Campaign Monitor is a great home grown web app success story. Dave and Ben will share their experiences of taking an idea they believed in, working like mad to implement it, and getting it to market. Along the way you'll hear about how the idea was born, deciding what to build, pricing, building the product, getting the word out, handling support from Sydney, and all those things you'll never know till you try.
Dave Greiner and Ben Richardson
Dave Greiner and Ben Richardson started Campaign Monitor in 2004 out of sheer frustration. When they couldn't find the right email newsletter software for their clients, they decided to hold off on their consulting work and build their own. Today, more than 16,000 designers in 65 countries use their web application for their email marketing. Ben and Dave still manage the day to day running of Campaign Monitor including new feature development, marketing and support. Since Campaign Monitor they have gone on to release Mailbuild, an email newsletter tool built just for web designers. Designers can develop a template and then have their clients log in to their own accounts to manage their subscribers, create and send their own emails and view reports on the results." ["post_title"]=> string(63) "Dave Greiner and Ben Richardson - The story of Campaign Monitor" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(694) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.Campaign Monitor is a great home grown web app success story. Dave and Ben will share their experiences of taking an idea they believed in, working like mad to implement it, and getting it to market. Along the way you'll hear about how the idea was born, deciding what to build, pricing, building the product, getting the word out, handling support from Sydney, and all those things you'll never know till you try." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(27) "dave-greiner-ben-richardson" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-07-24 21:40:23" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-07-25 02:40:23" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(102) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/dave-greiner-and-ben-richardson-the-story-of-campaign-monitor/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "2" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [1]=> object(stdClass)#115 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(126) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 18:10:08" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 23:10:08" ["post_content"]=> string(1669) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Melbourne recently hosted the 18th Commonwealth Games. Gian Sampson-Wild worked as the accessibility specialist for the Games for over two years, responsible for a variety of issues including the accessibility compliance of the web site and training of on-site and off-site developers such as Ticketmaster7 and Microsoft. Management at the Commonwealth Games were particularly cognisant of the precedent set by SOCOG and therefore made accessibility a priority. Gian will talk about the accessibility issues relevant to such a major event, such as creating accessible versions of venue maps and ensuring HTML fragments provided by third parties did not contravene accessibility requirements.
About Gian Sampson-Wild
Gian Sampson-Wild has worked in the accessibility industry for over seven years. She ran the accessibility consultancy PurpleTop for five years and built the automated accessibility testing tool PurpleCop. Gian worked as the accessibility consultant for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games for over two years and trained Microsoft developers on how to maintain the accessibility of the site. Gian has been a Member of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group for over six years and has spent a significant amount of time working on WCAG, Version 2.0. She is currently working with Monash University.
" ["post_title"]=> string(80) "Gian Sampson-Wild - Managing accessibility compliance for the Commonwealth Games" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(777) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.Melbourne recently hosted the 18th Commonwealth Games. Gian Sampson-Wild worked as the accessibility specialist for the Games for over two years, responsible for a variety of issues including the accessibility compliance of the web site and training of on-site and off-site developers such as Ticketmaster7 and Microsoft. Management at the Commonwealth Games were particularly cognisant of the precedent set by SOCOG and therefore made accessibility a priority. Gian will talk about the accessibility issues relevant to such a major event, such as creating accessible versions of venue maps and ensuring HTML fragments provided by third parties did not contravene accessibility requirements." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(17) "gian-sampson-wild" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-03-05 22:41:17" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-03-06 03:41:17" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(119) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/gian-sampson-wild-managing-accessibility-compliance-for-the-commonwealth-games/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [2]=> object(stdClass)#116 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(125) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 18:09:39" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 23:09:39" ["post_content"]=> string(2155) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
Hijax is all about applying progressive enhancement to Ajax. In the Hijax model, JavaScript isn’t used for advanced intensive processing. Instead, the XMLHttpRequest object acts like a dumb waiter, passing information backwards and forwards between the client and the server. By hijacking the regular functionality and replacing it with an enhanced Ajax version, you can be assured that your website will work with or without Ajax.
About Jeremy Keith
Jeremy Keith is a web developer with the web consultancy firm Clearleft in Brighton, England where he enjoys building accessible, elegant websites using the troika of web standards: XHTML, CSS and the DOM. His online home is adactio.com.
