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Web Development

The Power of Platforms: A Web Professional Perspective & Media Covereage of the Web 2.0 Event San Francisco

by Bill Cullifer on May 26, 2010

The Power of Platforms – A Web Professional Perspective and Overview of the Web 2.0 2010 Event San Francisco, CA

The Web 2.0 Conference took place earlier in the month in San Francisco, CA and WOW’s roving reporter Jeri Hastava, principle of Leap of Faith Web Design was on hand to conduct a number of in depth interviews on the going’s on with in depth coverage of the more meaningful sessions for the practicing Web professional.

Today’s podcast is an overview of that event featuring the conference theme, “Power of the Platform” followed by an overview by Jerri of the following sessions that she sat in on and what you can expect of her in depth interviews of the speakers that we will be featuring in future podcast later this week and next.

Thank you Jeri!

Power of the Platform: A Web Professional Overview of the Web 2.0 Event San Francisco: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Overview

* Being Optimally Social – How Not Talking about Your Product Can Bring Huge Rewards
Social Media Marketing with Rand Fishkin, CEO & Co-Founder (SEOmoz), Stephan Spencer, VP of SEO Strategies (Covario)
These two co-authors of O’Reilly’s “The Art of SEO” will go beyond friending, following, digging and tweeting to discuss clever and novel ways to leverage social media, communities, and user-generated content that your organization is likely not doing.

* Web Design Redefined, with Web Fonts with Allan Haley, Director of Words & Letters (Monotype Imaging)
Typography has often been a thorn in the side of Web designers who have traditionally been confined to a limited number of system fonts or forced to embed type within graphics. New technologies promise to bring Web designers the same level of typographic choice and freedom that print designers enjoy. Discover more about the emerging world of Web typography how it will impact you.

* Social Media: A Cautionary Tale: Focus on Enterprise with Mike Gotta. Principal Analyst (Burton Group), Alice Wang, Director (Burton Group)
As social media solutions become more complex, IT organizations are becoming more involved to work with business strategists on ways to mitigate risks. Security, compliance, confidentiality, data loss prevention, brand reputation, and human resource concerns (i.e., ethics/conduct) are issues that organizations cannot ignore.

* Upgrade Your Mandate – From User Experience to Customer Experience Strategy & Business Models with Peter Merholz, Founder & President (Adaptive Path)
Your customers lead multi-channel lives. So why are you focused on just one? In this talk, Peter Merholz will lay out a strategy for “Web + 1″, connecting the web to other service touchpoints, and how to address the organizational challenges in doing so.

Today’s Web Pro Minute is sponsored by the Microsoft WebsiteSpark Program.

Join WebsiteSpark today and take advantage of this exclusive offer:

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2. Have fewer than 10 employees.

*At the end of the three year program there is a one-time $100 program fee.

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Content is King: Satisfy the Cat, a.k.a. User-Centered Design

by Bill Cullifer on May 20, 2010

By Jeri A Hastava, Leap of Faith Web Design

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
—George Bernard Shaw
Parade Magazine Cartoon – It’s a great-looking web site, but you need to focus on content.

“It’s a great-looking web site, but you need to focus on content.”

—Parade Magazine, April 22, 2007
Content Strategy
The Heart of the Matter

If you Google, “Content is King,” you’ll get over 741,000 results stressing the relationship between clear, concise and compelling content and successful websites.
Okay – What is Website Content Anyway?

Most people think of text or copy when they think of content, but content is also images, video, forms, links, document files, tabular data, buttons, and calls to action; the “stuff” on your website. We help you provide clear concise and compelling content. Content that is useful and meaningful, that tells your story, engages your audience, solves their problems, and inspires them to take action.
Then What’s a Website Content Strategy?

A content strategy is a plan for giving your audience what they want; useful, meaningful content, a plan to help you meet the goals you set for your website:

* a plan for collecting, analyzing, organizing and optimizing existing content,
* a plan for creating meaningful, compelling new content, and understanding why it’s needed,
* a plan for publishing and maintaining content, and
* a plan for archiving content and managing the future growth of your website content.

But Wait, There’s More! What About Social Media?

