Web Directions

object(WP_Query)#69 (47) { ["query_vars"]=> array(55) { ["year"]=> int(2008) ["monthnum"]=> int(6) ["error"]=> string(0) "" ["m"]=> int(0) ["p"]=> int(0) ["post_parent"]=> string(0) "" ["subpost"]=> string(0) "" ["subpost_id"]=> string(0) "" ["attachment"]=> string(0) "" ["attachment_id"]=> int(0) ["name"]=> string(0) "" ["static"]=> string(0) "" ["pagename"]=> string(0) "" ["page_id"]=> int(0) ["second"]=> string(0) "" ["minute"]=> string(0) "" ["hour"]=> string(0) "" ["day"]=> int(0) ["w"]=> int(0) ["category_name"]=> string(0) "" ["tag"]=> string(0) "" ["cat"]=> string(0) "" ["tag_id"]=> string(0) "" ["author_name"]=> string(0) "" ["feed"]=> string(0) "" ["tb"]=> string(0) "" ["paged"]=> int(0) ["comments_popup"]=> string(0) "" ["meta_key"]=> string(0) "" ["meta_value"]=> string(0) "" ["preview"]=> string(0) "" ["s"]=> string(0) "" ["sentence"]=> string(0) "" ["fields"]=> string(0) "" ["category__in"]=> array(0) { } ["category__not_in"]=> array(0) { } ["category__and"]=> array(0) { } ["post__in"]=> array(0) { } ["post__not_in"]=> array(0) { } ["tag__in"]=> array(0) { } ["tag__not_in"]=> array(0) { } ["tag__and"]=> array(0) { } ["tag_slug__in"]=> array(0) { } ["tag_slug__and"]=> array(0) { } ["ignore_sticky_posts"]=> bool(false) ["suppress_filters"]=> bool(false) ["cache_results"]=> bool(false) ["update_post_term_cache"]=> bool(true) ["update_post_meta_cache"]=> bool(true) ["post_type"]=> string(0) "" ["posts_per_page"]=> int(15) ["nopaging"]=> bool(false) ["comments_per_page"]=> string(2) "50" ["no_found_rows"]=> bool(false) ["order"]=> string(4) "DESC" } ["tax_query"]=> object(WP_Tax_Query)#90 (2) { ["queries"]=> array(0) { } ["relation"]=> string(3) "AND" } ["meta_query"]=> object(WP_Meta_Query)#89 (2) { ["queries"]=> array(0) { } ["relation"]=> NULL } ["post_count"]=> int(15) ["current_post"]=> int(-1) ["in_the_loop"]=> bool(false) ["comment_count"]=> int(0) ["current_comment"]=> int(-1) ["found_posts"]=> string(2) "62" ["max_num_pages"]=> float(5) ["max_num_comment_pages"]=> int(0) ["is_single"]=> bool(false) ["is_preview"]=> bool(false) ["is_page"]=> bool(false) ["is_archive"]=> bool(true) ["is_date"]=> bool(true) ["is_year"]=> bool(false) ["is_month"]=> bool(true) ["is_day"]=> bool(false) ["is_time"]=> bool(false) ["is_author"]=> bool(false) ["is_category"]=> bool(false) ["is_tag"]=> bool(false) ["is_tax"]=> bool(false) ["is_search"]=> bool(false) ["is_feed"]=> bool(false) ["is_comment_feed"]=> bool(false) ["is_trackback"]=> bool(false) ["is_home"]=> bool(false) ["is_404"]=> bool(false) ["is_comments_popup"]=> bool(false) ["is_paged"]=> bool(false) ["is_admin"]=> bool(false) ["is_attachment"]=> bool(false) ["is_singular"]=> bool(false) ["is_robots"]=> bool(false) ["is_posts_page"]=> bool(false) ["is_post_type_archive"]=> bool(false) ["query_vars_hash"]=> string(32) "68a8ed981cfe6155d0e7449cfcf0aeee" ["query_vars_changed"]=> bool(false) ["thumbnails_cached"]=> bool(false) ["query"]=> array(2) { ["year"]=> string(4) "2008" ["monthnum"]=> string(2) "06" } ["request"]=> string(252) " SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS wp_posts.* FROM wp_posts WHERE 1=1 AND YEAR(wp_posts.post_date)='2008' AND MONTH(wp_posts.post_date)='6' AND wp_posts.post_type = 'post' AND (wp_posts.post_status = 'publish') ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC LIMIT 0, 15" ["posts"]=> &array(15) { [0]=> object(stdClass)#114 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(544) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-30 18:08:55" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-30 23:08:55" ["post_content"]=> string(1114) "According to this Kevin Kelly article the number of hyperlinks on the web is fast approaching the number of synapses in a human brain. Lots of implications of this, but it's comforting that he also points out

Just as the One Machine's hardware is assembled from our myriad devices, its software is written by our collective online behavior ... the Machine also includes us. After all, our brains are programming and underpinning it. As much as we will come to depend on the One Machine (who needs memory when you've got Google?), it will depend on our minds for a sustaining river of input.

