Entries Tagged 'web directions' ↓

So, I just got back from Web Directions South, and it was AMAZING. The people, the atmosphere, the speakers… unfortunately it was over far too quickly.

The WDS07 podcasts are now available so if you didn’t go, you can get a taste of what you missed out on. Or if you did go, you can catch up on the sessions that you couldn’t attend. I heartily recommend Mark Pesce’s closing keynote “Mob Rules” - appropriately categorised as “vision” - it was inspirational.

So now it’s back to reality. Not for the tireless John and Maxine however - while the rest of us were settling back into our normal routines, they were busy putting together the final details for Web Directions North 08, to be held in Vancouver at the end of January.

Looking at the speaker list, I’m jealous (I’m pretty sure my conference budget does not extend to Canadian adventures). But I guess we can’t have all the good stuff down here in Australia only.

I’ve added a button to link to the sidebar here - if you purchase your ticket to WDN through there, I go into the draw for a chance to win my accommodation and airfares as well as a ticket to the conference. So what are you waiting for? Get me there already

Perth has a long and well-established “Port80“ tradition that is by now known around the country (well, in the web industry anyway). The monthly informal pub get-togethers, which have been going since 2002, have been the birthplace of great ideas like the Australian Web Industry Association and the WA Web Awards, to name but two.

In the past couple of years, other cities have followed suit. There is a “most months” Melbourne meeting, piggybacked on the Web Standards Group get-together, a monthly Brisbane meeting and a bi-monthly Canberra meeting. Adelaide is joining the loop soon.

During Web Directions 2006, the Perth crew held a Sydney get-together under the Port80 banner at the Pumphouse in Darling Harbour, in the hopes of kick-starting something more regular in NSW. That didn’t eventuate, so we’re doing it again, but bigger and better!

The official blurb, if you will:

On the eve of Web Directions South 2007, come along for a warm up social networking session with your industry peers. It’s free to drop in, there’ll be some free nibbles and rumours of a bar tab (if we can find a sponsor!).

There’ll be a gang of folk from Port 80 Perth, folks from Adelaide, Canberra and Brisbane, and possibly even some Sydney locals. Lots of attendees to the conference, and a few speakers will also be there.

It’s all kicks off at 6.00pm, September 26th 2007
Quarryman’s Hotel
216 Harris St
(Cnr. Pyrmont Bridge)
Pyrmont NSW 2009

For a map to the venue, see http://rurl.org/892

This venue is literally stumbling distance from the WDS07 venue, so here’s a chance to scope out where you’ll be for two days, and get to drink and meet your peers.

If you’ve got any questions, feel free to hit the Port80 forums at http://rurl.org/7lk

For more information about Port80, see www.port80.asn.au or more about the Australian Web Industry Association at www.webindustry.asn.au

The programme for Web Directions 2007 has been released, and there’s certainly going to be some hard decisions on what to go see. With three streams this year, there’s even more that I will sadly have to miss, seeing as I haven’t yet mastered being in two places at once, let alone three.

It’s also worth noting that if you haven’t registered yet but are thinking of going, you definitely want to do so before August 31 - that’s when the current “discount” pricing ends and the “standard” pricing kicks in.

The Perth crowd are mobilising to make our yearly pilgrimage to Sydney for Web Directions. This year will be even bigger and better than previous years, we are sure, and we’re planning to hold a Port80 social event in Sydney, in hopes of encouraging a regular event - more details to follow.

In recognition of the Awesomeness of Web Directions South, Miles has challenged previous attendees to find and and link to evidence of ourselves enjoying previous years. I challenge Rosemary, Gary and John.

More bookshelf fodder coming our way…

When I was at Web Directions South last year, I had the privilege to introduce Jeremy Keith’s session on Hijax. The presentation was one of the highlights of the conference for me, in spite of - or in case because of - the love/hate struggle I’ve had with JavaScript over the years.

The Hijax approach builds on the idea of progressive enhancement. It involves creating accessible web application functionality without JavaScript, and then adding a JavaScript layer that “hijacks” particular clicks and replaces the standards HTTP requests with XMLHttpRequest calls and generally Ajaxy stuff. That way, if JavaScript is not available to the user agent, the application works as intended anyway. But more capable user agents get an enhanced user experience. And everyone is happy.
After Jeremy’s presentation I innocently asked the question “Where can I find more resources? Are you writing a book on this?”. After protesting that the question wasn’t staged, Jeremy revealed that he was - and that book, Bulletproof Ajax, is now finished.

It’s not actually out yet, but you can pre-order, and if you’re keen like me, check out the companion web site with downloadable code samples. The name “Bulletproof” puts the title in the same New Riders series as Dan Cedarholm’s Bulletproof Web Design, another title I own and love.

So congratulations on getting it finished, Jeremy - can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

Day Two started early again, with breakfast with Molly Holzschlag speaking on the topic of “The new professionalism”.

Professionalism (and often, lack there of) is a topic Molly has explored previously on her blog, and in fact a post I wrote in response to one of her posts way back in November 05 is one of the most popular on my own site, indicating that a lot of people are interested in it. My involvement with Port80 and the new WIPA organisation that is being set up in Australia, as well as the Web Standards Group, mean that it’s something I’m especially interested in.

Coffee and bagels in place, Molly introduced the topic and let us know that she wanted the session to be a dialogue with the audience rather than a lecture. She talked about how the field of web development came about, and how that has resulted in some of the problems we face today - there’s no universal or even widespread nomenclature to describe what we do; there’s no emphasis on education, standards or best practices; there’s a large gap between what the educators teach and what the real world requires; there are many unethical practices upheld in the industry.

Next Molly asked for some input from the audience, and various people talked about the newly formed WIPA organisation, Port80, the WSG, and a Web Developer’s organisation of the wrong kind that was started in New Zealand. It’s encouraging to see that people are working towards solutions to the problems - but we still have a long way to go yet.

Finally, Molly asked for some input from the audience for personal philosophies for working on the web. My own is “make the web a better place” - I can examine anything I’m doing at any time and ask “does this make the web a better place”? Derek Featherstone offered a great one - “first, do no harm”. Others included “don’t abuse the trust of the online communities” and “don’t lock your client into coming back (with technology) - make them want to come back”. All great sentiments for working as a professional.