Holy freaking cow….

Seriously. That just happened. This is the first real time that I have had to sit and write anything on this blog despite it being open an ready for a post every time I launch a browser. There has been so much goin on that it’s hard to even know where to start.

First of all, 37signal gave an amazing talk. Check out the details.

Next there was the Creative Relativity. Another great talk, very fun and engaging. Chicago based companies seem to be where the action is at right now. A talk given by Jim Coudal, the CEO of Coudal Partners. The talk basically covered his view on the process of creativity and the literal birthing of ideas.  This talk really inspired me to think about process in creativity and to be present with the process while being creative.

Then came the parties.

The best by far was the Frog Design party at the Mexican American Center in Austin with Groupo Fantasma playing. energy drinks and vodka. The carnieshow at Red’s Scoot Inn places a close second.

Thats it for now… time to nurse the hangover and dream of where i can be if i want.

Expression Engine 2.0

Holy Freaking CRAP!!!

First the bad news: There is no release date yet for 2.0. However, all efforts in development have been focused on 2.0 so the release date from Rick Ellis is “sooner rather than later”. Perhaps within 2008.

Now for the good news:

• Admin interface redesign by DUO
• built on CodeIgnitor
• JQuery integration and support for development
• JS code popout box for weblog entries (no more code and cut and paste!)
• i could go one, but i seriously want to say other stuff…

First of all, the presentation was better than i thought it would be.  I’ve been to MS product presentations and they’ve sucked.  None of the fluff was here.  Ellislab has really nothing other to say than what it truly is doing with the EE product and all of it was refreshing and good.   It seems as though a great deal of time and energy was taken and put into the product development and it really shows from the limited view we were given.

At this point all development into EE 1.6+ has stopped and all focus is now being directed at the 2.0 launch. I can’t wait to see the final product!

off now to lunch and then a 37signal.com presentation.

Design is in the Details

Checklist for Design:

1. Experiment
2. Choices
3. Stay Consistent
4. Completeness
5. Step In, Step Out, Step Back: Balance
6. Be your own Critic
7. Complexity in Simplicity: Less is More
8. Obsession is Healthy

Naz hamid from weightshift.com gave a designers point of view and workflow breakdown for design mockup.  More geared towards graphic designers, the presentation lent insight into the care and detailed complexity that goes into successful design practices.  Practices such as taking time to really absorb client wants and needs before putting the brush to the canvas and putting a design down to gain perspective were really useful and translatable practices over many disciplines.

Day 2

Got up, missed breakfast, tried to find a better backpack for my computer but will have to wait until later for that small success.  BUT the pack is lighter, so I got that going for me, which is nice.

RECAP from the last session last night — BattleDecks II and Beer

BattleDecks II was an improv forum where people would get up and make powerpoint presentation to randomly selected slides.  Was great fun and a great way to end the first day.  Beers followed but I am saving myself for the real after parties which start tonight at the Google party.

Next up: Design is in the Details.

How to Rawk SXSW: The Basics

This was a fun panel. Designed for all the n00bs in the house and a refresher for all the vets, this esteemed panel of alcoholic, fun loving, experience maximizing people bestowed the wisdom of several SXSW experiences.

The Rules as I can remember them:

1. Drink — actually this is not a complete endorsement of debauchery (although it was only thinly veiled as anything other), instead it was a gentle demonstration to lose your inhibitions and get out there and INTERACT!! One of the best lines was that there is no social networking application or platform better than SXSWi.
2. Eat BBQ — why the hell not?!? you’re in TX and we have depth perception so get over the veggie only diet and gets to eatin!
3. Don’t sleep with everyone, pick a few and have sex that they remember — this is a metaphor. don’t try to network too hard and don’t try to meet everyone at once. Instead, find some people you really gel with and create a lasting relationship/friendship with them.
4. Bullet Bourbon and Children’s Aspirin — This actually goes back to the drinking entry. The bourbon is high in rye which prevents hangovers. Children’s Aspirin extends the life of caffeine. Alcohol and caffeine are both required for a successful experience. Also, drink wine with lower amounts of tannin; not so good for the head.
5. dodgeball.com — get in touch with people who are close to your geographic location through text messaging.
6. Don’t burn out in the first night, pace yourself.
7. Don’t pace yourself, try to do everything.
8. Don’t be afraid to go with the flow and break out of your plan.  If you end up in a car with a bunch of strangers going to someplace you don’t know while that book reading session on fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms application in pixel rendering for dogs is going on — its okay. all the sessions are recorded and you can listen later.  for example, right now i am in an improv panel called Battle Decks with Jeff Tidwell!

gotta run!

The Principles of Beautiful Web Design

A very interesting study of a website redesign.  It is not clear whether the book actually covers multiple websites or if this is a detailed case study of a single website redesign.

From analyzing the site layout, examining colors, typography and “texture” of the site, and imagery this book reading session showed a quick time laps of the choices made during the redesign of a website.  THis was a very good delivery method because all of the elements and issues and topics that are covered in the book are discussed and displayed as important parts os a web redesign.

I think this book is on my new buying list.

Pro JavaScript Design Patterns

At my first book reading, I was expecting a little something different.  However, the basic concept of the book, more like the general feel of the book, is on display for a 15 minute basic overview and a 5 minute Q&A. Quite a quick glance of the book, but if you want to get a sense of a book and see if the contents may actually help you, these basic reports are just the thing.

The core concept of this book is a method of assembling JS into an object oriented , sexy shorthand.  A bit over my head but still in interesting talk on the principles of eloquent coding.

Lines…

The first panel is in about 10 minutes and the lines for registration are amazingly long!!  Kudos to the early birds who saw that one coming.

Picking up the Badge/Signing in…

For future attendees… get there early. we did and it totally paid off. The lines weren’t bad but we could easily see getting to the SXSW registration and badge pickup area 1-2 hours later and getting mauled by the massive amounts of people that finally decided to rise from the comforts of the Ikea Lounge to ascend to the fourth floor foor to partake in the cattle herding experiment.

If you took the time to upload a photo, don’t worry when they don’t have it. You can make a funny face in the countertop webvideo camera they have. no do-overs either – can be kinda tricky for you, but also a gamble for them.

Next is the goodie bag. Every good conference has one and SXSW is no exception. Unfortunately, 65-70 trees were obviously killed during the assembly of the contents. Funny only because the $40 SXSW program that you only get 1 of has a full page advertisement of every single pamphlet inside the Adobe logo adorning canvas bag.
A few cheap extras were included such as a guitar pick for my growing collection of unused corporate guitar picks, a beer coolie for the beers that weren’t included, and #D glasses which there is no real good reason for.

Once you get your badge, you can go anywhere without any of the volunteers offering you advice. You can go anywhere. ANYWHERE. That changed 20 minutes later when we were told to not go in there while they are setting up.. . so apparently the badges do have limitations and our investigative curiosity helped us find it.

On the way to lunch, it was refreshing to see the recycle bins beginning to overflow with goodie bag throwaways.

Next up… the first session!

And We’re Off!!

Hi all.  My name is Chris and I am blogging the SXSW Interactive 2008 experience.  I work for the University of Texas in Information Technology Services as a Web Producer in Strategic Communications.  Please feel free to comment or discuss any of the topics that I end up writing about.

Cheers!