A Blog Not Limited

BarCampAlbuquerque has come to a close, and it was a great experience for me. And as I posted previously, I spread the good word about web standards.

My Contribution

Here's my presentation for your enjoyment and edification: Web Standards Primer. I can't wait to listen to the recording to hear just how much of a total dork I sounded like.

To summarize, I covered:

• Definition of standards
• Importance of validation
• Semantics
• Separation of content from presentation and behavior
• Accessibility
• Benefits (to designers, developers, employers/clients, users and the industry as a whole)

Shout Outs

The best part of BarCampAlbuquerque: I met other local web and technology professionals, who really changed my somewhat-pessimistic opinion about the Albuquerque market and talent base:

• Reid Givens spoke on "common sense" web marketing. His presentation was engaging and informative, and he has an amazing presence in front of a group. I could easily see him giving great presentations at larger conferences. He also deserves a big thanks from everyone for organizing the event.
• Chris Kenworthy talked about analytics, heat maps and A/B testing, as well as demonstrated some very cool tools. This kid (yes, Chris, compared to me you are a kid) is brilliant with analytics and community building, and is an all-around great guy.
• Virginia Debolt attended and took some time out to talk to me. Imagine my surprise and thrill to find out she serves on the WaSP Education Task Force. I loved finding another local who is as committed to standards as I am, if not more so.
• Jack Moffit talked about start-ups on day one and XMPP open messaging on day two. He really blew me away with his breadth and depth of knowledge of all things web: development, entrepreneurialship, business, open standards … I could go on and on. And, frankly, hearing him speak made we want to get back into development (scary!).
• Chad Davis discussed public media with specific examples from his team's work at local PBS affiliate KNME. Having worked with Chad and his team at the start of their foray into "new media," it was nice to see how far they have come in a short period of time … with comparatively limited funding and resources.
• Mark Casias presented about JavaScript libraries (jQuery) and had me laughing during our chats. I found his commitment to creating rich, interactive user experiences with JavaScript inspiring and refreshing.

I had to leave early the last day and was sad to miss what seemed to be some great presentations, but I'm looking forward to next year!

Until then, enjoy my presentation and check out the above blogs from my ABQ colleagues.