking for new perspectives in the city and those specialists who manage to do what they love and enjoy life at the same time willing to share their knowledge with others.

During the festival, attendees had the opportunity to take part in workshops, meetups, visit offices of the biggest IT companies in the city and have a chat with development specialists inside coffee shops and bars as well as during BBQ4.IT.

### Day 1

The event kicked off on Monday. Representatives from the city, the organizers: [Rekord SI](http://www.rekord.com.pl/), Selleo, [Capsilon](https://capsilon.com/), [FCNT](https://www.fcnt.eu/), [University of Bielsko-Biała](https://www.ath.bielsko.pl/), the official partners including [Versum](https://www.versum.pl/), [Jantar](http://jantar.pl/), [Inelo](https://inelo.pl/), [FabLab](http://www.fablab24.pl/) and many others, as well as local media gathered in the City Hall to officially open the festival.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/a.storyblok.com/f/86602/1024x276/910f96c836/ratusz1.jpg)

The first day continued with the Iterate Open Workshop by [NEXT!](http://www.next.biz.pl/) where attendees had the opportunity to play an [Iterate Product Development Gam](http://iterategame.com/)e where players build teams, manage budget and business development while competing with others. The game is directed towards development professionals as well as those who wish to work on their project management instincts.

The day ended with a [CodeBB](https://codebb.pl/) group meeting, which included two presentations: one focusing on the phenomena of sharing software for free and the second one about Flutter.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/a.storyblok.com/f/86602/1024x576/2df9a7ad04/codebb.jpg)

### Day 2

On Tuesday, we opened our doors for those wanting to take part in the open-style [Haxorz](https://selleo.com/blog/haxorz-unconference) workshop. This time, one of our developer showed how to build an endless scroller game using JavaScript, HTML5 and pixi.js libraries. Those who came had an opportunity not only to experience Haxorz from the inside but also enjoy a slice of pizza.

[Pitney Bowes](https://www.pitneybowes.com/us) and [Buddy](https://buddy.works/) also prepared their own presentations and workshops on AWS Lambda, Spock basics and Dokerizing applications using Docker and Docker Compose.

Later this day, we were back in the Selleo headquarters for another edition of [Meet.js BB ](https://www.meetup.com/meet-js-Bielsko-Biala/)where we talked about how to start a front-end career. The evening was full of amazing lightning talks and presentations and obviously, great food and drinks.

![](/uploads/meetjsbb.jpg)

### Day 3

The third day was very busy. First thing in the morning we had two presentations from Inelo: one focusing on the Realm platform and its capabilities and the second one about building automated tests for architectures consisting of many connected devices.

Later we moved on to FabLab and their interesting presentation on 3D printing and how it can be used in reverse and reconstruction engineering.

Then we headed to a developer workshop dedicated to Savanna Data Services, which shares APIs that can be used in applications by developers and software suppliers. Savanna Data Services gives the opportunity to create solutions answering individual business needs with no costs connected to maintaining and managing of own platform.

Capsilon prepared yet another presentation on AWS and how it dominated the IT market as well as how it is used by the biggest corporations. All that knowledge plus delicious pizza.

In the evening we met up for a fresh edition of [StartUp Podbeskidzie Camp](https://www.startuppodbeskidzie.pl/) meetup where business accelerations and commercialization specialists shared their extensive knowledge.

### Day 4

Day four kicked off with a conference ‘Developer - job of the future’ dedicated to high school students. With more than 300 people in the audience, the event was aimed to present different sides of programming. During the final part of the conference, we hosted a discussion panel about starting a career in the IT industry.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/a.storyblok.com/f/86602/960x720/349a88ca0a/confath.jpg)

Right after that Versum prepared a workshop in building React Native applications for the more experienced RN developers and those who are just getting started

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/a.storyblok.com/f/86602/1296x1728/7b0005a989/versum.jpg)

At 4pm one of the local VR/AR/MR studios - [4experience](https://4experience.co) - invited us all to participate in a presentation of the capabilities of those technologies. Attendees also had an opportunity to test out virtual reality applications as well as learn about how to use virtual, augmented and mixed reality in employee training and various forms of self-improvement and self-development.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/a.storyblok.com/f/86602/2016x1512/a58ccc9e9e/4exp.jpg)

Later the day it was time for the 30th [BBJUG](https://www.meetup.com/pl-PL/Bielsko-Biala-JUG/) focusing on EventSourcing and CQRS and asynchronous and synchronous development. The event took part in one of the most popular bars in Bielsko-Biała, so everybody could enjoy great beer and even better presentations.

### Day 5

Friday was a big day for most of the participating companies as it was the ‘open door’ day. The Selleo office alone was visited by nearly 150 people! Our visitors had the opportunity to see our beautiful office and get a feeling of how a casual day looks like. They also took part in presentations where some of our developers talked about their job, our innovative recruitment process or programming news.

In the afternoon we had a technology open space meeting organized by Rekord SI. The event was divided into 2 parts: during part one, interns presented the applications they created during the summer and part two was full of discussions on how to start an IT career, biggest f-ups and how to avoid them and a perfect code vs a happy client - how to find the sweet spot.