Jeremy is a member of the Web Standards Project where he serves as joint leader of the DOM Scripting Task Force. He wrote the book DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model." ["post_title"]=> string(20) "Jeremy Keith - Hijax" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(671) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.Hijax is all about applying progressive enhancement to Ajax. In the Hijax model, JavaScript isn’t used for advanced intensive processing. Instead, the XMLHttpRequest object acts like a dumb waiter, passing information backwards and forwards between the client and the server. By hijacking the regular functionality and replacing it with an enhanced Ajax version, you can be assured that your website will work with or without Ajax. " ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(14) "jeremy-keith-2" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-11-10 11:26:54" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-11-10 01:26:54" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(59) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/jeremy-keith-hijax/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "3" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [3]=> object(stdClass)#117 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(124) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 18:09:10" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 23:09:10" ["post_content"]=> string(2105) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Using the current state of web accessibility as our launch point, Derek will explore some of the fundamental issues that are holding us back from an accessible web that truly makes a difference to people with disabilities.
About Derek Featherstone
Engaging, surprising, and inspiring, Derek Featherstone has a gift for taking a fresh look at virtually every aspect of web development and teaching it in a way that renews our passion for making the web better for everyone. Featherstone is an internationally-known authority on accessibility and web development, and a respected technical trainer, and author.Creator of in-depth courses on HTML, CSS, DOM Scripting, and Web 2.0 applications, his approach never fails to champion the cause of web standards and universal accessibility. As founder of Furtherahead, he has been an in-demand consultant to government agencies, educational institutions and private sector companies since 1999. His wealth of experience and insight enables him to provide audiences with immediately applicable, brilliantly simple approaches to everyday challenges in website design. He serves on the Accessibility and DOM Scripting Task Forces of the Web Standards Project, and comments on a variety of subjects at the popular boxofchocolates.ca.
" ["post_title"]=> string(38) "Derek Featherstone - Accessibility 2.0" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(471) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.Using the current state of web accessibility as our launch point, Derek will explore some of the fundamental issues that are holding us back from an accessible web that truly makes a difference to people with disabilities." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(20) "derek-featherstone-1" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-07-24 21:41:01" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-07-25 02:41:01" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(76) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/derek-featherstone-accessibility-20/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "1" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [4]=> object(stdClass)#118 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(123) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 18:08:23" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 23:08:23" ["post_content"]=> string(2413) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
Between the diverse demands of clients, bosses, engineers, and designers, Web application design has reached a new level of frenzy and discord. You know what we mean, and so does Kelly Goto, who has refined Web process and project management to an art form. In this session, she takes you through the application development process. Learn the behind-the-scenes techniques behind rapid prototyping, and see how to enhance your current process to include iterative usability testing cycles. You'll also discover how to verify development requirements before you code by employing PDF prototypes and HTML click-throughs. With a collaborative mindset and the proper process in place, design and engineering teams can work together and launch the "iterative app" successfully.
About Kelly Goto
Kelly Goto is currently a principal at Gotomedia, an online consultancy for user experience and interaction design, Kelly continues to focus on developing new techniques for collaborative development in digital media. With over 15 years of experience in the advertising, design and interactive industry, Kelly bridges the gap between utility and aesthetics.
Formerly an award-winning Creative Director at Idea Integration Kelly successfully managed the redesigns of many sites ranging from independent to corporate levels. In advertising and commercial design since the late 1980s, Kelly has acted as creative director, designer, and producer for many high-profile clients including KPMG Consulting, Compaq, IBM, Warner Bros., National Geographic, Adobe Corporation, Paramount Television, Macromedia Corp., and Sony Pictures. Kelly is the co-author of the highly acclaimed bookWeb Redesign: Workflow that Works." ["post_title"]=> string(30) "Kelly Goto - The Iterative App" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(1005) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.Between the diverse demands of clients, bosses, engineers, and designers, Web application design has reached a new level of frenzy and discord. You know what we mean, and so does Kelly Goto, who has refined Web process and project management to an art form. In this session, she takes you through the application development process. Learn the behind-the-scenes techniques behind rapid prototyping, and see how to enhance your current process to include iterative usability testing cycles. You'll also discover how to verify development requirements before you code by employing PDF prototypes and HTML click-throughs. With a collaborative mindset and the proper process in place, design and engineering teams can work together and launch the "iterative app" successfully." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(12) "kelly-goto-2" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-11-10 11:26:46" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-11-10 01:26:46" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(69) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/kelly-goto-the-iterative-app/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [5]=> object(stdClass)#119 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(122) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 18:07:46" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 23:07:46" ["post_content"]=> string(2160) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
In this specialised session Thomas gets us up to speed with his "Come to Me Web" framework for structuring information and web sites. This framework includes the "Model of Attraction", Personal InfoCloud, and Folksonomy. This ads the focus of designing and developing for information use across devices and context. With this framework we can consider mobile, broadband, web storage and personal off-line storage of information and its implications as we structure our information and sites.
