Joe Karlsson's Talk Archive

Here you can find a collection of my past speaking engagements.

2020

CodeLand:Distributed | An Introduction to IoT/How I Built an IoT Kitty Litter Box Using JavaScript | July 23rd, 2020

My favorite things in life are cats, computers and crappy ideas, so I decided to combine all three and make an IoT (Internet of Things) litter box using a Raspberry Pi and JavaScript! If you have ever wanted to get build your own IoT project, but didn’t know how to start, then this is the talk for you.

Together, we will go through how I setup my IoT Litter Box from start to finish. Including how to setup Node.js on a Raspberry Pi and how to connect sensors to a Raspberry Pi and how to read the sensor inputs with Node.js.

Conference: Codeland Distributed [virtual] July 23rd, 2020

An Introduction To IoT (Internet of Toilets); Or How I Built an IoT Kitty Litter Box Using JavaScript

Conference: IoT Innovation Latam [virtual] September 7th-8th, 2020

Live Coders Conf | An Introduction To IoT (Internet of Toilets 🚽) | June 6th, 2020

https://atndesign.github.io/Live-coders-conference/

JavaScript Jabber | JSJ 436: MongoDB Basics with Joe Karlsson | June 16th, 2020

What is MongoDB? How does it work? How is it different than a standard relational database? How does it fit into a modern web app? This week, the panel gets the answers to these questions and more when they talk to Joe Karlsson, Software Engineer and Developer Advocate at MongoDB.

https://javascriptjabber.com/jsj-436-mongodb-basics-with-joe-karlsson

JSJ 436: MongoDB Basics with Joe Karlsson

JavaScript Jabber | JSJ 432: Internet of Things (IoT) with Joe Karlsson | May 5th, 2020

Joe Karlsson is a developer advocate at MongoDB. He and the panel walk through the different approaches, uses, and libraries for building IoT with JavaScript

https://javascriptjabber.com/jsj-432-internet-of-things-iot-with-joe-karlsson

JSJ 432: Internet of Things (IoT) with Joe Karlsson

Node.js Global Summit | From SQL to NoSQL: A Gentle Introduction For JS Developers | May 30th, 2020

Data Architecture Day | MongoDB Schema Design Best Practices | May 18th, 2020

Have you ever wondered, “How do I model my schema for my application?” It’s one of the most common questions devs have pertaining to MongoDB. And the answer is, it depends. This is because document databases have a rich vocabulary that is capable of expressing data relationships in more nuanced ways than SQL. There are many things to consider when picking a schema. is your app read or write-heavy? What data is frequently accessed together? What are your performance considerations? How will your data set grow and scale?

In this talk, we will discuss the basics of data modeling using real-world examples. You will learn common methodologies and vocabulary you can use when designing your database schema on your application.

MongoDB Schema Design Best Practices | April 2nd-4th, 2020 | MidwestPHP

Have you ever wondered, “How do I model my schema for my application?” It’s one of the most common questions devs have pertaining to MongoDB. And the answer is, it depends. This is because document databases have a rich vocabulary that is capable of expressing data relationships in more nuanced ways than SQL. There are many things to consider when picking a schema. is your app read or write heavy? What data is frequently accessed together? What are your performance considerations? How will your data set grow and scale?

In this talk, we will discuss the basics of data modeling using real world examples. You will learn common methodologies and vocabulary you can use when designing your database schema on you application.

Conference: Midwest PHP, Minneapolis, MN; April 2nd – 4th, 2020

An Introduction To IoT (Internet of Toilets 🚽); Or How I Built an IoT Kitty Litter Box Using JavaScript

My favorite things in life are cats 🐈, computers 🖥 and crappy ideas 💩, so I decided to combine all three and make an IoT (Internet of Things) litter box using a Raspberry Pi and JavaScript! If you have ever wanted to get build your own IoT project, but didn’t know how to start, then this is the talk for you.

Conference: (mini) Minnebar, Minneapolis, MN; April 25th, 2020

A Gentle Introduction to Building Serverless Apps

| May 1st, 2020 | Byteconf React 2020

Do you want to crank out features the business wants, or spend a lot of time writing code and capacity planning for authentication, authorization, and complicated data access? Of course we all know the answer.

