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I’ve always watched the various BarCamps around the world with envy, wishing that I could be part of the exciting unconference environment. So I’m excited that BarCamp Canberra is finally happening! For those new to the concepts of BarCamps, Wikipedia defines it as:

An international network of user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants — often focusing on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats.

Here are the details of the event:

• Who? Anyone who is interested in technology, the Internet and related topics. We have room for 60ish people, so bring your colleagues.
• What? A good opportunity to share ideas and projects and to work with like-minded individuals.
• When? 1000-1700 on Saturday 19 April 2008
• Where? BarCampCanberra will be held at the CSIT Building, North Road, ANU.
• Website? The BarCampCanberra blog is located at: www.barcampcanberra.org/blog. Updated information about the event will be posted there.

BarCamps are only as good as those that help to be part of the sharing and collaborative knowledge sharing environment. So don’t be shy. It’s free to register for the event and there’s an Upcoming event for it too.

I’m looking at presenting something related to accessibility and/or along the lines of user experience related subjects (thinking about users when designing a product/website/webapp). We’ll see how it goes with timing of our garage sale and house renovations!

With only 12 sleeps until Web Directions South 2007 (or less if you count the cool workshops!), it’s only appropriate that I get into gear and do the flickr meme started by Miles Burke. I was tagged by Gary some time ago but have been way too flat out to find the time to do this interesting meme.

The point of this meme is to find and link to as many pictures of yourself on flickr from previous years of Web Directions South. There’s definitely lots of drinking, funny t-shirts, catching up with friends, early morning breakfasts, watching others do a Ben Stiller and partying!

Gary’s right – there’s seems to be a greater amount of cameras than attendees at the conferences!

I’ll like to tag Ben and Donna but I know she’s really flat out at the moment!

What happens when you get a bunch of Information Architects in a room, throw a bunch of technical presentations, case studies, panels, and interactive workshops at them, along with food and wine (or beer if you’re that way inclined)…? That’s right – it’s Oz-IA! There’s heaps of passionate discussions, lots of interesting people to meet and many new and interesting ideas to learn.

I attended the inaugural Oz-IA conference last year and had a great time. I even discovered a fabulous Thai restaurant (thanks to Stephen Hall and Andrew Boyd) which I’m looking forward to visiting again this year.

I’m glad that this year’s Oz-IA conference is held before Web Directions. Last year, I was a bit too exhausted from all the social activities associated with Web Directions and was a bit more introverted than I normally am. Anyhow, I’ve bought my ticket, and told all my friends and workmates about it. It’s a great value so why not check out the program and register for it? If you get in early, before 11th September, you’ll even get the early bird pricing.

Calling all Aussies – If you can only make it to one conference this year, make sure that it’s Web Directions South. The website has just launched, and there’s a great line up of international and local speakers. The venue has moved to the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre as well as the Powerhouse Museum. Very cool! Make sure you get in early for the early bird pricing. Tickets do tend to sell out fast.

So another year of Web Directions is over, as well as the inaugural OzIA conference/retreat, both held in Sydney. Attending the Web Directions conference is a bit like coming ‘home’. It’s such a comfy feeling to be hanging out with like-minded folks.

I love meeting both old and new friends, great to put some faces to the names that I see frequently on the web, plus to meet some of the Perth people.

Highlights from the week (covering both conferences) include:

• Derek Featherstone’s various accessibility talks, in particular the concept that accessibility is personal and that it’s not just about checklists. This one really strike a chord with me – I’ve been talking myself blue about the same issues for a long time, and it was great to see it so well articulated.
• Andy Clarke‘s talk about inspired design – it reinforced my conviction in seeking inspiration among everything around me.
• Mark Pesce’s interesting talk about social networks.
• Donna Maurer‘s Lakoff’s ‘Women, Fire & Dangerous Things’ – What every IA should know – very interesting topics, not sure where to start!
• Dan Saffer‘s beyond wireframes: documenting AJAX and RIA – particularly relevant to the current organisation where I’m at.
• Thomas Vander Wal’s Folksonomy to Improve IA presentation that really highlighted the intricateness (and coolness!) of tagging.

So I’m back in reality, well sated and well energised (mentally) from both conferences. Totally exhausted physically though! Anyhow, I’m really looking forward to Web Directions South 07 (perhaps Web Directions North too?), and OzIA 2007 depending upon how close it is to Web Directions South 07.

After a hard night of very little sleep, I struggled awake at 6am this morning so I could check out of my hotel, check in to the new hotel, and register for day one of the OzIA conference. The lack of sleep wasn’t due to a hard night of partying. I actually left the Web Directions South 06 party early so I could get a good night sleep. Instead, a faint stream of music being pipped non stop into my room kept me dropping in and out of sleep. I called reception at 3am in the morning, asking for help as I couldn’t sleep. Options presented weren’t good – I choose to attempt sleep with a pillow over my head. Not a good option.

But back to the OzIA conference. It was the inaugural OzIA conference with a good turnout of IAs, and other related professions.

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It’s day two of Web Directions 06 and most people have managed to make it to the opening speech by Andy Clarke. And for those that could manage it, there was Molly’s breakfast at 7.15am.

Andy Clarke

Andy Clarke‘s presentation was just like him – stylish. Stylish slides, stylish dressing, and a stylish accent (ok, I’m partial to UK accents….). He took us through his experiences and advice of creating inspired design. Key thoughts include evoking emotion; it’s more than just the technology; get your inspiration from around you (newspapers, magazines, architecture).

Favourite quotes from Andy:

Absolutely positioning is the new DOM scripting

And the number one quote:

The web is not a power drill

Cheryl Lead & Ben Buchanan

Cheryl and Ben took us on a journey of moving your organisation to web standards. We heard about how Virgin Money did it, as well as Griffith University. Key points from the two: use lots of analogies, stay sane, and try Ben’s Coffee Theory.

Favourite quote:

Oh my God, we don’t want to be acid wash jeans!

Cameron Adams & Kevin Yank

The Man in Blue and Kevin Yank took us through an interesting and funny journey through JavaScript APIs and mash-ups. Lots of interesting examples, and even a good example of how fast the web can be….. (in response to this).

Jeremy Keith

Jeremy Keith gave a quick run down on progressive enhancement with hijax. He took us through the steps of the XMLHttpRequest, the hijax approach, and some examples. Great session – but not for the non-code-heads!
Favourite quote (ok, the only one I managed to get down):

The browser is no place for business logic

Kelly Goto

Kelly took us through an overview of the iterative application development process. Key points: keep iterating and iterating until you reach the goal of lifestyle driven behaviour; incorporate user research and usability; and scrum, an iterative process methodology.

Mark Pesce

Mark talked to us about social networks – the evolution, reasoning and the humanness of it. Love it!

And in other news, I was pleasantly (and excitedly) surprised to win one of the door prizes – a seat in the upcoming How We Built Flickr workshop, behing held around various places in Australia.
Next on the list….on to the Pumphouse for the closing party!

For those going to Web Directions 06, check out the very slick Web Connections 06 tool. This social networking app is written by The Man in Blue and Tim Lucas but we warned…adding connections is addictive!