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Teaching Web Standards

One of the recognised challenges in educating new web designers and developers is putting together a good curriculum. This is something many folks have talked about over the last several years, but now Opera, spearheaded by Chris Mills (formerly an editor at Friends of Ed, publishers of many fine web ... Read more »

Interview: online advocacy

Regular Web Directions attendee Priscilla Brice-Weller is the Online Campaigner for advocacy organisation, ANTaR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation). Priscilla also blogs about technology and activism at Solidariti.It being NAIDOC week, I thought this might be a good occasion to hear about the work Priscilla does ... Read more »

Win an iPhone — just four more days to get yourself a ticket

Despite all the (justified) doom and gloom about data plans and pricing, one lucky person is still going to win an iPhone courtesy of Web Directions this Friday morning, even at the ridiculous gouge it will almost certainly be to get one without a plan from either Optus, ... Read more »

iPhone in Australia — now for the bad news

Welcome folks from round the interwebs - this article seems to be getting widely read.If you want to know a little more about what we do (run conferences for Web Professionals) take a look at our upcoming Sydney Conference. And please leave your thoughts on the issue of mobile ... Read more »

When business week does special edition on web design…

Via our good friend Dan Cederholm (we'll get him out to Australia to speak one day soon we promise!) here's a whole section at Business Week, the venerable US business magazine, on Web Design. Aussie web super success story, Remember the Milk get a nice mention as ... Read more »

Welcoming our media partner BuilderAU

BuilderAU has been a media partner, supporter since the first Web Directions conference, providing us with much appreciated publicity, and covering the conferences in no small detail - with audio, video and text based stories, interviews and more. You can find all their coverage of our past events here.While ... Read more »

New session at WDS08 — HTML 5 with Michael™ Smith

We've just added another session to the dev track at the conference this year. Additional to sessions on Ajax Security, Javascript Libraries, Web App Frameworks, Oauth and OpenID and Web Vector Graphics, we now have Mike Smith of the W3C HTML Working Group, who will ... Read more »

Job: Front end specialist

Aussie Web 2.0 startup 99designs.com is looking for a front end specialist - this is a great opportunity for someone who really knows their stuff to work in a fast paced, fun environment with a highly motivated, switched on team.99designs.com is the latest project from the SitePoint guys ... Read more »

via BuilderAU — ICANN’s custom TLD will be a ‘nightmare’

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.

Does anyone care about domain names anymore?

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 ... Read more »

June 30 approaches

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 ... Read more »

Video from Adaptive Path’s recent MX San Francisco

Adaptive Path have very generously made available some extensive video coverage of presentations at MX San Francisco in April.Check outMatt 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 ... Read more »

New speaker: Hurol Inan on web analytics

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. ... Read more »

Web Directions Government resources now online

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 ... Read more »

Workshop: W3C SIG Day

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 ... Read more »

New speaker announced — Mike ™ Smith — co-​​chair of the HTML5 Working Group

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 ... Read more »

Resources from Web Directions User Experience now online

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 - ... Read more »

The Ajax Experience

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 ... Read more »

Douglas Crockford is a very funny man

He's the world's foremost living authority on Javascript and he has some very strong and cogent thoughts Ajax Security which he'll be sharing with us here in Sydney in September. But it's not all stern warnings: check out this amusing blog post on the train ride home this ... Read more »

Mark Pesce — Closing keynote: This, that, and the other thing

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 4.05pm. This is what it feels like to be hyperconnected: a new kind of community – pervasive, continuous, yet strangely tense and tenuous, like a balloon inflated to the point of bursting. The ... Read more »

David Peterson — Semantic web for distributed social networks

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 2.40pm. Hear how Drupal, Semantic MediaWiki and other bleeding edge tech were enlisted along with pixie dust, FOAF, RDF, OWL, SPARQL, Linked Data (basically all the Semantic Web stuff) to build a distributed social ... Read more »

Ruth Ellison — Integrating accessibility into design

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 2.40pm. When developing websites or web applications, we often follow the principles of web standards, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and other accessibility guidelines. But is this enough? In this session, Ruth will look at ... Read more »

Douglas Crockford — Ajax security

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 2.40pm. Security design is an important, but often neglected, component of system design. In this session, Douglas Crockford, creator of Javascript Object Notation, will outline the security issues that must be considered in the ... Read more »

Myles Byrne — Internationalization — a guide to dealing with the web’s favorite 20-​​letter word

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 1.40pm. So, you’ve decided to tap into a whole new world of business oppportunities by stepping outside the anglocentric world. That’s great! But the process of internationalisaton can be a genuine minefield for the ... Read more »

Myles Eftos — Web APIs, Oauth and OpenID: A developer’s guide

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 1.40pm. Online web applications are big business, with many people relying on the cloud for data storage and workflow. These days, an API is an essential part of any online system, but this presents ... Read more »

Daniel Burka — Changing successfully: Adapting your interface over time

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 1.40pm. User interface design is an iterative process — the design of Digg and Pownce have been a study in evolution and adaptation. This talk will inspect the why and how of these iterations ... Read more »

Diana Mounter — Custom V CMS — don’t take sides

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 11.45am. When I was introduced into the role of managing web projects, I naively believed a Content Management System would solve all my problems. Growing my little empire of content authors I had little ... Read more »

Michael ™ Smith — A jungle cruise through the wild regions of HTML5 and surrounding territories

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 11.45am. You’re invited to join a narrated exploration into the exotic regions of HTML5 and surrounding territories. Your journey will begin with a preparatory briefing about what to expect from HTML5 - what’s ... Read more »