Here's a tiny humble example of this in action via a story about the identification of a photo from the Powerhouse Museum's Collection, as shared on Flickr.And here's some background music to listen to while you read." ["post_title"]=> string(15) "The One Machine" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(15) "the-one-machine" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-30 18:08:55" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-30 23:08:55" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=544" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [1]=> object(stdClass)#115 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(543) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-29 20:49:24" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-30 01:49:24" ["post_content"]=> string(543) "Further to my little Friday afternoon rant, BuilderAU has a more detailed and thought out piece on the new Arbitrary TLD issue.Read more at BuilderAU.I still think it is a stupid idea." ["post_title"]=> string(62) "via BuilderAU - ICANN’s custom TLD will be a ‘nightmare’" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(78) "via-builderau-icann%e2%80%99s-custom-tld-will-be-a-%e2%80%98nightmare%e2%80%99" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(79) " http://www.webdirections.org/blog/does-anyone-care-about-domain-names-anymore/" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-29 20:49:24" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-30 01:49:24" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=543" ["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(542) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 23:35:09" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-27 04:35:09" ["post_content"]=> string(2533) "Various news outlets are breathlessly reporting that ICANN (the organization responsible for managing internet domain names) will effectively allow any top level domain (TLD) (for example ".com" and ".org" are TLDs).Am I alone in wondering why anyone gives a rat's? In fact, in thinking that this is a usability disaster waiting to happen?First up, does anyone actually type a domain name into a browser more than once at most? (auto complete in any browser since about Viola means that once you've been to a domain more than zero times, typing the first two or three letters of a domain name is all you need to do).In fact isn't that what the search field in most browsers is for?If anything, this actually devalues .com domain names - many browsers currently assume ".com" for any word you type into the address field (others assume you want to search for that term on the web). So if you already own ".com", the value of this auto complete function just vanished - afterall, if a user types "pepsi" - do they mean "pepsi.com", or "something.pepsi"? But it gets worse - right now the standard structure of domains is something like this"http://domainname.com/contact"But if we move to arbitrary TLDs, we'll start seeing "http://contact.pepsi", http://contactus.coke" and so on - there goes a lot of the value of autocomplete of URLs in browser address fields. Well, pretty much all of it. And of course, out of habit, or because older browsers (which take a while to go away you know) will still auto-complete the ".com" bit, folks will keep going to ".pepsi.com" - for example "contact.pepsi.com" instead of "contact.pepsi" (which looks just wrong dammit) giving a confusing 404 message, and creating an order of magnitude more complexity for server redirects.Then, where the hell is the home page? URLs like "http://pepsi.com" by convention direct the user to the home for a site. Now, we'll need something more - "http://home.pepsi"? But will everyone follow that convention? What about foreign languages?Who exactly drove this decision? In whose interests is it? Because, I don't really see it as being in anyone's interest (other than say ICANN, who will make a killing on domains like .xxx). But one thing's for sure - breaking well understood patterns for users around URLs is not a user centred decision.File this under bone headed anti user decisions on the web. " ["post_title"]=> string(44) "Does anyone care about domain names anymore?" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(43) "does-anyone-care-about-domain-names-anymore" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 23:35:09" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-27 04:35:09" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=542" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "6" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [3]=> object(stdClass)#117 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(541) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 23:42:46" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 04:42:46" ["post_content"]=> string(1748) "This is the hard part right? All of us have got the social media bug and can think of dozens of great projects we could implement this afternoon, if only our boss, or client, would go for it. This really clear headed article over at Digital Web, Integrating Social Media into a Web Content Strategy, has some great hands on advice for making this happen:

Make it clear that social media is not about technology, nor about keeping up with the latest trend. The primary goal of using social media has to be communication, not technology and not viral marketing.

and

Now that you’ve researched the objectives and tactics of the existing content, expand your options to include the types of social media tools that might better meet the goals for each type of content. Don’t start a list of Web 2.0 all-stars; just list the broad category of tools that would better serve your client’s or company’s needs.