About Thomas Vander Wal
ThomasVander Wal has a broad background in information management, which encompasses information architecture, interaction design, web development and information design. Thomas has 18 years of professional experience in the web and technology sector. He has spoken on information architecture, interaction design, accessibility, web standards, and user-centered design at IA Summit, STC, SXSW, Design Engaged, WebVisions, BayCHI, and various workshops. Thomas helped found Boxes and Arrows and the Information Architecture Institute (Asilomar Institute for Information Architecture), and is currently on the Steering Committee for the Web Standards Project. In 2004 he coined the term Folksonomy and is researching, advising, and developing tagging systems and services. He is the founder and principal of InfoCloud Solutions, Inc., a web consulting and product development firm.
" ["post_title"]=> string(47) "Thomas Vander Wal - IA for the "Come to Me Web"" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(756) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.In this specialised session Thomas gets us up to speed with his "Come to Me Web" framework for structuring information and web sites. This framework includes the "Model of Attraction", Personal InfoCloud, and Folksonomy. This ads the focus of designing and developing for information use across devices and context. With this framework we can consider mobile, broadband, web storage and personal off-line storage of information and its implications as we structure our information and sites." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(19) "thomas-vander-wal-2" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-07-24 21:47:31" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-07-25 02:47:31" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(84) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/thomas-vander-wal-ia-for-the-come-to-me-web/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "1" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [6]=> object(stdClass)#120 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(121) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 18:07:03" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 23:07:03" ["post_content"]=> string(2516) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Interaction design is no longer limited to the web. The concept of user experience is being redefined as multiple delivery methods of social and business interaction merge into our lifestyles. As design migrates from the web to mobile devices we carry and interact with on a daily basis, our approach must also shift into cycles of design and research centered around the way people actually live. In this enlightening session, design ethnographer and web veteran Kelly Goto discusses the evolution of Web, handheld, and product interfaces and their cultural impact. Learn how companies are utilizing ethnographic-based research to conduct rapid, immersive studies of people and their lifestyles to inform the usefulness and viability of interfaces both online and offline.
About Kelly Goto
Kelly Goto is currently a principal at Gotomedia, an online consultancy for user experience and interaction design, Kelly continues to focus on developing new techniques for collaborative development in digital media. With over 15 years of experience in the advertising, design and interactive industry, Kelly bridges the gap between utility and aesthetics.
Formerly an award-winning Creative Director at Idea Integration Kelly successfully managed the redesigns of many sites ranging from independent to corporate levels. In advertising and commercial design since the late 1980s, Kelly has acted as creative director, designer, and producer for many high-profile clients including KPMG Consulting, Compaq, IBM, Warner Bros., National Geographic, Adobe Corporation, Paramount Television, Macromedia Corp., and Sony Pictures. Kelly is the co-author of the highly acclaimed bookWeb Redesign: Workflow that Works." ["post_title"]=> string(36) "Kelly Goto - Designing for Lifestyle" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(1006) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.Interaction design is no longer limited to the web. The concept of user experience is being redefined as multiple delivery methods of social and business interaction merge into our lifestyles. As design migrates from the web to mobile devices we carry and interact with on a daily basis, our approach must also shift into cycles of design and research centered around the way people actually live. In this enlightening session, design ethnographer and web veteran Kelly Goto discusses the evolution of Web, handheld, and product interfaces and their cultural impact. Learn how companies are utilizing ethnographic-based research to conduct rapid, immersive studies of people and their lifestyles to inform the usefulness and viability of interfaces both online and offline." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(12) "kelly-goto-1" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-11-10 11:28:12" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-11-10 01:28:12" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(75) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/kelly-goto-designing-for-lifestyle/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [7]=> object(stdClass)#121 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(120) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 18:06:25" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 23:06:25" ["post_content"]=> string(4109) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
Adding JavaScript to your portfolio used to mean more work. Thanks to the wide range of APIs springing up from the likes of Google (Mail, Maps, Ads, Calendar, Search, etc.), Yahoo! (Flickr, Maps, Search, etc.) and Microsoft (Virtual Earth), JavaScript can actually save you a lot of work these days. JavaScript veterans Cameron Adams (The Man In Blue) and Kevin Yank (SitePoint) will take a whirlwind (and somewhat irreverant) tour of the "free stuff" you get from JavaScript today, and the creative things people are doing with it.
About Cameron Adams and Kevin Yank
Cameron Adams
Cameron Adams has a degree in law and one in science; naturally he chose a career in Web development. When pressed, he labels himself a "Web Technologist" because he likes to have a hand in graphic design, JavaScript, CSS, Perl (yes, Perl), and anything else that takes his fancy that morning. While running his own business he's consulted and worked for numerous government departments, nonprofit organisations, large corporations and tiny startups.