Online communities are having a dramatic effect on how people making purchasing decisions online. They encourage “conversations” that you can be a part of. And what about search engine optimization? Where does that fit into the picture. It’s all a part of your content strategy.

Do you begin to see how the process flows? First we identify your goals and your audience, we then determine what resources you have available to help you meet your goals, and then we develop a content strategy that fits your budget to help you achieve them.
Alright – So What Makes Content Clear, Concise & Compelling?

We’re passionate about meaningful content and information design. Your content should never be an afterthought. Content is what attracts people to your website.

* Clear content answers their questions and solves their problems; it’s what they are searching for.
* Concise content makes it easy for people to do what they came to your website to do.
* Compelling content gives them a reason to do it.

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HTML5 vs. Adobe Flash

by Bill Cullifer on April 30, 2010

HTML5 vs. Adobe Flash: Where do you stand?

The controversy for the “hearts and minds” of Web professionals heats up as press reports reflect that Steve Jobs goes public with a statement that Adobe’s Flash software has fallen short as a mobile technology. At issue is the public debate between the companies over the program used to create online video. Clearly, the case for HTML5 vs. Adobe Flash is sure to intensify in the weeks and months to come.

The Story Line

Apple has “few joint interests” with Adobe, Mr. Jobs said in a post on Apple’s Web page Thursday, citing six reasons he doesn’t want Flash for mobile devices. He called the program closed and proprietary, saying the decision to bar it from Apple’s devices is based on technology, not business.

Apple’s efforts to convince programmers to adopt other ways to get video to work on Web sites threatens Flash’s dominance. San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe is fighting for the hearts and minds of Web-site developers, many of whom view Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch and newly released iPad tablet as platforms they can’t ignore.

HTML5, a standard Apple uses instead of Flash, is a “completely open” technology, said Mr. Jobs. HTML5 lets Web developers create graphics and animations without relying on third-party browser plug-ins, such as Flash, he said.

“Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind,” Mr. Jobs said according to press reports.

Adobe highlighted the risks of exclusion from Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices for the first time in a regulatory filing this month, signalling the snub could hurt sales according t the report.

More than 75% of online videos run on Flash, and the software is installed on about 98% of personal computers connected to the Internet, according to Adobe. Flash also runs on more than 800 million mobile phones, manufactured by 19 of the top 20 handset makers — all except Apple.

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An Event Apart: Interview with Jonathan Worent Senior Developer, Online Innovative Creations

by Bill Cullifer on October 19, 2009

An Event Apart: Interview with Jonathan Worent Senior Developer, Online Innovative Creations: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m moving on from the media coverage of the Adobe Max conference to other Web design events taking place around the U.S. For today’s podcast, I connected up with Jonathan Worent, Senior Developer Online Innovative Creations (OIC) Group, Inc. Jonathan participated in the AnEventApart Conference that took place in Chicago, Illinois that took place last week.

In addition to having a great time, Jonathan met a number of speakers including Jeffrey Zeldman and Andy Clarke and Dan Cederholm. In this interview Jonathan shares a few walkways that he intends to implement with his customers right away.

Check out the three minute interview on today’s Web Professional Minute.

A full transcript will follow in twenty for hours.

Today’s Web Professional Minute is sponsored by WebProTraining.org. WOW is pleased to announce the availabilty of the Creating Accessible Web Forms Course. Creating web forms that are accessible to people with disabilities requires understanding of the labeling features of HTML markup and how browsers interpret labeling markup for assistive technologies like screen readers. The online course is being taught by Dr. Gunderson University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign. The course also provides great value and is highly reccomended by Web professionals worldwide.

WOW members will receive a discounted rate of $150.00. Check out all of the details on the Web Pro Training website and register today!

Check out all of the great links on the Web Professional Minute Website.

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Google Analytics vs. Omniture: “Owning your own Data” QandA session with Kevin Lynch, CTO Adobe

by Bill Cullifer on October 15, 2009

Google Analytics vs. Omniture: “Owning your own Data” QandA session with Kevin Lynch, CTO Adobe.: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Google Analytics vs. Omniture: “Owning your own Data” QandA session with Kevin Lynch, CTO Adobe: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today’s podcast is a final in a series of podcast of the media coverage of the Adobe Max Conference. I sat in on a QandA session with Kevin Lynch, CTO Adobe where he was asked to explain the differences between Google Analytics and Omniture. Adobe as you may recall, has agreed to buy Ominiture and it appears that they have a billion reasons why they would want to. For today’s podcast, Kevin explains them in detail.

