Best Practices of Web Design with Web 2. Now for Business Conference

* October 18-19, 2006. Hilton Hotel BackBay, Boston MA

Industry insiders suggest that “Web 2. Now is not a revolution in Web technology, but an evolution in the way we think about technology online.” Amidst the semantics and the buzz,  there are an increasing number of opportunities to exploit some of the new advances in Web design and development, but also pitfalls along the way.

In WOW’s two day conference we aim to explain the relevance of all the latest buzzwords and place them in the context of sound future proofed practice. An understanding of the latest Web technologies will place you in a better position to meet the needs of your customer and to fully exploit the new business opportunities that are arising.

By attending the workshop you will learn:

Conference Program

October 18, 2006 Day One: Program Start 8:30 am Open Plenary

Meet the Speakers:

Following introductions to speakers and WOW dignitaries, you will hear the speakers’ perspectives on the goals for the workshop. You’ll also gain insight into the value proposition of weaving best practices into a single conference.

9:00 am to 10:30 am Demystifying Web 2. Now - Opportunities or Just More Hype?

Web 2. Now is creating a huge "buzz" in the IT and Web community reminiscent of the late nineties. In this session our experts will cover AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) provides a powerful mechanism for building Web applications and interfaces with very rich and efficient browser/client-side interactivity. This new level of interactivity is accomplished with server requests only for the portions of a Web page that are active instead of requests for an entire page. The key components of AJAX include the JavaScript DOM (Document Object Model), the XML Http Request object, XML, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

In this session you will learn specifically about:

Speaker: David Shrimpton, PhD. Director of Learning and Teaching for the Computing Laboratory at the University of Kent in the U.K.

10:30 am to 10:45 am Break

10:45 am to 12:30 pm Applying Web 2. Now

One of the major impacts of Web 2. Now is the concept of Web based applications. There are now Web based word processing, spreadsheets and even Web based file stores. Web applications make sharing easier, both within an organization and to clients and customers. Collaboration tools such as Wikis are increasingly used to aid collaboration.

In this session you will specifically learn:

12:30 pm to 1:15 pm Sponsored Lunch with Special Guest Speaker

1:30 pm to 3:15 pm Examples of How to Most Effectively Leverage the Web for Your Organisation

In this session the speaker will feature contemporary Web case studies that have proven results. By attending this session you will learn successful strategies that will increase your business agility and make your company stand out from the competition.

In this session you will learn specifically about:

Speaker: David Leip, CTO IBM.COM

3:15 pm to 3:30 pm Break

3:30 pm to 4:30 pm Designing for Web 2. Now

A web site may look good, but beauty is only skin deep. The way that a web site is designed can also have major implications on the cost of maintaining the web pages. Will your customers be able to access those pages on their machines and what will they see? What about access via mobile phone or other devices? In this session we consider the design of web sites that both not only look good, but are also future proofed.

In this session you will learn specifically about:

Speaker: David Shrimpton, PhD. Director of Learning and Teaching for the Computing Laboratory at the University of Kent in the U.K.

4:30 pm End of Session and Day 1

6:00- Cocktail Reception- Sponsored Social Network Hour- Light Food/ hor’sdeurves free

October 19, 2006 Day 2 Agenda

7:00 am to 8:30 am Continental Breakfast

8:30 am to 9:00 am Break

9:00 am to 10:30 am “ Unlock the Data”-Understanding the Semantic Web

It’s estimated that 80% of content on the Web is undocumented. The Semantic Web is a project that intends to create a universal medium for information exchange by putting documents with computer-processable meaning (semantics) on the World Wide Web. This will enable business cooperation by providing shared terminology and resolving mismatches between systems. Finding the information you need more precisely and more efficiently and enabling potential customers to find your services is another major benefit of the Semantic Web.

In this session we will explain how the Semantic Web will help users to find exactly what they are looking for and how Web 2. Now also addresses some of these issues, but comes at it from a different direction.

Speaker: David Shrimpton, PhD. Director of Learning and Teaching for the Computing Laboratory at the University of Kent in the U.K.

In this session you will specifically learn about:

10:30 am to10:45 am Break

10:45 am to 12:30 pm Interacting with the Web - Forms

Forms are an essential component for interacting with the Web. Users need to be able to easily input information and get rapid feedback. It is also important that forms can be delivered to a range of devices without having to redesign them from scratch.

In this session you will learn specially about:

Speaker David Shrimpton, PhD. Director of Learning and Teaching for the Computing Laboratory at the University of Kent in the U.K.

12:30 pm to 1:30 pm Sponsored Lunch with Guest Speaker

1:45 pm to 3:30 pm Insights into Developing and Managing a Nimble and Productive Web Team

Whether you manage a Web staff of one or outsource your Web related work to a design or development firm you will want to attend this session. In this interactive session you’ll learn insights from our experts how to manage and grow your Web team that produce award winning results.

Specifically you’ll learn:

•Learn about how Web managers and business owners are utilizing “Agile” methods and how can it be used to delver what the organization needs quicker improving your bottom line.

•How to hire, manage and retain the best Web professionals including Web designers, developers and consultants.

Speakers

•David Leip. IBM’s Chief Innovation Officer for ibm.com

* Bill Cullifer, Executive Director and Founder of the World Organization of Webmasters (WOW)

3:30 pm to 3:45 pm Break

3.45 pm to 4:45 p.m.

Panel Discussion - Beyond Web 2. Now

In this session panellists will briefly outline their vision for where the Web is heading and the opportunities that might lay ahead for small business as well as the enterprise. The panel will also address questions that have been raised over the last two days.

Panellists:

Speaker bios:

David Shrimpton is Director of Learning and Teaching for the Computing Laboratory at the University of Kent . He has recently led the development of a new degree course in Web Computing at Kent, as well as designing and running a range of Web based courses. He was principal investigator for a research project on the convergence of interactive TV and the Web and has contributed to standards bodies including both the ISO and W3C. David gained his PhD in 1992 in networking and since has been an enthusiastic educator within both academia and industry. He is a member of the W3C advisory committee.

image David Leip is a Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM) at IBM where he is the Chief Technology Officer for ibm.com. In that role he is focused on driving new innovation into IBM's own web presence as well as driving agile methods for the organization. Previously, he managed IBM's corporate webmaster organization for several years where he had responsibility for many of IBM's web standards. More importantly David managed IBM's corporate portal that grew to span 92 countries and 32 languages, with an availability of 100.000% over the last four and a half years he was in that job. David has an MSc in computer science and a background in software development, usability and web application solution delivery. He is on the advisory board for the World Organization of Webmasters, and the head of IBM's newest Center for Advanced Studies.

imageBill Cullifer is the executive director and founder of the World Organization of Webmasters (WOW). The World Organization of Webmasters (WOW)is a non profit professional association dedicated to the support of individuals and organizations who create, manage or market web sites on the Internet.