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I'm a bit late in writing this review, so I hope my memory of the event hasn't faded too much. I can't recall how I came across d.Construct to begin with, but was pleased to see another technology event being based in Brighton, and was even pleaseder (?) to get in quick and bag a ticket. I have to admit to attending d.Construct very much as a Web 2.0 sceptic. Having seen and read a bit on technolgies such as AJAX, Flex, YUI and such, all this just brought about the feeling that it was yet another avenue for the web developer and their employers to make my browsing and work environment do stuff I'd rather not have it do. It's not that I'm puritanical (although you might think otherwise from a quick glance at my website www.hxdx.com - with its XHTML, CSS, no frames, no tables, no JavaScript, accessible-tastic ticks-all-the-right-boxes elementary webness), it's just that I like things to be, well, nice. Or at least to play fair. What ruined the web experience for me was DHTML: the web was not longer WYSIWYG in the true sense, cos the developer insisted in putting in 'clever' bits of script that changed things whilst I wasn't looking, or forced content into my face, or tried miserably and pointlessly to mimic the desktop UI experience. In principal, DHTML and JavaScript is cool, I happen to like the DOM and I've done some pretty cool stuff myself. But because of its power, it's open to abuse, both in the malicious sense (popups etc.) and in the commercial sense (popups etc.). Let's get back on topic. I've established that I've not been a recent fan of web interactivity, so AJAX and Web 2.0 were buzzwords that really didn't give me warm fuzzies. I'm sure I stood in the queue at morning registration with a scowl on my face. However, I was most pleasantly surprised at the tone and direction of dConstruct. Right from the start, the focus was very much about the user. Yes, User Experience was mentioned a couple of times, but the topics were presented much less from the technology point of view, and more about how they can enable the user, and exactly what it facilitates. The sceptic feeling quickly left me and I began to enjoy the morning's presentations. So what of substance was there? Well first there was the obligatory "and now a word from our sponsors" sessions, from Amazon Web Services' evangelist Jeff Bar, and the comedy duo of Paul Hammond and Simon Willison of the Yahoo Developer Network. Both presentations were enjoyable and enlightening, and illustrated that even for the ordinarily protective coporates, providing open data brings more benefits than risks or problems. Apparently, Jeff had also given a similar presentation in the virtual world of Second Life. Surreal. I liked the idea of Yahoo's Hack Day, previously used internally at the Yahoo Developer Network to foster creation of cool stuff, a bit like show and tell, but for making things. Next came the lucid and eloquent Jeremy Keith who provided an entertaining non-partisan discussion on using technology to give the user more. After a brief retrospective of his own work, Jeremy showed some great examples (alright then, some great "mashups") of API meets API meets user. Wanna see recent Library Vandalism in the Chicago area? Just take a look at chicagocrime.org. Or how about geotagged gossip all across Manhattan? Hours of fun can be found at overplot. I didn't hang around at lunch time, but Jeremy hosted a picnic-based chat all about microformats, which is a way to give machine consumable meaning to human readable content. Neat! I missed the microsandwiches on offer, but had Indian around the corner instead. After the food, and the warm weather that Brighton put on, I was feeling a bit sleepy going back after lunch. So Aral Balkan's presentation was probably well positioned, as he raced through some of his reasons why Flash and Flex are cool. I'm not the biggest fan of Flash, at least for just presenting basic information and designing content rich websites. It's great stuff for highly interactive applications, like the very cool LivePlasma, and Aral is also an advocate of User Centred Design. After a coffee break, it was Thomas Vander Wal's shot at the mic, where he spoke about tagging, and folksonomy in particular. Although quite a dry presentation, and probably the least technical, it was useful to see a sociological and human-cultural slant on the web, and how emerging internet environments are evolving and communities and localities in all sorts of contexts. Oh, and I've just bothered to read the notes I took, and seen that I scribbled down a very cool diagram of how ojects, interests, communities and identities correlate in the taxonomic universe. Do check out his presentation when it appears. I realise I've missed out Derek Featherstone's bit, and it disappoints me to say that I really can't remember much of it at all. Sorry Derek! The only notes I wrote during his presentation were about the XHTML2 namespace, and the role attribute, in particular. Smells a bit like microformats, but in a good way. Finally, wired.com veteran Jeff Veen provided a thoroughly engaging talk on the process and concepts of designing for the user. Most of what Jeff spoke about was familiar, but worth being reminded about in the context of the overall event. Sometimes, basic ideas such as Feasibility, Viability and Desirability can get lost in the swamp of design and technology. Jeff dotted his talk with near-death experiences and design wisdom in equal parts. Download Jeff's presentation. There's a lot to read and think about. So go do that, then go ride bikes. Some resources for those who couldn't make the event:
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Posted: 20 Sep 2006 |
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