Laurel Papworth — The business of being social

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 10.45am. It’s not true that there are no proven monetisation models for online communities; in fact, there are distinct revenue streams that have been successful over many years. This session looks at the soft ... Read more »

Panel — Choosing the right web application framework

The new era of web applications has introduced to us a number of frameworks designed to aid in rapid development. But, no matter what your preferred language, finding a suitable framework is not usually an easy task. In this intensive 2 hour session you’ll hear from several developers who’ll discuss ... Read more »

Jina Bolton — Creating sexy stylesheets

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 10.45am. Being a CSS expert is about more than just memorizing selectors. It’s also about working to improve the maintainability and efficiency of your style sheets, planning for the future, and mastering your workflow. ... Read more »

Jeffrey Veen — Designing our way through data

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 26 9.10am. The hype around Web 2.0 continues to increase to the point of absurdity. We hear all about a rich web of data, but what can we learn from these trends to actually ... Read more »

August de los Reyes — Predicting the past

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 4.05pm. A new inflection point in human-computer interaction is upon us. Along with other technologies, Microsoft Surface marks a departure from graphical user interface or GUI into the world of Natural User ... Read more »

Nick Bolton — The evolution and commercialisation of online video

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 2.40pm. Internet video has come a long way from the postage stamp generic media player to the commercial success it is today.This session looks at this journey, and examines the multitude of online video ... Read more »

Jeff Croft — Elegant web typography

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 2.40pm. Even in our day of web videos and podcasts, text is still the king of content on the web. Great typographic sensitivity is one of the hallmarks of sites that exude a professional ... Read more »

Hurol Inan — Informing experience architecture with quantitative insights

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 1.40pm. Quantitative insights gathered through online analytics can contribute greatly to the design and optimisation of online experience architectures. The success of an Experience Architect depends on the business impact of their architecture. Quantitative ... Read more »

Panel — Javascript libraries — putting the cross in cross-​​browser compatible

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 1.40pm. No longer are search engines the main contenders when you’re shopping for JavaScript solutions. For sophisticated, cross-browser effects which degrade gracefully and don’t impede accessibility, libraries are the new heavy weights. But which library do you want in your corner? The ... Read more »

Gabriel White — Sensing context in mobile design

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 1.40pm. Mainstream mobile devices are being loaded with sensors. These devices can be used to create experiences that are tailored, adaptive and responsive to the way people live and work. Location-awareness allows devices ... Read more »

Grant Young — Strategies for social media engagement

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 11.45am. With so many social networks blooming, all with different participants and methods of interaction, it can be hard to determine where to invest your energy, time and $$. The session will provide ideas ... Read more »

Teale Shapcott — From ordered to managed usability in an Agile environment

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 11.45am. Usability practice closely resembles the traditional software development approach in its formality and insistence on up-front analysis and design. Usability and design is an iterative process, but not agile. So how can ... Read more »

Pete Ottery & Tim Lucas — Developing for iPhone

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 11.45am. The release of Apple’s iPhone brings new opportunities for web sites and web apps on handheld devices, though not without its share of challenges ... Read more »

Kay Smoljak — Starting and running a successful web development business

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 10.45am. Working for yourself is a dream that many web designers and developers have. You can pick and choose your clients, work in your pajamas, and sleep in until 10am every day if you ... Read more »

Dmitry Baranovskiy — Start using web vector graphics today

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 10.45am. With the growth of interactivity in web applications we are pushing Javascript to its limits, not to mention the limits of HTML and CSS. And so we spend our days resorting to ... Read more »

Derek Featherstone — Accessibility beyond compliance

Web Directions South 2008, Sydney Convention Centre, September 25 10.45am. New technologies for web applications open up interactions to a highly sophisticated level. Learn how these new technologies can help designers move beyond simply complying with accessibility rules to create applications that work ... Read more »

McFarlane Prize for 2008

Nominations for this year's McFarlane Prize, which we founded in memory of Australian web and open source pioneer Nigel McFarlane in 2006, will open on July 1, and close on August 31st of this year.The prize aims to recognise "excellence is Australian web design" - and focusses on ... Read more »

Twittering for Local Government

Believe me, I'd be the first to say there is a lot of hot air that flies around about Twitter. But it strikes me that genuinely valuable ways of using it as an organisation do appear to be emerging. There's a collection of practical suggestions, as well as a succinct ... Read more »

The 5 Elements of Great Sign Up Experiences

This is an excellent collection of articles from Robert Hoekman Jr who spoke for us recently at our Melbourne and Canberra events.We all know how critical it is to get the sign up aspect of any web experience right - yet vast tracts of the web still get it ... Read more »

Openaustralia​.org goes live

With the launch last night of OpenAustralia.org, we now have our very own edition of TheyWorkForYou, thanks to the hard work of a group of local volunteers, plus the good people of mySociety, who build the technology on which the system is based.OpenAustralia combines Hansard (the official ... Read more »

Accommodation options during Web Directions South

We appreciate that for a lot of our attendees coming to Web Directions costs quite a bit more than just the price of admission. Apart from the chance to win an iPhone, this is another good reason to get stuck into sorting your registration out now while flights are ... Read more »

Congratulations to Remember the Milk

My other favourite Aussie web app just goes from strength to strength. Congratulations to Emily and Omar at Remember the Milk for taking out the category of Best iPhone Web Application in the Apple Design Awards recently announced at WWDC.I know this will be rubbing the curmudgeons out ... Read more »

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