In this session will begin a beginner friendly introduction to Serverless computing. We will then do a quick overview of the MongoDB ecosystem in the 3 major cloud providers for rapid application building. Then we will walk through a guided tutorial of how to use the MongoDB Stitch serverless platform to build your elastically scalable microservices based app within minutes, complete with end-user authentication and access rules, on a fully managed MongoDB cluster in your favorite cloud platform.

Conference: Byteconf React 2020; May 1st, 2020

From SQL to NoSQL: A Gentle Introduction For JS Developers

When you need to model data, is your first instinct to start breaking it down into rows and columns? Mine used to be too. When you want to develop apps in a modern, agile way, NoSQL databases can be the best option. Come to this talk to learn how to take advantage of all that NoSQL databases have to offer and discover the benefits of changing your mindset from the legacy, tabular way of modeling data. We’ll compare and contrast the terms and concepts in SQL databases and MongoDB, explain the benefits of using MongoDB compared to SQL databases, and walk through data modeling basics so you feel confident as you begin using MongoDB.

This talk is for JavaScript developers who are familiar with the basics of SQL and are interested in learning more about NoSQL. As a JavaScript developer, understanding the basics of how NoSQL databases work will make you better equipped to work with backend teams and give you a broader understanding of how modern web applications are built.

Conference: JS VidCon 2020, May7th, 2020

Bechdel.io: How We Used MongoDB To Help Make Film More Inclusive

What do The Social Network, Harry Potter, The Original Star Wars Trilogy and Toy Story all have in common? None of these great films pass the Bechdel Test. The Bechdel Test asks whether a film meets all of the following criteria:

1) It includes at least two women,
2) who have at least one conversation,
3) about something other than a man or men.

In this talk, we will discuss how a brother and sister team created, bechdel.io, a film script parsing tool that automatically tests film scripts to determine whether or not they pass the Bechdel Test in a fraction of a second. We discuss the technical details of how we created the tools, including how we used MongoDB to help us scale and create new insights and discoveries. We will also cover highlights from our academic research that has emerged as a result of this software.

Conference: mongodb.live, Remote, June 9th-10th 2020

Building Your First GraphQL Client in JS

In this talk, you will learn about GraphQL – a standard that unifies server and client communication and how to use it with MongoDB. GraphQL was designed to address several known flaws with RESTful APIs, specifically around things like non-standard CRUD operations, response validation, error handling, in-memory state management, etc. GraphQL and the tooling around it is a game-changer and by the end of this talk, you’ll learn how to use it with MongoDB to supercharge your applications.

We will answer the following questions. What is the philosophy behind GraphQL? How do you architect a scalable schema? How can GraphQL boost productivity? How can you avoid common pitfalls?

We will then get a GraphQL server up and running while focusing on exploring real-world patterns for architecting our schema. We will discuss and implement practical steps to improve query performance, error handling and caching.

Conference: mongodb.live, Remote, June 9th-10th 2020

From SQL to NoSQL: A Gentle Introduction For Developers – March 10th, 2020

Conference: JavaMN Meetup, Minneapolis, MN, 03/10/2020

An Introduction To IoT (Internet of Toilets 🚽); Or How I Built an IoT Kitty Litter Box Using JavaScript

Conference: Prime Digital Academy, Minneapolis, MN, 03/02/2020

A Gentle Introduction to IoT – February 26th – 28th, 2020

Have you ever wanted to get started on your own Internet of Things (IoT) project, but didn’t know how to start? Well, now it’s easier than ever to jump in and start creating your own IoT device using JavaScript.

In this talk, we will be getting our hands dirty the Raspberry Pi and Node.js. Together, we will setup a IoT project using Node and JavaScript to show you how you can get started with this exciting new field, today!

You will leave this talk with an understanding of:

How to setup Node.js on a Raspberry Pi
Connecting sensors to a Raspberry Pi and reading the inputs with Node

Conference: ConFoo Montreal; Montreal, Canada; February 26th – 28th, 2020

From SQL to NoSQL: A Gentle Introduction For Developers

Conference: ConFoo Montreal; Montreal, Canada; February 26th – 28th, 2020

Getting Started with GraphQL And Atlas

GraphQL’s principles of simply describing the data you want and getting predictable results have led to an explosion in popularity – replacing REST APIs more and more. With Atlas’ new GraphQL service it’s simple to generate a schema and API on top of your data, helping you connect your data and application quicker than ever. Today we’ll show you the process step-by-step and give you a sneak peak at what’s coming next!

