On January 12th, 2025, the ShmooCon hacker conference held it's 20th and final gathering. I was lucky enough to be able to not only attend the final show but also to interview the founders, Heidi and Bruce Potter. We talk about how it all got started, what made this hacker con so special and beloved, and hear some hilarious stories from the past twenty years of hacker shenanigans in Washington D.C.

Interview Notes

ShmooCon: https://www.shmoocon.org/ 

ShmooCon 2025 sessions: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnKSfJ5rXw95HSPVl5L7dqhKpVAx3q_j0 

Turngate: https://www.turngate.io/ 

HOPE conference: https://www.hope.net/ 

BSides: https://bsides.org/ 

Cackalackycon: https://cackalackycon.org/ 

Thotcon: https://www.thotcon.org/ 

SummerCon: https://www.summercon.org/ 

PancakesCon: https://pancakescon.com/ 

Further Info

My book: https://fdsd.me/book 

My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 

Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 

Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 

Recommend news stories: send to news [at] firewallsdontstopdragons.com 

Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 

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Table of Contents

0:00:00: Intro

0:03:43: How and why did you start ShmooCon?

0:11:05: Why are hacker conferences so different from regular trade shows?

0:17:19: Why limit attendence and how did this give rise to LobbyCon?

0:21:52: What makes a good con? What's your post-con recovery like?

0:27:26: Why did you decide to end the con?

0:29:54: How have other cons influenced ShmooCon?

0:33:16: Why is it important to be so transparent about your con?

0:37:38: What are your favorite ShmooCon stories?

0:44:54: What's it like running a conference as a married couple?

0:49:39: What are you most proud of with ShmooCon?

0:52:13: Was there anything you wish you had done but didn't?

0:56:07: Did you ever consider handing ShmooCon off to someone else?

0:58:13: So what now?

1:00:58: What are some ShmooCon alternatives?

1:06:36: Wrap-up

1:08:07: Attend a hacker con!

1:09:35: Patron bonus preview

1:10:24: Looking ahead