Speaker Information

Speaker Information for OLF Conference 2025

Thank you for agreeing to speak at the OLF Conference. These are things we ask of you. We’ve tried to arrange them in chronological order.

In the recent past there has been a surge of talks at various conferences that have contained inappropriate content. Please remember that OLF aims to be a family-friendly and professional event. Anyone who cannot meet this basic standard will be escorted from the stage immediately. If you are not sure whether something is inappropriate, please contact us at speakers@olfconference.org.

  1. You must register for the conference. Do this now. Use the free “Speaker Pass” level on our ticketing platform.
  2. Please make sure your hotel and transportation needs are met. Unless previously agreed to we cannot help with these costs. It does not appear that any more rooms are available under our group rate – the conference hotel might have availability through their normal reservation system, or there are many other hotels in close proximity.
  3. All slides must be provided no later than December 1. Slides should be in a non-proprietary format such as PDF or OpenDocument. There is no direct upload on the web site, so just e-mail them to speakers@olfconference.org.
  4. Unless otherwise arranged, be prepared to use your own laptop, connecting via HDMI type A cable to a projector. You will need to bring an adapter if you have a different port. Have a back-up plan ready in case there is networking trouble or your demo explodes (as they tend to do). Please contact us promptly if there is a problem.
  5. If your talk will involve playing audio, we will have a 1/8 inch audio plug available for you to connect to our sound system (audio via HDMI is not supported). The hotel will provide WiFi access for your use. Just in case, be prepared in the event networking isn’t available for some reason.
  6. You are invited to our Friday evening happy hour (please don’t purchase the add-on ticket for this; it is our thank you for being a speaker). This will be at Barley’s in downtown Columbus from 6:00 to 8:00pm. We’ll be in the Brewcadia room upstairs.
  7. When you arrive, you will need to check in for the conference at the registration desk to get your badge. After this, please notify the Speaker Chair by phone, text, or in person at least two hours prior to your talk. (See the conference schedule for time and location.) If we don’t get notice that you’ve arrived, we may give away your time slot to someone else!
  8. If you want to test out your equipment with our AV setup, we will have soundcheck opportunities from 8:30 to 8:45am and 1:00 to 1:15pm.
  9. Hour-long talk slots are 50 minutes in length and half-hour slots are 25 minutes. This includes time for people to ask questions. Please be prompt in finishing so that the next speaker can set up. Arrive in the room at least 10 minutes before your speaking time so that you can settle in and make sure everything is working.
  10. We are planning to stream some talks via our YouTube channel. You are welcome to take your own audio or video of your talk.

Thanks! We are aiming to have the best quality conference and we know you are, too.

This page may change at any time. The Ohio LinuxFest reserves the right to cancel any talk at any time for any reason.