After that a [Mikstura.IT](https://www.meetup.com/Mikstura-IT/) meetup was held. We talked about security in web applications and participated in a discussion panel.

![](/uploads/miksturabb.jpg)

### Day 6 and 7

Although it was the weekend, we did not stop. On Saturday morning, a 7-hour (!) long conference was held at the University of Bielsko-Biała. Our expert developers also took over the microphone and talk about S.O.L.I.D. and the famous CoderDojo. This was the ‘hard’ part of the day.

The ‘soft’ part was a big BBQ, but the presentations did not stop there. There were 4 more open-air talks as well as some networking time. We closed the evening with a football match.

Sunday was all we had been waiting for - a Hackathon. Our team was working on an application that helps to plan a trip through our beautiful city taking into consideration your localization, duration and your interests.
We are happy to say that this React application won and will be shown to the President of Bielsko-Biała soon. We cannot imagine a better way to end this eventful week.

Overall, BBDays4.IT proved to be a great success. Over 1000 of people took part in various workshops, presentations and meetups. We are super happy with the result and are planning to continue this festival for many years to come.

![](/uploads/hackathonbb.jpg)

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/a.storyblok.com/f/86602/1200x1020/aadac8ecd9/appbb.jpg)

The week-long event took place from September 9th and aimed to attract IT enthusiasts, developers looking for new perspectives in the city and those specialists who manage to do what they love and enjoy life at the same time willing to share their knowledge with others.

Fall In Love With IT - BBDays4.IT

This year, we had the pleasure to attend [HashiConf Eu 2019](https://hashiconfeu.hashicorp.com/), which was held from the 8th to the 10th of July in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

HashiConf EU is a conference for developers full of product training, talks, keynotes and personal time with [HashiCorp](https://www.hashicorp.com/) developers directed towards European programmers.

The company behind it all - HashiCorp - is a San Francisco-based development company founded in 2012. Their goal is to solve development, operations and security challenges while revolutionizing datacentre management. HashiCorp tools manage physical and virtual machines, having also in mind technologies of tomorrow. 

HashiCorp are the people standing behind solutions like [Terraform](https://www.hashicorp.com/products/terraform/), [Vault](https://www.hashicorp.com/products/vault/) or [Nomad](https://www.hashicorp.com/products/nomad).

Here are the top 3 presentations from this year’s HashiConf.


### A (2nd) Tour of Terraform 0.12


Terraform is an open-source server provisioning tool created by HashiCorp (you can read more about it in our article here). The release of Terraform 0.12 was a milestone. This version introduced many features everybody has been waiting for like machine-readable output.

The presentation was prepared by **Kristin Laemmert** - Terraform core developer at HashiCorp. She revisited the presentation from HashiConf 2018 where Terraform 0.12 was first introduced. Kristin managed to cover the latest updates of the tool like improved error messages, rich value types and conditional expression improvements and explained why the release was delayed by more than 6 months. 

You can watch (or read) the presentation [here](https://www.hashicorp.com/resources/a-2nd-tour-of-terraform-0-12):

<YouTube id="RMenxRO-mZw" />


### A Keyboard Wall That Showcases Immutable Infrastructure as Code With Nomad

A representation of how a hobby project can be turned into valuable modern infrastructure practices by deploying a Raspberry Pi RGB-animated keyboard wall with Nomad, Packer, and Consul.

This was a talk by **Johan Siebens** - release engineer. The project was a technology experiment resulting in the creation of a giant wall of RHB-keyboards that is able to run various animations.

The presentation showcased how infrastructure as a code and immutable infrastructure can be tangible with tools Like Packer, Nomad, Consul.


<YouTube id="BnSyoG0pzU4" />


### GDPR Compliant Event Sourcing With Hashicorp's Vault

This presentation was focused on GDPR - the hot topic of 2018. The main question asked was how to comply with GDPR regulations using event stores with immutable and undeletable data.

The talk was given by **Bjørn Lilleeng** - a security architect in Capgemini and **Johan Sydseter** - a security consultant.

Processing data within a microservice architecture when deleting data is mandatory but unachievable can be tricky. Many options for storing events do not have proper answers to this challenge. Capgemini is using HashiCorp’s Vault for encryption and storing sensitive information. The presenters showed how to properly secure such data using Vault and shared their experiences with meeting GDPR requirements.


<YouTube id="_czdzNUZGFs" />


Overall, the conference was one of the **best-organized** conferences we had a pleasure to attend. We were truly amazed by the thought and work that went into it and are excited to see what the organizers have in stock for us for the next year.

This year, we had the pleasure to attend HashiConf Eu 2019, which was held from the 8th to the 10th of July in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  HashiConf EU is a conference for developers full of product training, talks, keynotes and personal time with HashiCorp developers directed towards European programmers.

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Insights From An Online Conference: React Summit 2021 Recap

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HashiConf EU 2019 Highlights

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