My Incredible Google Cloud Next 26 Experience as a GDE

try { if(localStorage) { let currentUser = localStorage.getItem('current_user'); if (currentUser) { currentUser = JSON.parse(currentUser); if (currentUser.id === 548192) { document.getElementById('article-show-container').classList.add('current-user-is-article-author'); } } } } catch (e) { console.error(e); } Darren "Dazbo" Lester for Google Developer Experts Posted on Apr 28 My Incredible Google Cloud Next 26 Experience as a GDE #googlecloud #googlecloudnext #gde #vegas Hello friends! I landed back in the UK this evening, after spending the last few days in Vegas for Google Cloud Next '26. This was my 4th in-person Next event, and my second time as a speaker. Those that follow my work on other platforms (because I haven't been on dev.to for long) know that I've been writing post-Google Next blogs for a few years now. I tend to report on the key updates, what I think of them, how they might impact the teams I'm working with, and share a bit about my experience. This time, I'm going to strip it back to the experience, for a couple of reasons: After Next 26, loads of people are already writing blogs with keynote summaries. And they're all so quick! There's no value in me adding another blog with the same content. This was my first time attending and presenting as a Google Developer Expert. And this made the experience very different to previous visits. It's been an amazing experience, and I'd like to share some of it with you. (Where else am I gonna share all these cool photos?) So, grab your coffee and your cat (or is that just a me thing?) and let's go! Contents What is Google Cloud Next? Next 26 Was the Biggest Event That Week, Right? What's This Google Developer Expert Thing? And One Perk of Being a GDE? Going to Next, Baby! Corporate Note Sunday: Flying Out Monday At the Luxor A Sneaky Visit to the Pool GDE Happy Hour Tuesday: GDE Summit, Baby! Wednesday Breakfast with Jack The Opening Keynote The GDE and Certified Lounge Partner All-Stars Event Thursday Breakfast with Richard The Developer Keynote Puppies! Recording Session in the GDE Studio Pod Weezer and Benson Friday Morning Panic My Talk Poker Going Home Final Reflections Links What is Google Cloud Next? For those who haven't experienced it, Google Cloud Next is the annual flagship event for all things Google Cloud and Google AI. It’s a massive three-day (or for some of us, four-day) takeover of the Las Vegas Strip, bringing together over 30,000 developers, IT leaders, and cloud enthusiasts. It's where Google drops its biggest product announcements, deep-dives into new technologies, products and capabilities, and generally sets the pace for the cloud industry for the coming year. Some of it can be watched virtually, with the Digital Pass. But most of the session content is only available to those who attend in person. Attendees occupy all of the hotels along the strip. But the conference itself takes place in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Convention Center, which is HUGE. Next 26 Was the Biggest Event That Week, Right? Maybe not! When I arrived on Sunday night, Wrestlemania 42 was underway. Apparently, attendance for Wrestlemania over two nights was nearly 110,000! What's This Google Developer Expert Thing? I'm so glad you asked. The GDE program is an invite-only program for individuals who have proven themselves to be both experts, but also evangelists of the Google technology ecosystem. There are only about 1200 GDEs in the world, from over 90 countries. That's about 1 GDE for…

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