Cameron is one of the founders and judges of the Web Standards Awards – a site that aims to promote web site design using W3C standards by seeking out and highlighting the finest standards-compliant sites on the Internet. He has also written a book –The JavaScript Anthology – which is one of the most complete question and answer resources on modern JavaScript techniques.You can see more of Cameron's design work on his portfolio, and if you're interested his services are available for hire.Cameron lives in Melbourne, Australia, where – between coding marathons – he likes to play soccer and mix some tunes for his irate neighbours.
Kevin Yank
Kevin Yank is a professional know-it-all. As Technical Director of sitepoint.com, he keeps abreast of all that is new and exciting in the world of web technology. He oversees all of SitePoint's technical publications - books, articles, newsletters and blogs - but is best known for his book,Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL, now in its third edition.
Kevin also writes The SitePoint Tech Times, a free e-mail newsletter first published in November 2000 that goes out to over 120,000 subscribers worldwide every two weeks, and regularly contributes to SitePoint's blogs.Kevin is thinly spread in his spare time, performing improvised comedy with Impro Melbourne, co-producing the Lost Out Back podcast, contributing to open source projects like the BlogBridge feed reader and flying light aircraft whenever he can afford to." ["post_title"]=> string(56) "Cameron Adams and Kevin Yank - JavaScript APIs & Mashups" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(933) "
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
Adding JavaScript to your portfolio used to mean more work. Thanks to the wide range of APIs springing up from the likes of Google (Mail, Maps, Ads, Calendar, Search, etc.), Yahoo! (Flickr, Maps, Search, etc.) and Microsoft (Virtual Earth), JavaScript can actually save you a lot of work these days. JavaScript veterans Cameron Adams (The Man In Blue) and Kevin Yank (SitePoint) will take a whirlwind (and somewhat irreverant) tour of the "free stuff" you get from JavaScript today, and the creative things people are doing with it.
A combination of practical "how-to" examples alongside several "how-not-to" cases from real accessibilty assessments and testing sessions.
About Derek Featherstone
Engaging, surprising, and inspiring, Derek Featherstone has a gift for taking a fresh look at virtually every aspect of web development and teaching it in a way that renews our passion for making the web better for everyone. Featherstone is an internationally-known authority on accessibility and web development, and a respected technical trainer, and author.Creator of in-depth courses on HTML, CSS, DOM Scripting, and Web 2.0 applications, his approach never fails to champion the cause of web standards and universal accessibility. As founder of Furtherahead, he has been an in-demand consultant to government agencies, educational institutions and private sector companies since 1999. His wealth of experience and insight enables him to provide audiences with immediately applicable, brilliantly simple approaches to everyday challenges in website design. He serves on the Accessibility and DOM Scripting Task Forces of the Web Standards Project, and comments on a variety of subjects at the popular boxofchocolates.ca.
" ["post_title"]=> string(48) "Derek Featherstone - Designing for Accessibility" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(407) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.A combination of practical "how-to" examples alongside several "how-not-to" cases from real accessibilty assessments and testing sessions." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(20) "derek-featherstone-2" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-07-24 21:44:07" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-07-25 02:44:07" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(89) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/derek-featherstone-designing-for-accessibility-2/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "1" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [9]=> object(stdClass)#123 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(118) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 18:04:37" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 23:04:37" ["post_content"]=> string(2392) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Apart from being the buzzword de jour, what is this Ajax stuff that everyone is talking about? Take a look at some implementations out there and start thinking about how Ajax can add value to your site.
About Jeremy Keith
Jeremy Keith is a web developer with the web consultancy firm Clearleft in Brighton, England where he enjoys building accessible, elegant websites using the troika of web standards: XHTML, CSS and the DOM. His online home is adactio.com.
Jeremy is a member of the Web Standards Project where he serves as joint leader of the DOM Scripting Task Force. He wrote the book DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model.When he's not building websites, Jeremy plays bouzouki in the alt.country band Salter Cane. He is also the creator and curator of one of the Web's largest online communities dedicated to Irish traditional music, The Session." ["post_title"]=> string(30) "Jeremy Keith - Explaining Ajax" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(438) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.Apart from being the buzzword de jour, what is this Ajax stuff that everyone is talking about? Take a look at some implementations out there and start thinking about how Ajax can add value to your site." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(14) "jeremy-keith-1" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-11-10 11:28:21" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-11-10 01:28:21" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(69) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/jeremy-keith-explaining-ajax/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "1" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [10]=> object(stdClass)#124 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(117) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 18:02:19" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 23:02:19" ["post_content"]=> string(3274) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
This was one of our most loved sessions last year, so much so that we decided to do it again this year, with some new faces, some new experiences. With speakers from both government/education as well as the private sector, get advice from those who've already been there on dealing with recalcitrant management, teams members and agencies, building by stealth and making incremental change.