More resources here: https://joekarlsson.com/2020/01/getting-started-with-graphql-and-atlas/

2019

Bringing JavaScript to the IoT Edge – Dec. 11th-12th, 2019

The number of IoT devices is expected to be around 18 billion by 2022 and be a market of over $500 Billion. Edge computing is becoming an even bigger requirement. As a versatile language, JavaScript is in a great position to power many of these devices. This session will explore why and where JavaScript is being used in this industry segment and specifically the role that Node.JS plays in the Internet of Things.

Data collection in the IoT arena comes in fast and from a variety of sensors and devices. How to model that data is important for analysis downstream. We’ll also take a look at some different schema design patterns to think about when storing the data in a modern database, like MongoDB.

Conference: Node + JS Interactive 2019, Montreal, Canada; December 11th-12th, 2019

More Resources here: https://joekarlsson.com/2019/11/iot-and-js-a-gentle-introduction-to-the-internet-of-things/

IoT with JS (?!?!) – A Gentle Introduction to IoT – Sept. 28th, 2019

You will leave this talk with an understanding of:

WebSockets
How to setup Node.js on a Raspberry Pi
Connecting sensors to a Raspberry Pi and reading the inputs with Node.

Conference: NYC Code Camp 2019, New York, New York

IoT with JS (?!?!) – A Gentle Introduction to IoT – Sept. 28th, 2019

You will leave this talk with an understanding of:

WebSockets
How to setup Node.js on a Raspberry Pi
Connecting sensors to a Raspberry Pi and reading the inputs with Node.

Conference: Grizzhacks, Rochester, Michigan

JS and Parallel Processing(!?) – August 7th – 9th, 2019

Host: Midwest JS – Minneapolis, MN

Building a GraphQL Client in JavaScript – August 7th – 9th, 2019

GraphQL is the future of API. It’s powerful enough to describe all of Facebook, yet simple enough to be easy to learn and use by its product developers. If you have ever worked with an API, you have probably bumped into the limitations of REST. In this workshop, we will start with the basics. What is the philosophy behind GraphQL? How do you architect a scalable schema? How can GraphQL boost productivity? How can you avoid common pitfalls? We will then get a GraphQL server up and running together, while focusing on exploring real world patterns for architecting our schema. We will discuss and implement practical steps to improve query performance, error handling and caching.

Host: Midwest JS – Minneapolis, MN

A Gentle Introduction to Building Serverless Apps with MongoDB Stitch

Host: ServerlessMN – Minneapolis, MN

Bechdel.io: The Future of Film and Feminism – July 25th, 2019

This collaborative digital humanities project is the product of a shared passion for film, feminism, and the creative potential of technology. By combining the talents and interests of an American Studies scholar and an independent software engineer, we’ve created an innovative data mining tool for feminist film analysis.

The Bechdel Test asks whether a film meets the following criteria: 1) It includes at least two women, 2) who have at least one conversation, 3) about something other than a man or men. The bechdel.io film script parsing tool automatically tests film scripts to determine whether or not they pass the Bechdel Test in just a few seconds.

The importance of this tool lies in its ability to analyze films on the macro-level. While anyone can sit through a film with a notebook and pencil in order to determine if it passes the Bechdel Test, this is a slow and cumbersome process. With the tool we’ve created, the process is automated, which allows massive amounts of data to be generated with ease. Thus, data can be produced for large bodies of film, i.e. a certain director’s filmography, a certain actress’ body of work, or for the films released in a specific year.

We view this tool as a form of feminist activism. As such, the software is open source and available for use by anyone and everyone.

Host: The Association for Computers and the Humanities – Pittsburgh, PA

Building High Performance React Applications – July 17th – 19th, 2019

React is built with performance in mind. But when is React slow? In this talk we’ll discuss common bottlenecks in React and when you might be making your program work harder than it should. You will learn practical ways to speed up your real world React applications today.

