When planning for this year’s conference kicked off back in January, it was decided that we would take a break in 2016. So, we wanted this year to be BIG!

We made this decision simply because of the time and effort involved to organise a conference of this scale. Every one of us that has been involved over the years has done so because we love the event and the community it supports, but we also all have full time jobs and have to do this over evenings and weekends. Organising a conference is a full-time job on its own, so fitting it around everything else leaves little time for sleep!

A lot of people know me these days because of my involvement with ShropGeek. Everywhere I go I talk about ShropGeek; I will talk to pretty much anyone that will listen, and I often get this response in return:

“I don’t think I’m *geeky* enough to come to Shropgeek.”

I can understand why, the word *geek* often comes with a pre-conceived stereotype, and while all stereotypes usually exist for a reason, I don’t consider it to be an accurate representation of the people that attend ShropGeek events.

ShropGeek is much less about the *Geek* (although that certainly helps) than people think and much more about the community.

So what I thought I would do in this guest blog is explain some of what I have gained from my involvement to show you how its all about an open and friendly community and not *geeky*-ness.