About Cheryl Lead and Ben Buchanan
Cheryl Lead
Cheryl Lead is the Online Manager at Virgin Money and was responsible for driving the design and development of the redesigned Virgin Credit Card site and the recently launched Virgin Home Loan website. She is a strong champion of accessibility, usability and web standards. Her key drivers were to ensure that they are optimally accessible to the largest client base, and clearly and simply designed to encourage people to navigate through complex product documentation to gather information and apply online, as well as reflecting the Virgin brand values and sense of fun.
Ben Buchanan
Ben Buchanan started creating web pages ten years ago while completing a degree in everything but I.T. He started working as a web developer in 1999 and was the Web Standards Developer at Griffith University for six years (2000-2006). He worked with a wide range of clients within the University and was involved with the development of three generations of the Griffith website.
Ben Buchanan is known as a passionate web standards and accessibility advocate through his work, public speaking and writing at the 200ok weblog. He now works as a Frontend Developer for News Interactive.
" ["post_title"]=> string(72) "Cheryl Lead and Ben Buchanan - Moving your organisation to web standards" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(785) "
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
This was one of our most loved sessions last year, so much so that we decided to do it again this year, with some new faces, some new experiences. With speakers from both government/education as well as the private sector, get advice from those who've already been there on dealing with recalcitrant management, teams members and agencies, building by stealth and making incremental change.
There are 2 aspects to making IA work in a project - an understanding of the key principles of information architecture and a knowledge of activities to put them into practice. This presentation will examine the "how to's" of information architecture. We'll look at how to take a content inventory, analyse content, conduct card sorting, analyse user research, choose the right structure, create an information architecture and test it. These activities drive an informed design process so you can be confident in your decisions and communicate them to other people.
About Donna Maurer
Donna Maurer is a freelance interaction designer and information architect who specialises in making complex systems simple for people to use. She has loads of experience, with more than 6 years in senior consulting and in-house roles. She has designed intranets, websites, e-commerce sites, search systems, business applications and a content management system. She has conducted so much user research she can't count it but knows she has facilitated more than 200 usability tests. She continually surprises her colleagues by talking to people rather than computers, and using as many coloured markers as possible.
Donna is an experienced speaker and has presented sessions and workshops at many events, including the Information Architecture Summit. She is currently writing a book on card sorting." ["post_title"]=> string(29) "Donna Maurer - IA: a "how to"" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(803) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.There are 2 aspects to making IA work in a project - an understanding of the key principles of information architecture and a knowledge of activities to put them into practice. This presentation will examine the "how to's" of information architecture. We'll look at how to take a content inventory, analyse content, conduct card sorting, analyse user research, choose the right structure, create an information architecture and test it. These activities drive an informed design process so you can be confident in your decisions and communicate them to other people." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(12) "donna-maurer" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-07-24 21:42:09" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-07-25 02:42:09" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(65) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/donna-maurer-ia-a-how-to/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [12]=> object(stdClass)#126 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(115) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 15:24:13" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 20:24:13" ["post_content"]=> string(1923) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Thomas will provide an overview of information architecture for web designers and developers. He will cover the what and why, with a sprinkling of how. Knowing how to work with an information architect or how to build the skills into your role will be covered.
About Thomas Vander Wal
ThomasVander Wal has a broad background in information management, which encompasses information architecture, interaction design, web development and information design. Thomas has 18 years of professional experience in the web and technology sector. He has spoken on information architecture, interaction design, accessibility, web standards, and user-centered design at IA Summit, STC, SXSW, Design Engaged, WebVisions, BayCHI, and various workshops. Thomas helped found Boxes and Arrows and the Information Architecture Institute (Asilomar Institute for Information Architecture), and is currently on the Steering Committee for the Web Standards Project. In 2004 he coined the term Folksonomy and is researching, advising, and developing tagging systems and services. He is the founder and principal of InfoCloud Solutions, Inc., a web consulting and product development firm.
" ["post_title"]=> string(41) "Thomas Vander Wal - IA for Web Developers" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(507) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.Thomas will provide an overview of information architecture for web designers and developers. He will cover the what and why, with a sprinkling of how. Knowing how to work with an information architect or how to build the skills into your role will be covered." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(19) "thomas-vander-wal-1" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-07-24 21:55:44" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-07-25 02:55:44" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(80) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/thomas-vander-wal-ia-for-web-developers/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "1" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [13]=> object(stdClass)#127 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(114) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 15:16:49" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 20:16:49" ["post_content"]=> string(2407) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
The problem of bringing richer semantics to the world wide web has been challenging standards bodies and developers for several years. Approaches like "The Semantic Web" promise much, but require us to throw away the accumulated efforts, skills and tools of more than a decade. Over the last year or two, an evolutionary approach to richer semantics for today's web, based on HTML, current developer practices, and tools, called Microformats, has been spreading like wildfire among tool developers, and web publishers large and small.
