RailsConf 2008 is set to return to Portland on May 29th through June 1st. It takes a lot of time and coordination to get a conference of that magnitude put together, so we’re starting early by asking for presentation proposals from the community. The submission deadline is December 13th.

We’re really hoping to get some more advanced stuff this year. More nitty gritty details. More code on the wall. What did you learn from your last project that others could benefit from too? What techniques have you been experimenting with? What awesome plugins do you find invaluable? This is the place to share all that learning with the rest of the community.

A good reason to take that bold step into submitting a conference proposal is to raise your visibility in the community. I’ve met with lots of speakers who say that they got great business leads after presenting at a Rails conference. Your next client, boss, co-worker, or open-source collaborator may well be in the audience when you’re presenting.

Most of all, though, it’s a lot of fun to share and you tend to learn as least as much as your audience when giving a presentation at a major conference like this. I strongly recommend that you think about which areas of Ruby on Rails you’re especially passionate about and submit a proposal to share that passion.