There were a few people at Pubcamp here last week in Sydney who could benefit from a quick read of this article before they weighed in to adversarial debate methinks. For myself I'm a total social media booster, but, at the same time I keep my feet firmly in a world filled with people who (rightly!) are not impressed by Web 2.0 buzzword compliance. I don't think there's anything to be gained by embracing the assumption that these people are not open minded. It's just that they will need to be convinced by people who can soberly demonstrate an understanding of their business and empathise with their legacy. " ["post_title"]=> string(51) "Selling social media to your organisation or client" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(51) "selling-social-media-to-your-organisation-or-client" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 23:42:46" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 04:42:46" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=541" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [4]=> object(stdClass)#118 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(540) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 23:06:43" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 04:06:43" ["post_content"]=> string(644) "First of all, check out Australia's own Patrick Lee who very deftly writes about a few things that a UI developer working in JavaScript and interacting with the DOM can and should do to maintain UI responsiveness, all couched in terms of the three basic thresholds from Robert Miller’s classic1968 paper Response Time in Man-Computer Conversational Transactions. Smart smart smart!And here's something interesting from another very smart person about Javascript performance." ["post_title"]=> string(84) "For JavaScripters: two interesting articles on speed, responsiveness and performance" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(82) "for-javascripters-two-interesting-articles-on-speed-responsiveness-and-performance" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 23:06:43" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 04:06:43" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=540" ["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(539) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 22:25:46" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 03:25:46" ["post_content"]=> string(221) "I know I shouldn't distract all you hard working souls out there with such things, but, I just cried with laughter, and I know you wouldn't want me to cry alone." ["post_title"]=> string(19) "The Website is Down" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(19) "the-website-is-down" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 22:25:46" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 03:25:46" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=539" ["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(538) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 21:05:47" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 02:05:47" ["post_content"]=> string(1051) "Yes, it's that time of the year again. Time to take stock of your finances and 'fess it all up to the good people at the ATO. Time to wipe the slate clean and start afresh.And time to get that Web Directions South 08 registration into the 2007/08 budget before the cutoff date. June 30 falls this coming Monday so hasten up if this is what you need to do.And not to forget those other deadlines which you'll also get to take advantage of:

• July 11: register before this date to be in the running to win a brand new 3G iPhone.
• July 19: register before the end of early bird pricing to get your ticket for just $850.

People who've been before who are eligible for the Loyalty code, don't forget that this runs out on July 19 as well. Please get in touch if you did not receive the email with the code in it!" ["post_title"]=> string(18) "June 30 approaches" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(18) "june-30-approaches" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(45) " http://south08.webdirections.org/?page_id=71" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 21:05:47" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 02:05:47" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=538" ["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(537) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 19:03:10" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 00:03:10" ["post_content"]=> string(1846) "Christian Heilman has just announced this truly cool event. Scripting Enabled will be a two day conference and workshop held in London with the aim of making the web a more accessible place. Sound like the same-old-same-old? It's not. The two days will be all about

making those in the know about accessibility barriers meet hackers that know how to retrieve information from APIs and display them as alternative interfaces. Together these groups can make any system out there more inviting, accessible and available to people that are currently blocked out.

The first day will be a tradtional conference structure, with presentations explaining the different barriers people with disabilities face when they surf the web. And then the second will be a hackathon/hackday in a different venue where developers and experts sit together and work on the different hacks.All the systems designed on the day will be available as Open Source for other developers to take and learn from. All the presentation material and videos will be published as Creative Commons for others to take on and re-distribute.Some really exciting things could come out of these people coming together in this way. Both sides can learn all they like about each other through reading and learning online, but anyone who's been to a good event will know there's nothing like the energy that comes out of being in the same physical location. Read Christian's blog post for more on his motivations and what he is hoping will come out of it.At the moment they're looking for both speakers and support." ["post_title"]=> string(48) "Scripting Enabled - A Genuinely Great Initiative" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(46) "scripting-enabled-a-genuinely-great-initiative" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(63) " http://scriptingenabled.org/2008/06/scripting-enabled-is-live/" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 19:03:10" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-26 00:03:10" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=537" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [8]=> object(stdClass)#122 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(536) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 00:41:41" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 05:41:41" ["post_content"]=> string(1209) "Adaptive Path have very generously made available some extensive video coverage of presentations at MX San Francisco in April.Check out

• Matt Jones of Dopplr - recent trends in social software, object-centered sociality, the beginnings of social infrastructure (opensocial, xfn, hcard, openID), personal informatics, and approaches for baking social ettiquette into the design
• Margaret Gould (User Experience Manager at Google) - the traits that make some managers particularly effective, how she has customized her management style over the years to both corporate context and the individuals on the teams she has led, plus some specific tactics and tools she uses to refine and improve her management practices.
• Chip Conley of Joie de Vivre Hospitality - how to transform the workplace via the three key relationships in business with employees, customers and investors.