In this presentation John Allsopp looks at why microformats are necessary, what organisations like Yahoo! are doing with them, and how your organisation can benefit from them right now.
About John Allsopp
John Allsopp is a founder of Westciv, an Australian web software development and training company, which provides some of the best CSS resources and tutorials on the web. Westciv's software and training are used in dozens of countries around the World.The head developer of the leading cross platform CSS editor, Style Master, John has written on web development issues for numerous web and print publications and was one of the earliest members of the Web Standards Project.
" ["post_title"]=> string(27) "John Allsopp - Microformats" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(960) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.The problem of bringing richer semantics to the world wide web has been challenging standards bodies and developers for several years. Approaches like "The Semantic Web" promise much, but require us to throw away the accumulated efforts, skills and tools of more than a decade. Over the last year or two, an evolutionary approach to richer semantics for today's web, based on HTML, current developer practices, and tools, called Microformats, has been spreading like wildfire among tool developers, and web publishers large and small.In this presentation John Allsopp looks at why microformats are necessary, what organisations like Yahoo! are doing with them, and how your organisation can benefit from them right now." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(14) "john-allsopp-2" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-07-24 21:54:41" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-07-25 02:54:41" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(66) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/john-allsopp-microformats/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [14]=> object(stdClass)#128 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(113) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 14:38:41" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 19:38:41" ["post_content"]=> string(3560) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
The collection of social and information technologies informally known as Web2.0 have created a rich universe of applications - but a scattershot one. We plug lots of our information into websites everywhere - MySpace and Digg, Friendster and Yahoo!, and everywhere, Google, Google, Google. Yet it's as if we're spending all of our time building information silos; piles of data which are essentially unconnected. It's getting dull. How many times do I need to list my friends, or my contact information, or my favorite bands?
We know why it's happening: commercial interests are overruling the natural pooling and sharing of information that would actually bring some utility to this mountain of data we're generating about ourselves. Yet the pressure to share is building up: the recent explosive emergence of mash-ups, which juxtapose two or three or more services in unique and valuable ways shows us that the hybrid always trumps the thoroughbred. And that's just on internet services. Very few of us control the mountain of data we generate as we pass through this world - everyone wants it (for their own purposes), yet we - who are creating it - never have access to it.
It's time to revisit the entire philosophy of interaction design on the Web, time to move the focus away from the site-as-resource, toward an idea of the site-as-personal-enabler. What we each bring to a website - or rather, what we should bring to a website - is a wealth of information about ourselves. This is the real resource of Web2.0, and the next place the Web is going. The exuberance around social networks shows us that people want to connect - it's time for designers to build the tools which will truly enable that connection.
About Mark Pesce
Known internationally as the man who fused virtual reality with the World Wide Web to invent VRML, Mark Pesce has been exploring the frontiers of media and technology for a quarter of a century. The author of five books and numerous articles, Pesce has written for WIRED, Feed, Salon, PC Magazine, and The Age. For the last two seasons, Pesce has been a panelist on the hit ABC show The New Inventors. From 2003 to 2006, Pesce chaired the Emerging Media and Interactive Design Program at the world-renowned Australian Film Television and Radio School. In February he received an appointment as an Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney, and has gone on to found FutureSt, a Sydney media and technology consultancy.
" ["post_title"]=> string(23) "Mark Pesce - Youbiquity" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(1959) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.The collection of social and information technologies informally known as Web2.0 have created a rich universe of applications - but a scattershot one. We plug lots of our information into websites everywhere - MySpace and Digg, Friendster and Yahoo!, and everywhere, Google, Google, Google. Yet it's as if we're spending all of our time building information silos; piles of data which are essentially unconnected. It's getting dull. How many times do I need to list my friends, or my contact information, or my favorite bands?We know why it's happening: commercial interests are overruling the natural pooling and sharing of information that would actually bring some utility to this mountain of data we're generating about ourselves. Yet the pressure to share is building up: the recent explosive emergence of mash-ups, which juxtapose two or three or more services in unique and valuable ways shows us that the hybrid always trumps the thoroughbred. And that's just on internet services. Very few of us control the mountain of data we generate as we pass through this world - everyone wants it (for their own purposes), yet we - who are creating it - never have access to it.It's time to revisit the entire philosophy of interaction design on the Web, time to move the focus away from the site-as-resource, toward an idea of the site-as-personal-enabler. What we each bring to a website - or rather, what we should bring to a website - is a wealth of information about ourselves. This is the real resource of Web2.0, and the next place the Web is going. The exuberance around social networks shows us that people want to connect - it's time for designers to build the tools which will truly enable that connection." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(12) "mark-pesce-1" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-07-24 21:52:55" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-07-25 02:52:55" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(62) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/mark-pesce-youbiquity/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "3" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } } ["post"]=> object(stdClass)#114 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(127) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "7" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 18:10:37" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2006-09-30 23:10:37" ["post_content"]=> string(2474) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Campaign Monitor is a great home grown web app success story. Dave and Ben will share their experiences of taking an idea they believed in, working like mad to implement it, and getting it to market. Along the way you'll hear about how the idea was born, deciding what to build, pricing, building the product, getting the word out, handling support from Sydney, and all those things you'll never know till you try.