Check out the three minute interview on today’s Web Professional Minute.

A full transcript will follow in twenty for hours.

WOW members will receive a discounted rate of $150.00. Check out all of the details on the Web Pro Training website and register today!

Check out all of the great links on the Web Professional Minute Website.

About Adobe Acquiring Omniture

Combined Company Will Deliver Comprehensive Solutions for Creation, Delivery and Optimization of Content and Applications

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and Omniture, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMTR) today announced the two companies have entered into a definitive agreement for Adobe to acquire Omniture in a transaction valued at approximately $1.8 billion on a fully diluted equity-value basis. Under the terms of the agreement, Adobe will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Omniture for $21.50 per share in cash. Adobe’s acquisition of Omniture furthers its mission to revolutionize the way the world engages with ideas and information. By combining Adobe’s content creation tools and ubiquitous clients with Omniture’s Web analytics, measurement and optimization technologies, Adobe will be well positioned to deliver solutions that can transform the future of engaging experiences and e-commerce across all digital content platforms and devices. The combination of the two companies will increase the value Adobe delivers to customers. For designers, developers and online marketers, an integrated workflow — with optimization capabilities embedded in the creation tools — will streamline the creation and delivery of relevant content and applications. This optimization will enable advertisers, advertising agencies, publishers and e-tailers to achieve greater ROI from their digital media investments and improve their end users’ experiences.

About Kevin Lynch, Chief Technology Officer Senior Vice President, Experience & Technology Organization

As chief technology officer and senior vice president, Experience & Technology Organization, Kevin Lynch oversees Adobe’s experience design and core technology across business units. This role includes driving Adobe’s technology platform for designers and developers across desktops and devices, including Adobe® Flash® Player, Portable Document Format (PDF), Adobe Flex® and Adobe AIR™, the cross-operating system application runtime that bridges the computing power and data capabilities of the desktop with the real-time dynamic capabilities of the web. He also oversees Adobe’s developer relations program, including the integration of customers and partners in the development process through Adobe Labs and customer advisory councils.

Prior to being named CTO in 2008, Lynch served as senior vice president and chief software architect for Adobe’s Platform Business Unit. Lynch joined Adobe through the company’s 2005 acquisition of Macromedia, Inc., where he served as chief software architect and president of product development. He headed up the creation of the company’s mobile and devices group and served as general manager of the web publishing group. Lynch also oversaw the initial development of Macromedia® Dreamweaver®, a leading web development product.

Before joining Macromedia in 1996, Lynch worked for General Magic, where he pioneered a navigational user interface for handheld communicators. Previously, he designed the user interface and developed the first Macintosh release of FrameMaker® software for Frame Technology, later acquired by Adobe. While at the University of Illinois, Lynch developed early Macintosh applications, including a desktop publishing program that introduced user interface elements in common use today.

Lynch holds three patents with others currently pending, and he is involved in Adobe’s international standards efforts with organizations such as the W3C, ECMA and ISO. Lynch studied interactive computer graphics at the University of Illinois, working with artists and engineers in the Electronic Visualization Laboratory.

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Adobe MAX 2009: Interview with Bob Flynn, Manager IT Community Partnerships at Indiana University

by Bill Cullifer on October 10, 2009

Adobe MAX 2009: Interview with Bob Flynn, Manager IT Community Partnerships at Indiana University: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today’s podcast is a continuation of WOW’s media coverage of the Adobe Max conference that took place in Los Angeles, CA October 4-7, 2009. To get a better sense for the value proposition of attending the week long event from a university perspective, I sat down with Bob Flynn, Manager IT Community Partnerships at Indiana University.

In this three minute interview, Bob shares the value of attending the event, the value to the university from a teaching perspective, the value to students ranging from from the creative, technical scientific and the value to the universities research projects utilizing RIA resources.

