We've asked a bunch of FITC speakers what they are looking forward to this year. Here's what Stacey Mulcahy had to offer:

And so the countdown begins. This year marks the 6th time I've been to FITC in Toronto, and the beginning of April always starts the same way for me - as a countdown to the days where I'll find myself in Toronto. This year I am pretty stoked for the event and here is why:

1. Speaker Line up

The speaker line up is solid as always. If you haven't noticed that Golan Levin and Zachary Lieberman are speaking... you deserve a spanking with a wooden spoon and should be sent to bed without dinner. Maybe this will convince you that I'm right. Both are amazing speakers and I know personally, when I am seeking to be inspired by a presentation/session, I always walk away feeling re-energized after seeing these two.

2. Networking

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you don't walk away from this conference without having met some new people or making some new connections, you're probably not doing the whole networking thing right. There are ample opportunities to  make new connections - so find yourself a conference buddy and challenge yourself to meet as many new people as you can.

3. Participating

I'm speaking this year - and FITC has a special place in my heart because they gave me the opportunity to try the speaker hat on for size. I'll be discussing a project we recently slaved away on at Teknision - trying to pull and share lessons on team development, r+d, project process and technical insight - and do so in a manner that promises to be a bit more entertaining. No, I won't be reading the bullet points from my own preso back to you :) I'm also part of two panels that I'm pretty stoked about - one is talking about team development (There is no I in Team but there is Meat moderated by the love of my industry life Joshua Hirsh of Big Spaceship) with some very good friends, one of whom I have had the pleasure of actually working with - Mathew Ray from CP+B. The second is a freelance panel moderated by Ann-Marie Cheung - called "Reality Cheque - Running a Freelance Business". Whew. I'm gonna be busy.

4. Beer

I like beer. FITC has it. Think about that.

So let the countdown begin! If you see me there, please come up and say hi, and that way you at least checked off #2 on my list. Buy me a beer and see my preso, and you've done the entire list in one fell swoop.

p.s.

I'll be covering the days events for O'Reilly's InsideRIA - and I'm bringing my Flip Mino HD - I smell trouble. Come see me and get interviewed!