" ["post_title"]=> string(50) "Video from Adaptive Path's recent MX San Francisco" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(49) "video-from-adaptive-paths-recent-mx-san-francisco" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(54) " http://mx.adaptivepath.com/announcements/matt-jones-2" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 00:41:41" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 05:41:41" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=536" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [9]=> object(stdClass)#123 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(535) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-24 20:22:09" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 01:22:09" ["post_content"]=> string(1104) "We're very pleased to announce the addition of local web analytics expert Hurol Inan to the line up for Web Directions South 2008. Web analytics have been used for valuable feedback about marketing campaigns as well as to see which products within your site are holding visitors' attention best. Hurol is going to be speaking about a third way web analytics can be used: as a tool for seeing

• who is really using the site
• what they are using it for
• how well the site responds
• what needs changing to enhance the experience

And beyond just looking at what exactly is going on at your site, web analytics really comes into its own when you use it with multivariate testing to test various options real time (and with real users) to find an optimal solution. Informing experience architecture with quantitative insights will be a not to be missed session for anyone involved in the development of site experience architecture." ["post_title"]=> string(40) "New speaker: Hurol Inan on web analytics" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(39) "new-speaker-hurol-inan-on-web-analytics" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(48) " http://south08.webdirections.org/?cat=1#post-73" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-24 20:22:09" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-25 01:22:09" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=535" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [10]=> object(stdClass)#124 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(534) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-23 21:46:30" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-24 02:46:30" ["post_content"]=> string(1470) "Most of the slides and podcasts we gathered together after Web Directions Government back in May are now available at our site. Check them out below and pass them on to others who weren't able to make it there on the day.

• José Manuel Alonso - Improving Government through better use of the Web
• Robert Hoekman Jr - The essential elements of great web applications
• Scott Gledhill - Real world web standards
• Jenny Telford - Opening up government data
• Ralph Douglas - GovDex: Collaborating online in a secure environment
• Patrick Lee - One paper clip, a box of matches, and some JavaScript
• Lisa Herrod - Usability: more than skin deep
• David Hayward - Mapping
• Matthew Hodgson - Social computing for knowledge management

" ["post_title"]=> string(46) "Web Directions Government resources now online" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(46) "web-directions-government-resources-now-online" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(140) "http://www.webdirections.org/resources/jose-manuel-alonso/ http://www.webdirections.org/resources/lisa-herrod-usability-more-than-skin-deep/" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-23 21:46:30" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-24 02:46:30" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=534" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [11]=> object(stdClass)#125 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(533) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-23 20:57:42" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-24 01:57:42" ["post_content"]=> string(2438) "This year as part of our workshop series run on the days before the conference, for the second year running, we will be hosting a W3C SIG day organised by the Australian office of the W3C.If you want to hear all about new and emerging standards, as well as see hands on demos of what you can do with them by people currently working on real world projects, then this is the workshop for you.Check out the full program for the day here, but one of the major themes I can see is the semantic web, or Web 3.0 as some would have it. Which reminds me, I went to a little event at the Film Festival late last week run by a poor fellow who seemed to think that Web 3.0 was all about "how we make Web 2.0 pay its own way". Not sure where he got that idea from, and I definitely don't want to get into any debates with anyone at all about what Web 3.0 might look, feel, or sound like, but, one of its more commonly accepted definitions revolves around the implementation of The Semantic Web. In the words of Tim Berners-Lee:

I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become capable of analyzing all the data on the Web – the content, links, and transactions between people and computers. A ‘Semantic Web’, which should make this possible, has yet to emerge, but when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to machines. The ‘intelligent agents’ people have touted for ages will finally materialize.