Host: Kansas City Developer Conference – Kansas City, Missouri

Building a GraphQL Client in JavaScript – July 17th – 19th, 2019

Host: Kansas City Developer Conference – Kansas City, Missouri

JS and Parallel Processing(!?) – June 4th – 5th, 2019

Host: Praire Dev Con – Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Building High Performance React Applications – June 4th – 5th, 2019

Host: Praire Dev Con – Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Extreme Web Performance Optimizations – May 16th, 2019

The web has made great progress in enabling fast experiences, but building a fast site today isn’t trivial. At Best Buy, we want to build a performance culture in order to create a better shopping experience for our customers. In this talk, I will show you how to find and fix the most common web performance bottlenecks to improve your UX by using tools like Lighthouse and Chrome DevTools, and discover the latest browser APIs (e.g. Service Workers, Async Images, Fetch Priorities) to get more control over your loading experience.

A Gentle Introduction To Big O – May 22nd, 2019

It is common for coders to jump straight into writing code, without thinking about the best way to do things. Algorithm complexity is just a way to formally measure how fast a program or algorithm runs.It is important to be aware, at least partially, of different algorithm complexities so you don’t end up accidentally writing code that takes 10 times longer than necessary. This talk is designed to introduce you to algorithm complexity analysis, and the big O (pronounced “big oh”) notation

Host: Open Source North – Minneapolis, MN

JS and Parallel Processing(!?) – April 27th , 2019

For a long time, JavaScript was missing any kind of processing threads. While the single-threaded model added to developer comfort, it also made the platform unable to do serious and time-consuming calculations, and the only way to circumvent it was to do it on a remote server. Luckily, with the introduction and widespread adoption of Web Workers, we can now do resource-intensive calculations on background threads. In this talk, we will explore Web Workers, how and when you can use them, and their peculiarities.

Host: Minnebar – Minneapolis, MN

Link: https://sessions.minnestar.org/sessions/699

UX + Engineering: A Tale of Two Cities – May 6th -9th, 2019

Designers and engineers are often seen as complete opposites. Designers are portrayed to be sensitive creatives, and engineers as cold logisticians. But this doesn’t have to be the case. Join us (a designer and UI developer) as we show you how to collaborate together better and make amazing products. You can teach better communication and empathy skills for everyone on your team, and we will show you how. You’ll leave this talk with a deeper understanding of how to bridge the gap between designers and developers through practical tips and tools we use for developing empathy on our teams.

Host: NDC Minnesota – Minneapolis, MN

Link: https://ndcminnesota.com/talk/ux-engineering-a-tale-of-two-cities

IoT with JS (?!?!) – A Gentle Introduction to IoT – Joe Karlsson – Byteconf JavaScript 2019 – March 23rd, 2019

In this talk, we will be getting our hands dirty the Raspberry Pi and Node.js. Together, we will be writing a program to visualize sound levels on the web in real time. With Node on a Raspberry Pi, we will listen to a sound sensor and then send that data to a webpage so we can visualize the data live! Sounds cool right? In this talk, we will cover
- How to setup Node.js on a Raspberry Pi
- Connecting sensors to a Raspberry Pi and reading the inputs with Node.
Host: Byteconf JavaScript 2019
- Byteconf brings the best JS speakers around the world to your home! Conferences are great, but flights, hotels, and tickets are expensive, so not everyone can go. Byteconf is streamed on Twitch and YouTube, for free, so anyone and everyone can attend.

A Gentle Introduction to Async-Await -February 28th, 2019

I will cover the basics of Promises in JavaScript, then introduce Async-Await. I discuss why we have them, what problems they solve, how they relate to Promises, and edge cases to consider when using Promises in your code base.
The talk was given before a live class at Prime Digital Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

How UX and Engineering Can Collaborate Together Better – January 9th, 2019
- Engineers and UX Designers frequently work together, but sometimes it feels each side is speaking completely different languages. The best teams I have been on have always had strong communication with each team. We will show you our tips on how to have a stronger working relationship with the other side.
- With special guest speaker Eddie Ecker.
- Host: Prime Digital Academy
- Slides: https://speakerdeck.com/joekarlsson/ux-plus-engineering-a-tale-of-two-cities

