Talks

Talks Jeremy has given at conferences and meetups.

Recorded

Baltic Ruby 2024

Refactoring Volatile Views into Cohesive Components

It’s easy for models to grow out of control, accumulating methods, attributes and responsibilities. But you know what can be worse? The view layer: a veritable wasteland of messy markup and leaking logic. Let’s look at how to refactor that mess into clean, cohesive components with ViewComponent.

Blue Ridge Ruby 2024

A Rubyist’s Guide to Existential Dread

It’s easy for models to grow out of control, accumulating methods, attributes and responsibilities. But you know what can be worse? The view layer: a veritable wasteland of messy markup and leaking logic. Let’s look at how to refactor that mess into clean, cohesive components with ViewComponent.

Friendly.rb 2023

Making it as an Indie Developer

Have you considered a life of freelancing, consulting, or solopreneurship? Whatever you want to call it, one thing is certain: you’ll be on your own. Let’s talk about what it will take to survive, and eventually thrive, as an indie developer. From making the transition, to finding customers and managing projects, to thinking like a business and leveling up. You’ll come away with my strongest defense of the indie life and a broad-strokes outline for success.

RubyConf Mini 2022

Solo: Building Successful Web Apps By Your Lonesome

Whether by choice or by circumstance, you may find yourself developing a web application alone. Congratulations! You’ve got the house to yourself and no one telling you what to do. But at the same time, there’s no one to share the burden or make up for your shortcomings. How do you build well and ensure project success? We’ll look at the pros and cons of working alone, what kinds of projects are well-suited to solo development, strategies for professional growth, and development and operational processes that will save you time and help you sleep better at night.

Unrecorded

Upstate Ruby Meetup 2024

Calm Rails Upgrades

Upgrading a Rails app can be daunting and stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Jeremy Smith has been building (and upgrading) Rails apps for 15 years. He will be sharing the perspective and process he’s developed over that time. This talk will assume you've worked in a Rails codebase, but it should be valuable whether you're new to upgrades or a seasoned pro. The goal is for you to come away with an approach that will make your next Rails upgrade calm and oddly satisfying.