Conferences for web and digital professionals
Yesterday we opened CFPs for all our 2019 conferences. So I thought it made sense to talk a little more about why you should consider doing so. But let’s first address the objections people have, the reasons we find not to speak or even contemplate it. But I’m terrified of public speaking First it is […]
While we only just wrapped up our 2018 events, we’re well into planning next year’s conferences. So, our calls for presentations for all our 2019 events are now open. We have 4 major events, Design, Code and Product in Melbourne, and then Summit in Sydney, which in 2019 will feature a separate Product Track, alongside […]
Since 2006 Web Directions has grown considerably, What was once a single event is now a family of related conferences across the year. But the essence of Web Directions is our annual, end of year event we now call Web Directions Summit. This year we returned to the Convention Centre in Sydney, which was our […]
Last year, long overdue, we added a new feature to our annual Summit, the Meetup Muster. The Meetup Muster was a cool addition to the event, introducing people to a range of Sydney’s tech meetups (SydCSS, SydJS, React Sydney, SydTechLeaders, SydPWA, Tech Talks). Many people come to conferences but don’t tap into the amazing meetup […]
Last year when we held our first, very successful AI conference, not a few people scratched their heads and asked “why is Web Directions holding an AI conference“. Very often AI and Machine Learning are associated with complex technical specialisation (and this is certainly required for a lot of work with AI and ML). But […]
So much of the energy and focus in our industry is on the what and how: on design, on the technologies we use, on business strategy, on tactics. Yet as legendary management thinker Peter Drucker (reportedly) said: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Drucker’s point is that if your organisational culture isn’t healthy, whatever else you […]
I have to be really candid. At the first event we ever ran, back in 2004, we only came to the realisation very close to the event that our speaker line-up was all male. We were chastened, and hopefully learnt our lesson early, and from that time on, here at Web Directions our goal has […]
The earliest snapshot at the wayback machine for webdirections.org is from early 2006. April 13, 2006 to be precise. A simpler time. Some staples of the time include text rendered as an image (no doubt with some funky image replacement technique–ask your grandparents about those kids!), links to multiple versions of RSS! Tiny text (text […]
If you’ve been in the industry any length of time, you’ll know how essential it is to keep your knowledge up to date, and how much work that can be. One of our key goals with our events is to help attendees do just that, and as always this year’s Summit features keynotes, design and […]
Tim Wu is a Professor of Law at Columbia University. He writes for the New York Times and the New Yorker. He’s the author of two very influential books on technology and its impact on society The Master Switch, and The Attention Merchants. He’s not someone given to hyperbole and exaggeration. But the title of […]
We’ve been running conferences for the Web industry for a long time now. Since 2004 to be precise. In that time we’ve seen what was barely a trickle of events become a river, across the whole world, often specialising into specific niches. Bringing tremendous benefits for our industry in many ways. And very often, certainly […]
At our earliest events, the design aspects of our programs were very much focussed on Web design. But over the last decade or so, just as professionals have increasingly specialised, and design in the broad sense has become central to what we build, so too has the focus on design shifted at Web Directions. What […]
From the very beginning, our events have had a strong focus on development. With our background in developing (both for the Web and of tools for other web developers) it’s something we’ve always thought a lot about, and continue to focus on. As the event matured, and as the roles of development and design separated […]
Twice in the last week or two I’ve taken part in panel discussions focussed on ethics – at Sydney Tech leaders and then at an evening organised by Fjord here in Sydney. One focussed more on ethics and technology, the other on ethics and design. Both featured lively, thoughtful conversations, and a clear underlying desire […]
Every few months or so a tweet or blog post in the web development world seems to ignite a heated conversation about CSS, CSS in JS, the future of Web development, whether certain folks are out of touch, and if so how. A bit of side eye and snark. Here’s something I wrote about this […]
[Web Directions] is a delicious mix of things educational, social and mind-blowing. It’s time out from the hurly-burly to step back, get some perspective, and develop new ways forward, fortified with a whole lot of new stuff in your head.
Chris Stephens Technology Director, Mozo
Australia's design conference with the world's leading expert
Melbourne April 11 & 12 2019
DetailsAustralia's conference for JavaScript and Front End Engineers
Melbourne June 20 & 21 2019
DetailsAustralia's conference for Product professionals
Melbourne August 1 & 2 2019
DetailsOur legendary event. Two big tracks, one Product/Design, one Developer focused.
Sydney November 2019
Details