A thank you to the people behind-the-scenes at WWDC24

I also give away some pins!

Jun 20, 2024

The [Side Quest] series features “developer-adjacent” short stories and adventures that accompany my attempt to design, code, and ship one new app every month.

Bonus: keep reading to see how to win one of my WWDC24 pins!
hint: it involves subscribing ⬇️

I finally got to attend WWDC!!

Let me back up a little first — getting a ticket to Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference is a little like getting a hit on a pair of Kobes in the SNKRS app. You tap “enter lottery”, send up a prayer, and wait to see if the sneaker gods have blessed you that day.1 Surprise — they usually don’t.

But this year, after ten years of watching the keynote from the sideline, the WWDC gods finally smiled down upon me and sent me an invite! 🎉🎊🥳

Swift (Apple’s programming language) also celebrated its 10-year mark

Thank You Apple Crew

In my eagerness (read: my lifelong anxiety about being late to things2), I headed straight to the Welcome Reception as soon as my plane landed. This brilliant plan got me there a solid hour and a half too early and I found myself being the first non-Apple developer on campus. 😅

Seeing me, the Crew immediately started cheering, clapping, and breaking out into a “DUB DUB” — “DEE CEE” call and response chant. This, of course, sent me into an internal panic:

Oh F@#$. I am here way too early.
These are sarcastic claps and cheers right?
They’re definitely making fun of me for being the first person here.

Now, forgive me for these cynical thoughts, but if you’ve never been greeted with this type of enthusiasm for merely showing up somewhere, it’s hard not to be weirded out by this! I mean, my normal WWDC week involves sitting in a conference room at work, exchanging wisecracks with other developers about the over-the-top intros and corny jokes. It also includes having the Android team watch the keynote with you and saying, “Uhm, we got that feature 3 years ago. Where ya been, iOS?”

There is a huge discrepancy between those two experiences!

Anyways, those extra ninety minutes gave me a chance to strike up conversations with the Apple crew members and that’s when I learned that they, too, had to apply and enter a lottery to be at WWDC. So they weren’t there by mandate or by chance — they truly wanted to be there just as much as the developers did. Eventually, their pure energy, enthusiasm, and genuine kindness began to rub off on me, and I felt myself relax. It was clear that Apple had not selected them at random but for their ability to create an inclusive and uplifting environment.

I can't thank them enough for transforming my first WWDC experience into something unforgettable. Their positivity and excitement were exactly what I needed to overcome my initial nerves and fully embrace the event. Thank you, Apple Crew, for making my first WWDC so memorable!

Lilly (who leads the team) would happily yell “LOS ANGEEELLLESS” when she saw me. We ended up exchanging real names but I asked if she could keep referring to me as LOS ANGEELLESSS because “Daniel” was so boring and she happily obliged. Cyrus also kept emphatically calling me “Number One!!!” for, ya know, being first in line. I didn’t get a picture with Britain and Rachel from the Atlanta retail stores but thank you to you two for such a lovely time up there!

Photo Dump

There’s already plenty of content about WWDC24’s actual announcements (and the fact that I’m publishing this a week later), so I’ll spare you the repetition. Instead, here are some of my favorite photos from the week!