UPDATE: The maps (click on the images below) are now updated with the same numbers shown Monday morning at the conference: these are preliminary numbers, and we have had more than a hundred additional registrations, but these are relevant nonetheless.
When we held the first TOC conference last year in San Jose, it was meant to signal that many of the changes in store for publishing would result from the technology coming out of Silicon Valley. Certainly an important statement to make in theory, but in practice many of the key players we set out to reach balked at the cross-country journey.
Moving the conference to New York this year puts us in the heart of the publishing universe, but it most certainly doesn’t mean New York is the only game in town (or town in the game, I suppose…). I’ve been closely watching our registrations this year, and a look at the geographic breakdown reveals some interesting data. These numbers are still rough and preliminary, but interesting nonetheless.
Here’s a worldwide breakdown of attendees (these maps were generated using DabbleDB, an awesome online database tool). While the majority of registrations so far come from the U.S., Europe is well into double digits, and we have at least a few attendees coming from almost every region on earth. (Note: click the maps to get an updated and interactive version.)
Looking at just the U.S., New York is certainly well-represented, but the majority of attendees are coming from elsewhere, with strong numbers from the Midwest and West (I should clarify that the California and Massachusetts numbers do include O’Reilly staff.)
While I still believe moving the conference to New York was the right decision, I’m excited to see so many people from well beyond the five boroughs eager to join the conversation.
Registration for TOC 2008 is still open, and you can save 15% with discount code toc08avs15 when signing up.