Dave Greiner and Ben Richardson
Dave Greiner and Ben Richardson started Campaign Monitor in 2004 out of sheer frustration. When they couldn't find the right email newsletter software for their clients, they decided to hold off on their consulting work and build their own. Today, more than 16,000 designers in 65 countries use their web application for their email marketing. Ben and Dave still manage the day to day running of Campaign Monitor including new feature development, marketing and support. Since Campaign Monitor they have gone on to release Mailbuild, an email newsletter tool built just for web designers. Designers can develop a template and then have their clients log in to their own accounts to manage their subscribers, create and send their own emails and view reports on the results." ["post_title"]=> string(63) "Dave Greiner and Ben Richardson - The story of Campaign Monitor" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(694) "A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.Campaign Monitor is a great home grown web app success story. Dave and Ben will share their experiences of taking an idea they believed in, working like mad to implement it, and getting it to market. Along the way you'll hear about how the idea was born, deciding what to build, pricing, building the product, getting the word out, handling support from Sydney, and all those things you'll never know till you try." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(27) "dave-greiner-ben-richardson" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-07-24 21:40:23" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-07-25 02:40:23" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(102) "http://westciv.com/webdirections08/blog/dave-greiner-and-ben-richardson-the-story-of-campaign-monitor/" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "2" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } ["queried_object"]=> NULL ["queried_object_id"]=> int(0) }
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Campaign Monitor is a great home grown web app success story. Dave and Ben will share their experiences of taking an idea they believed in, working like mad to implement it, and getting it to market. Along the way you’ll hear about how the idea was born, deciding what to build, pricing, building the product, getting the word out, handling support from Sydney, and all those things you’ll never know till you try. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Melbourne recently hosted the 18th Commonwealth Games. Gian Sampson-Wild worked as the accessibility specialist for the Games for over two years, responsible for a variety of issues including the accessibility compliance of the web site and training of on-site and off-site developers such as Ticketmaster7 and Microsoft. Management at the Commonwealth Games were particularly cognisant of the precedent set by SOCOG and therefore made accessibility a priority. Gian will talk about the accessibility issues relevant to such a major event, such as creating accessible versions of venue maps and ensuring HTML fragments provided by third parties did not contravene accessibility requirements. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
Hijax is all about applying progressive enhancement to Ajax. In the Hijax model, JavaScript isn’t used for advanced intensive processing. Instead, the XMLHttpRequest object acts like a dumb waiter, passing information backwards and forwards between the client and the server. By hijacking the regular functionality and replacing it with an enhanced Ajax version, you can be assured that your website will work with or without Ajax. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Using the current state of web accessibility as our launch point, Derek will explore some of the fundamental issues that are holding us back from an accessible web that truly makes a difference to people with disabilities. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
Between the diverse demands of clients, bosses, engineers, and designers, Web application design has reached a new level of frenzy and discord. You know what we mean, and so does Kelly Goto, who has refined Web process and project management to an art form. In this session, she takes you through the application development process. Learn the behind-the-scenes techniques behind rapid prototyping, and see how to enhance your current process to include iterative usability testing cycles. You’ll also discover how to verify development requirements before you code by employing PDF prototypes and HTML click-throughs. With a collaborative mindset and the proper process in place, design and engineering teams can work together and launch the “iterative app” successfully. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
In this specialised session Thomas gets us up to speed with his “Come to Me Web” framework for structuring information and web sites. This framework includes the “Model of Attraction”, Personal InfoCloud, and Folksonomy. This ads the focus of designing and developing for information use across devices and context. With this framework we can consider mobile, broadband, web storage and personal off-line storage of information and its implications as we structure our information and sites. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Interaction design is no longer limited to the web. The concept of user experience is being redefined as multiple delivery methods of social and business interaction merge into our lifestyles. As design migrates from the web to mobile devices we carry and interact with on a daily basis, our approach must also shift into cycles of design and research centered around the way people actually live. In this enlightening session, design ethnographer and web veteran Kelly Goto discusses the evolution of Web, handheld, and product interfaces and their cultural impact. Learn how companies are utilizing ethnographic-based research to conduct rapid, immersive studies of people and their lifestyles to inform the usefulness and viability of interfaces both online and offline. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
Adding JavaScript to your portfolio used to mean more work. Thanks to the wide range of APIs springing up from the likes of Google (Mail, Maps, Ads, Calendar, Search, etc.), Yahoo! (Flickr, Maps, Search, etc.) and Microsoft (Virtual Earth), JavaScript can actually save you a lot of work these days. JavaScript veterans Cameron Adams (The Man In Blue) and Kevin Yank (SitePoint) will take a whirlwind (and somewhat irreverant) tour of the “free stuff” you get from JavaScript today, and the creative things people are doing with it.