2018

Building High-Performance React Applications – November 29 – 30th, 2018
- React is built with performance in mind. But when is React slow? In this talk we’ll discuss common bottlenecks in React and when you might be making your program work harder than it should. You will learn practical ways to speed up your real world React applications today.
- Host: Full Stack Toronto – Toronto, Canada

Building High-Performance React Applications – October 16 -17th, 2018
- React is built with performance in mind. But when is React slow? In this talk we’ll discuss common bottlenecks in React and when you might be making your program work harder than it should. You will learn practical ways to speed up your real world React applications today.
- Host: Praire Dev Con – Regina, Saskatawan Canada
- Slides: http://slides.com/joekarlsson/high-performance-react
Building a GraphQL Client in JavaScript Workshop – Aug 10th, 2018
- GraphQL is the future of API. It’s powerful enough to describe all of Facebook, yet simple enough to be easy to learn and use by its product developers. If you have ever worked with an API, you have probably bumped into the limitations of REST. In this workshop, we will start with the basics. What is the philosophy behind GraphQL? How do you architect a scalable schema? How can GraphQL boost productivity? How can you avoid common pitfalls? We will then get a GraphQL server up and running together, while focusing on exploring real world patterns for architecting our schema. We will discuss and implement practical steps to improve query performance, error handling and caching.
- Host: Praire Dev Con – Regina, Saskatawan Canada

Building High Performance React Applications – October 10 -12th, 2018
- React is built with performance in mind. But when is React slow? In this talk we’ll discuss common bottlenecks in React and when you might be making your program work harder than it should. You will learn practical ways to speed up your real world React applications today.
- Host: JS Interactive 2018 – Vancouver, Canada
- Slides: http://slides.com/joekarlsson/high-performance-react

What happens when you type ‘google.com’ into your browser’s address box and press enter? – September 15th, 2018
- An attempt to answer the age old interview question “What happens when you type google.com into your browser and press enter?”
- Host: Prime Academy
Functional Programming For People That Hate Math – August 20th, 2018
- Many of us have heard of Functional Programming, and all the benefits it is supposed to bring to our code. But how can it be applied to the real-world, running production software?
- Host: Best Buy

Building High Performance React Applications – Aug 9th, 2018
- React is built with performance in mind. But when is React slow? In this talk we’ll discuss common bottlenecks in React and when you might be making your program work harder than it should. You will learn practical ways to speed up your real world React applications today.
- Host: MidwestJS – Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Slides: http://slides.com/joekarlsson/high-performance-react
Building a GraphQL Client in JavaScript Workshop – Aug 10th, 2018
- GraphQL is the future of API. It’s powerful enough to describe all of Facebook, yet simple enough to be easy to learn and use by its product developers. If you have ever worked with an API, you have probably bumped into the limitations of REST. In this workshop, we will start with the basics. What is the philosophy behind GraphQL? How do you architect a scalable schema? How can GraphQL boost productivity? How can you avoid common pitfalls? We will then get a GraphQL server up and running together, while focusing on exploring real world patterns for architecting our schema. We will discuss and implement practical steps to improve query performance, error handling and caching.
- Host: MidwestJS – Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Slides: https://slides.com/joekarlsson/graphql
Building High Performance React Applications – June 14th, 2018
- React is built with performance in mind. But when is React slow? In this talk we’ll discuss common bottlenecks in React and when you might be making your program work harder than it should. You will learn practical ways to speed up your real world React applications today.
- Host: Open Source North
- Slides: http://slides.com/joekarlsson/high-performance-react

Proud to have @JoeKarlsson1 speaking at OSN – Building High Performance React Applications. #osn2018 pic.twitter.com/XMRKvZdnWD
— Open Source North (@OpenSourceNorth) April 5, 2018

Building High Performance React Applications – June 4 – 5th, 2018
- React is built with performance in mind. But when is React slow? In this talk we’ll discuss common bottlenecks in React and when you might be making your program work harder than it should. You will learn practical ways to speed up your real world React applications today.
- Host: WebRebels 2018 – Oslo, Norway
- Slides: http://slides.com/joekarlsson/high-performance-react
- Recap: https://medium.com/shark-bytes/web-rebels-2018-55a4621e6ca6

Never Work For Free: Career Advice for New and Veteran Developers – May 22nd, 2018
- Join me as I uncover industry insights from experienced developers, as I breakdown critical career advice for job-seekers of all levels! You will leave with practical advice and tips for growing your career.
- Host: Prime Digital Academy

