Community is the framework (and it has a fancy new logo)
DemoCampGuelph is for anyone in and around Guelph interested in software, the web and technology!
Startup junkies, wage slaves, consultants, students, indie professionals, engineers, designers, money and marketing guys.
If you want to see and talk about some interesting things, and get to know other people in the Guelph tech community, come on out! You don’t have to demo to attend.
Thanks to the sponsors (for the food), the presenters (for the demos) and the organizers (for letting me in).
Here’s the slidedeck from the opening talk from @missrogue:
Maybe the iPad *is* what I want?
I’ve been ruminating about the announcement of the coming of Apple’s new iPad.
Worst name ever for a device. Period. Moving on…
I bought a netbook last year, thinking it would fill a certain void in my life. I want something I can take notes on at meetings and conferences, reference sites and gather emails. I’ve tried, and the netbook’s not it. It’s slow, the screen is poor, the battery is weak, and the keyboard is too small.
I don’t think I’m alone here. For students, I think the iPad would be a good solution for note-taking and research.
Unless y’all can think of a better solution…?
Design. Honestly.
Inspired this week by an encounter with A.M. García while at AccessAbility.
Antonio García is a Chicago-based strategist, writer and brand consultant for the industries of design + innovation. When he’s not shaping and sharing the stories and futures of authentic brands, he draws, designs and djs.
Here’s some of what he shared with me about design:
- Authenticity is critical, especially communicating across cultures
- Designers need to be observers, translators, communicators, ethnographers
- It’s about “keeping it real”
- It’s about more than “keeping it real”, it has to come from the heart
- Understanding social mores helps align your work
- Be flexible. Tell stories. Share insights. Be curious. Be worldly. Be inspired.
“Just because something is compliant, doesn’t mean it will be easy to use.”
Derek Featherstone, developer, consultant, speaker, triathelete, accessibility specialist and group lead of the Web Standards Project, had this to say at AccessAbility.
- Accessibility isn’t just a little piece of a website, it encompasses everything
- 4 Cornerstones of Accessibility – Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust
- It’s not just about meeting the guidelines. It’s about understanding the context of use
- alt text is not just important for people who can’t see
- Images that support or replicate information on the page do not necessarily need alt text
- Don’t think visually. Think from a keyboard perspective.
- First: Develop Content. Next: Build Presentation. Last: Add Behaviour.
- Think “Progressive Enhancement“
Derek can also be found at:
Pirate Juice! (& other principles of good information design)
Jenn & Ken Visocky O’Grady are Co-founders of Enspace and Co-authors of The Information Design Handbook.
I could listen to these folks talk all day. Their book is filled with case studies and essential design principles, with graphics that are exemplars of communication and aesthetics.
My favourite sequence from their presentation at AccessAbility:
If
= “pirate”
then,
= “pirate juice”?
Accessibility *is* forward thinking
© RGD Ontario
I had the great opportunity to attend a one day conference last week. AccessAbility, organized by The Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario (RGD Ontario), which represents more than 3,000 graphic designers, managers, educators and students across Ontario. Here are some take-aways from the day:
Stats: (from CNIB, accesscontent.ca):
- 15% of the population of Ontario have a disability
- by 2017, there will be more seniors in Ontario than those aged 0-14
- by 2025, 50% of the population on Ontario will be aged 65+
- people with disabilities are 5x more likely to be unemployed
Some reflections on individual sessions in future posts.
Green Energy. Here’s 25$ to get you started.
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We’re proud to be a bullfrogpowered home. If you would like to become bullfrogpowered with 100% green electricity too, sign up your home online at www.bullfrogpower.com. It only takes about 10 minutes, and you don’t need any special equipment or wiring to make the switch. Plus, you can enter my personal promotional code (KYLE1753) to get $25 off your first Bullfrog Power bill.
Brain Sharing by Lincoln Schatz
Think of yourself as a platform
I think the real leaders in my life, the people who have influenced me the most, share a common thread; they excel in creating the conditions in which good things can happen. Think of yourself as a platform. A utility or an environment that enables sharing, builds relationships and is extensible, allowing others to easily create other platforms on your building blocks. Be open source, sharing codes and secrets about what you do and why you do it. Join communities. Build communities.
Talk. Share. Learn. Create. Publish. Architect. Design.
A lot of what I do professionally is to create the conditions for education to happen. I work with a stellar team to configure tools to meet the needs of instructors and learners. We promote and support the effective use of these tools to better education. I’m passionate about it.
I’d love to know you’re passionate about. Let’s go for coffee sometime?
Malcolm, I think we need to start seeing other people
I’ve been reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success. True to form for my relationship with Gladwell’s books, the first 40 pages draw me in, but by the time I hit page 70 or so, my interest wanes. As my former classmate, Arthur Loik says,
I think his problem is he builds and tells every story the same way, so even while each individual chapter deals with different people and different circumstances, it still sounds like he’s repeating himself. He’s a master at arguing something into the ground and still sounding unconvincing (or unimpressive, perhaps).
Malcolm, I’ve tried. I’ve read the first pages of The Tipping Point, Blink, and now Outliers. Maybe it’s just me, but I think we need to move on. I do remember this time we spent together fondly:
It was short and sweet fling, to the point. Thanks for that. Bye for now.
So now, folks, I need a new book to dig my self into. One of my resolutions for 2010 is to “read more books”. Maybe you can help me out with your suggestions. Here’s what I’ve read and enjoyed lately:
The Medici Effect (Frans Johanssen)
Small is the New Big (Seth Godin)
The Ingenuity Gap (Thomas Homer-Dixon)
Here Comes Everybody (Clay Shirky)
…non-fiction…environmental focus…education…technology…that type of thing.
So, what do you think I should read next?