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
A combination of practical “how-to” examples alongside several “how-not-to” cases from real accessibilty assessments and testing sessions. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Apart from being the buzzword de jour, what is this Ajax stuff that everyone is talking about? Take a look at some implementations out there and start thinking about how Ajax can add value to your site. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
This was one of our most loved sessions last year, so much so that we decided to do it again this year, with some new faces, some new experiences. With speakers from both government/education as well as the private sector, get advice from those who’ve already been there on dealing with recalcitrant management, teams members and agencies, building by stealth and making incremental change.
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
There are 2 aspects to making IA work in a project — an understanding of the key principles of information architecture and a knowledge of activities to put them into practice. This presentation will examine the “how to’s” of information architecture. We’ll look at how to take a content inventory, analyse content, conduct card sorting, analyse user research, choose the right structure, create an information architecture and test it. These activities drive an informed design process so you can be confident in your decisions and communicate them to other people. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
Thomas will provide an overview of information architecture for web designers and developers. He will cover the what and why, with a sprinkling of how. Knowing how to work with an information architect or how to build the skills into your role will be covered. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 28 2006.
The problem of bringing richer semantics to the world wide web has been challenging standards bodies and developers for several years. Approaches like “The Semantic Web” promise much, but require us to throw away the accumulated efforts, skills and tools of more than a decade. Over the last year or two, an evolutionary approach to richer semantics for today’s web, based on HTML, current developer practices, and tools, called Microformats, has been spreading like wildfire among tool developers, and web publishers large and small.
In this presentation John Allsopp looks at why microformats are necessary, what organisations like Yahoo! are doing with them, and how your organisation can benefit from them right now. See the slides and hear the podcast »
A presentation given at Web Directions South, Sydney Australia, September 29 2006.
The collection of social and information technologies informally known as Web2.0 have created a rich universe of applications — but a scattershot one. We plug lots of our information into websites everywhere — MySpace and Digg, Friendster and Yahoo!, and everywhere, Google, Google, Google. Yet it’s as if we’re spending all of our time building information silos; piles of data which are essentially unconnected. It’s getting dull. How many times do I need to list my friends, or my contact information, or my favorite bands?
We know why it’s happening: commercial interests are overruling the natural pooling and sharing of information that would actually bring some utility to this mountain of data we’re generating about ourselves. Yet the pressure to share is building up: the recent explosive emergence of mash-ups, which juxtapose two or three or more services in unique and valuable ways shows us that the hybrid always trumps the thoroughbred. And that’s just on internet services. Very few of us control the mountain of data we generate as we pass through this world — everyone wants it (for their own purposes), yet we — who are creating it — never have access to it.
It’s time to revisit the entire philosophy of interaction design on the Web, time to move the focus away from the site-as-resource, toward an idea of the site-as-personal-enabler. What we each bring to a website — or rather, what we should bring to a website — is a wealth of information about ourselves. This is the real resource of Web2.0, and the next place the Web is going. The exuberance around social networks shows us that people want to connect — it’s time for designers to build the tools which will truly enable that connection. See the slides and hear the podcast »
Adding JavaScript to your portfolio used to mean more work. Thanks to the wide range of APIs springing up from the likes of Google (Mail, Maps, Ads, Calendar, Search, etc.), Yahoo! (Flickr, Maps, Search, etc.) and Microsoft (Virtual Earth), JavaScript can actually save you a lot of work these days. JavaScript veterans Cameron Adams (The Man In Blue) and Kevin Yank (SitePoint) will take a whirlwind (and somewhat irreverant) tour of the “free stuff” you get from JavaScript today, and the creative things people are doing with it.
This was one of our most loved sessions last year, so much so that we decided to do it again this year, with some new faces, some new experiences. With speakers from both government/education as well as the private sector, get advice from those who’ve already been there on dealing with recalcitrant management, teams members and agencies, building by stealth and making incremental change.