Functional Programming For People That Hate Math – May 8th, 2018
- Many of us have heard of Functional Programming, and all the benefits it is supposed to bring to our code. But how can it be applied to the real-world, running production software?
- Host: Minneapolis Jr. Devs Monthly Meetup
- Slides: https://slides.com/joekarlsson/functional

Building High Performance React Applications – April, 30th 2018
- React is built with performance in mind. But when is React slow? In this talk we’ll discuss common bottlenecks in React and when you might be making your program work harder than it should. You will learn practical ways to speed up your real world React applications today.
- Host: Best Buy Corporate Headquaters
- Slides: http://slides.com/joekarlsson/high-performance-react
Building High Performance React Applications – April, 19th 2018
- React is built with performance in mind. But when is React slow? In this talk we’ll discuss common bottlenecks in React and when you might be making your program work harder than it should. You will learn practical ways to speed up your real world React applications today.
- Host: MXNow
- Slides: http://slides.com/joekarlsson/high-performance-react
Building a GraphQL Client in JavaScript Workshop – April, 19th 2018
- GraphQL is the future of API. It’s powerful enough to describe all of Facebook, yet simple enough to be easy to learn and use by its product developers. If you have ever worked with an API, you have probably bumped into the limitations of REST. In this workshop, we will start with the basics. What is the philosophy behind GraphQL? How do you architect a scalable schema? How can GraphQL boost productivity? How can you avoid common pitfalls? We will then get a GraphQL server up and running together, while focusing on exploring real world patterns for architecting our schema. We will discuss and implement practical steps to improve query performance, error handling and caching.
- Host: MXNow
- Slides: https://slides.com/joekarlsson/graphql
Building High Performance React Applications – April, 14th 2018
- React is built with performance in mind. But when is React slow? In this talk we’ll discuss common bottlenecks in React and when you might be making your program work harder than it should. You will learn practical ways to speed up your real world React applications today.
- Host: MinneBar
- Slides: http://slides.com/joekarlsson/high-performance-react
Building High Performance React Applications – February 15th, 2018
- React is built with performance in mind. But when is React slow? In this talk we’ll discuss common bottlenecks in React and when you might be making your program work harder than it should. You will learn practical ways to speed up your real world React applications today.
- Host: React Minneapolis

How to Ace the Coding Interview – February 15th, 2018
- I am here to help you through the coding interview process. Learn how to uncover the hints and hidden details in a question, discover how to break down a problem into manageable chunks, develop techniques to unstick yourself when stuck, learn (or re-learn) core computer science concepts.
- Host: Prime Academy
- Slides: https://slides.com/joekarlsson/coding-interview/
bechdel.io [Lightening Talk] – January, 31 2018
- I’ll demo one of my exciting new side projects, bechdel.io, and discuss the wide open world of the digital humanities.
- Host: JSMN
- JavaScriptMn Monthly Meetup

2017

Mastering React: How To Test Your React Application – December 2017
- Testing Front End applications is hard to wrap your head around. We will dig into how we test new React features for high traffic web applications using Jest, and Enzyme. We will cover the three levels of testing:1) Unit testing React 2) Behavioral testing our interactive React Components 3) Integration testing our entire application.
- Slides
- Host: React Minneapolis
- Mastering React: How To Test Your React Application
Connecting Hardware Up To The Internet – March 2017
- Exploring how to connect your IoT devices up to the world-wide web.
- Host: DevLeague

Master of Ceremonies – Stupid Shit No One In Hawaii Needs and Terrible Ideas “Hackathon” – Jan 2017

Gamification and IoT – March 2017
- How can you increase engagement on your platform? Together, we will explore ways to add gamefication to your apps.
- Host: University of Hawaii at Manoa
- Slides
Gamification and IoT – March 2017
- How can you increase engagement on your platform? Together, we will explore ways to add gamefication to your apps.
- Host: University of Hawaii at Manoa

2016

Making Minecraft Mods – May 6th, 2016
- Mods change the way the game is played. Use code, decompiling tools like Minecraft Coder Pack, or a mod generator to create your own custom Minecraft mod.
- Maui STEM Conference
- Program