Bob ask that Web professionals and those that teach check out the BFlex 09 Conference October 24-25, 2009 on the Indiana University Campus

Bob also announces the availability of Web professional training open to teachers and students. If you’re looking for affordable hands on training consider checking out the BFLEX conference

The event is offering Flash Camps, Cold Fusion like BFusion and BFlex and hands on training for around $ 10.00.

What: Two days of hands-on training from the experts in Adobe Flex and ColdFusion.
ColdFusion — October 24, 2009
Flex —
When: October 25, 2009
Where: Bloomington, Indiana

For additional information check out the BFlex conference website

Check out the full three minute podcast on today’s Web Professional Minute.

A full transcript will follow in twenty for hours.

Today’s Web Professional Minute is sponsored by the Nokia Corporation and their Nokia Web Runtime (WRT) Extension for Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 software making the creation of mobile WRT widgets for supporting Nokia devices easier then ever. Through the Nokia Ovi Store and Adobe AIR Marketplace, developers and designers have an easy way to engage, build and publish their content to Nokia mobile device customers. For additional information check out the Nokia Forum.

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Adobe MAX: Interview with Ted Patrick, Senior Evangelist Platform at Adobe

by Bill Cullifer on October 7, 2009

Adobe MAX: Interview with Ted Patrick, Senior Evangelist Platform at Adobe: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today’s Podcast is a continuation of WOW’s media coverage of the Adobe MAX conference 2009 Los Angeles, CA. Adobe promised an event that would connect, discover and inspire. I walked away with all of that and much more.

Although the keynote on day one kicked off a little late, the professionals at Adobe recovered with an uncanny ability to regroup, refocus and shine.

For Web professionals, Adobe MAX is part design, development and business. Candidly, I can’t recall a time in the eleven years that I’ve been managing the WOW organization that I’m walking away from a conference with something for everyone. Over the course of the next few days, I’d like to expand on that. I’d also like to provide you with a series of interviews why I think this conference provided solutions for designers, developers, those that teach and mission critical business applications that will keep Web professionals like us for a long time.

For today’s podcast, I caught up with Ted Patrick, Senior Evangelist Platform at Adobe. Ted shares his thoughts on the content, the develop and the design community and jobs.

Check out the full five minute podcast on today’s Web Professional Minute. Check out the video of Adobe’s FedEx demo on the YouTube Video below:

A full transcript will follow in twenty for hours.

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Adobe Max 2009 Keynote Day 1

by Bill Cullifer on October 6, 2009

Adobe Max 2009 Keynote Day 1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m in Los Angeles, CA today participating in Adobe MAX 2009. For today’s podcast, I’d like to share with you the first few minutes of the Keynote with Shantanu Narayen, Adobe CEO as well as few of the big announcements.

The theme is clearly mobile Web. Here’s a summary of today’s highlights with a few links:

A full transcript will follow in twenty for hours.

WOW members will receive a discounted rate of $150.00. Check out all of the details on the Web Pro Training website and register today!

Check out all of the great links on the Web Professional Minute Website.

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Web Professional Education:Interview with Doug Schepers, W3C

by Bill Cullifer on August 26, 2009

Web Professional Education:Interview with Doug Schepers, W3C : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

WOW recently participated in a gathering of Web professionals from the international community to discuss the current status of Web professional education.

To that end, Professor Mark DuBois WOW’s director of education participated to share best practices and WOW’s eleven year history to promote the profession and our effort to promote Web professional career pathways and curriculum resources.

For today’s podcast Professor DuBois interviews a representative from the W3C regarding the purpose of the gathering, his thoughts on the current status of Web professional educaton and WOW’s role in the mix.

Check out the full five minute interview on today’s Web Pro Minute website.

A Full Transcript of this podcast will be available in seventy two hours.

Today’s Web Professional Minute is sponsored by Peach Pit Press. Peachpit has been publishing top-notch books on the latest in graphic design, desktop publishing, multimedia, Web design and development, digital video, and general computing since 1986.