It's a grand vision, but each journey starts with the ground beneath your feet. At this W3C SIG day you'll hear from:

• Amit Parashar on implementing a semantic web application using technologies such as SPARQL, GRDDL, RDF and OWL
• David Ratcliffe on SPARQL - semantic data querying
• Michael Compton on managing sensor networks with semantic technologies

As well as sessions from Mike Smith of the HTML 5 Working Group and Charles McCathienevile of the Web Aplication Working Group.For anyone interested in the genuine cutting edge of standards based development this will be a fascinating and engaging day with your peers in the Australian web industry." ["post_title"]=> string(21) "Workshop: W3C SIG Day" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(20) "workshop-w3c-sig-day" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(95) "http://south08.webdirections.org/?cat=3#post-66 http://south08.webdirections.org/?cat=3#post-66" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-23 20:57:42" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-24 01:57:42" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=533" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "1" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [12]=> object(stdClass)#126 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(530) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-22 21:33:39" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-23 02:33:39" ["post_content"]=> string(1248) "As noted, there are still a small number of speaker slots we are filling - hunting down the very best experts we can from around the globe on the subjects we think are of most pressing interest to you. So, we are very excited to be able to announce that Mike (TM) Smith (yes, the TM is part of his name), co-chair of the HTML5 Working group, will be doing an in-depth HTML5 oriented session at Web Directions!Prior to working at the W3C, Mike worked for OpenWave, and Opera, "involved with design, development, testing, and deployment of software for mobile operators".I recently had the pleasure of speaking on the same bill as Mike in Tokyo, and he's a fascinating, knowledgeable, entertaining speaker. So, if you want to get up to speed with HTML5, then Mike's session will be the best place to do that.Mike will also be speaking at the W3C Special interest group day, held in conjunction with Web Directions South again this year along with a range of international and local experts.Thanks to the W3C Australia Office for helping bring Mike to Australia, and their ongoing support. " ["post_title"]=> string(77) "New speaker announced - Mike (TM) Smith - co-chair of the HTML5 Working Group" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(71) "new-speaker-announced-mike-tm-smith-co-chair-of-the-html5-working-group" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(48) " http://south08.webdirections.org/?cat=3#post-66" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-22 21:33:39" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-23 02:33:39" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=530" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [13]=> object(stdClass)#127 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(528) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-22 18:29:13" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-22 23:29:13" ["post_content"]=> string(1312) "All the podcasts and slides available to us from our recent Melbourne event, Web Directions User Experience, are now available online.

• Andy Budd - Designing the experience curve
• Robert Hoekman Jr - The essential elements of great web applications
• Oliver Weidlich - The mobile web user experience
• Mathew Patterson - Designing for email
• Jackie Moyes - Converting research findings into business speak
• Donna Spencer - Getting content right
• Steve Baty - Analysing user research data
• Jeremy Yuille - Web visualisation

We have recordings from Web Directions Government as well - hoping to have all of these available later this week. " ["post_title"]=> string(56) "Resources from Web Directions User Experience now online" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(56) "resources-from-web-directions-user-experience-now-online" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(100) "http://www.webdirections.org/resources/andy-budd/ http://www.webdirections.org/resources/steve-baty/" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-22 18:29:13" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-22 23:29:13" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=528" ["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(527) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-20 20:57:59" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-21 01:57:59" ["post_content"]=> string(703) "If you are a web developer, particularly with a programming focus, and Sydney is too far for you to come, or your companies training budget doesn't quite run to international airfares, them you could do a lot worse than check out the recently announced Ajaxian Experience, curated by the fine folks at the Ajaxian blog. While I would quibble at their tag line "the only web 2.0 event created by actual developers", we'll forgive them the oversight. Just this once ;-)Do check it out. There's no better way of keeping you finger on the pulse of Ajax than their site and the conference." ["post_title"]=> string(19) "The Ajax Experience" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(19) "the-ajax-experience" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-21 18:00:46" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-21 23:00:46" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=527" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "1" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } } ["post"]=> object(stdClass)#114 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(544) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2008-06-30 18:08:55" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-30 23:08:55" ["post_content"]=> string(1114) "According to this Kevin Kelly article the number of hyperlinks on the web is fast approaching the number of synapses in a human brain. Lots of implications of this, but it's comforting that he also points out

Just as the One Machine's hardware is assembled from our myriad devices, its software is written by our collective online behavior ... the Machine also includes us. After all, our brains are programming and underpinning it. As much as we will come to depend on the One Machine (who needs memory when you've got Google?), it will depend on our minds for a sustaining river of input.

Here's a tiny humble example of this in action via a story about the identification of a photo from the Powerhouse Museum's Collection, as shared on Flickr.And here's some background music to listen to while you read." ["post_title"]=> string(15) "The One Machine" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(15) "the-one-machine" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2008-06-30 18:08:55" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2008-06-30 23:08:55" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=544" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } ["queried_object"]=> NULL ["queried_object_id"]=> int(0) }