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Adobe MAX 2009 LA::Interview with Ben Forta, Director of evangelism for Adobe’s Platform Business Unit

by Bill Cullifer on August 10, 2009

Adobe MAX 2009 LA::Interview with Ben Forta, Director of evangelism for Adobe’s Platform Business Unit: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Adobe MAX LA 2009 is just around the corner. In response to your e-mails regarding communicating the business proposition for Web professionals to attend events amidst severe budget cuts for travel and education, I’ve arranged for an interview with with Ben Forta, Director of Evangelism for Adobe’s Platform Business Unit. Ben Forta, as many of you know is a notable author, speaker and a veteran industry professional dating back to his work at Macromedia and Allaire. In this interview, Ben provides insights as to what Web professionals can expect and also makes a great business case why you should attend this years MAX 2009 LA.

In addition to the cutting edge content, the great vibe and networking opportunities, WOW members are eligible for a significant ($400.00) discount. Register today with your WOW Adobe Max discount code WOW984 today!

A transcript of this podcast will be available in twenty-four hours.

Additional event detail:

Adobe’s MAX Conference comes to Los Angeles Oct 4-7. This is THE place were the Adobe developer and designer community comes together to learn and share best practices, and see emerging technologies. The conference is packed with sessions on cross-media workflows, prototyping, standards-based web design, user interface design, online advertising, interactive games, accessibility, motion graphics, video encoding, video creation, and much more. Choose from hundreds of sessions to create an agenda that meets your needs.

Additional details with links and Adobe MAX discount codes:

Every year, MAX attendees learn tricks for designing more productively and discover new skills for creating engaging experiences. They get sneak peeks of upcoming software and network with some of the top designers in the world. At the end of the four day conference, they’re inspired to create next-generation experiences, with heads chock-full of the know-how to make it happen. Here are just a few reasons why MAX is a “must-attend” conference

· See how to create compelling applications, content, and video and deliver it on screens of every size, across operating systems, accessible from anywhere at any time.

·Learn how to take ideas to market faster through design and development workflows that support iterative development by attending hands-on labs and learning from real-world case studies.

* All MAX sessions and labs are taught by the best of the best — the kind of people you don’t just run into every day. They can share their years of experience regarding what works and what doesn’t.

* MAX attendees come from organizations all over the world, from small businesses to Fortune 1000 companies and local nonprofits to large government agencies. You can exchange ideas and build one-on-one relationships with people who have dealt with challenges similar to yours.

* Expose yourself to new ways of thinking by seeing some of the coolest, boundary-pushing, experimental work out there. In previous years, 94% of past attendees said they left MAX inspired to innovate.

* The majority of attendees of MAX 2008 said the event exceeded their expectations at providing opportunities for learning tips, tricks, and the latest industry trends.

There are several ways to experience MAX2009. Please write WOW in the “referred by” or “source” field so our organization is recognized for its importance by the MAX team.

1) Full MAX Conference Pass is $1095. Use the promotion code WOW984 to get this low price.

2) Individual Day Pass is regularly $595. WOW gets a $100 discount to $495 by using the promotion code DAY941 and purchasing before September 18. Day Two looks like the best day with an opening keynote, sessions and labs, sneak peaks, awards, party, and all the Community Pavilion listed above.

3) Expo only pass is $200 for the entire conference. You get access to the Expo, the Community Pavilion, BOFs at lunch, and “unconferences” which are mini conferences held in the Community Pavilion area.

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← Previous Entries

Web Development

The Power of Platforms: A Web Professional Perspective & Media Covereage of the Web 2.0 Event San Francisco

The Power of Platforms – A Web Professional Perspective and Overview of the Web 2.0 2010 Event San Francisco, CA

Content is King: Satisfy the Cat, a.k.a. User-Centered Design

HTML5 vs. Adobe Flash

HTML5 vs. Adobe Flash: Where do you stand?

The Story Line

An Event Apart: Interview with Jonathan Worent Senior Developer, Online Innovative Creations

Google Analytics vs. Omniture: “Owning your own Data” QandA session with Kevin Lynch, CTO Adobe

Adobe MAX 2009: Interview with Bob Flynn, Manager IT Community Partnerships at Indiana University

Adobe MAX: Interview with Ted Patrick, Senior Evangelist Platform at Adobe

Adobe Max 2009 Keynote Day 1

Web Professional Education:Interview with Doug Schepers, W3C

Adobe MAX 2009 LA::Interview with Ben Forta, Director of evangelism for Adobe’s Platform Business Unit

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