Webmaster Jam Session

Andy Budd's Be a Web Design Superhero was professional, creative, amusing, and insightful. The types of characteristics of a hero, super speed, elasticity, telepathy and clairvoyance, he..he.. or mind control to name a few, inspired me to do better. Examining hero's vulnerabilities and possible villains as well as remembering to use sidekicks also was eye opening.

I especially enjoyed what I felt was a personal challenge to females to get more involved. I will be using some of the techniques to sell standard based websites learned at Derek Featherstone’s session with my villains (executives of state agencies).

Just overall, it was a fantastic experience! I am a stay at home mom and a self taught, free lance web site builder. I feel pretty isolated since I don't know any people in real life that do this, so I completely enjoyed hearing real live people, the gurus that I read about. I'm dealing with 2 specific issues with a client right now and both of these issues were addressed at this seminar. Now, I feel like I can speak with authority. I liked the variety of topics offered - I feel like it was worth every nickel I spent. Plus, the deal with the Adam’s Mark was fabulous! My husband came along and had his own down time while I was soaking up everything I could.

The round table was both amusing and informative. The diversity of the panel members provided a wide view of perspectives in response to questions be they serious or of the less serious type. (Still chuckling at the last question and answers but decided to keep my gas stove based on the unspoken fact that when the electricity goes out, I can still cook.) It took guts to deal with impromptu questions and everyone did a fine job. I especially enjoyed the fact that panel members included everyone else and was nice but forth coming on conflicting opinions. Well done!

The difference between Webmaster Jam 2006 and other conferences that I've attended can be summed up in two words - Real Learning. Though I'm usually able to pick up a couple of practical bits of information from the trade shows I'm accustomed to, Webmaster Jam Session 2006 was more of a full-on, “here's what you need to know to be current”, symposium. I was also happy to find that the attendees at WMJ ‘06 were “real people”. Instead of asking arcane questions that only a small population needed the answer to, all of the interaction was accessible (one of the key words of the weekend), and actually promoted the "scent of information" (another key phrase). The speakers were all thorough and knowledgeable. Some were even more entertaining than Vegas Strip comedians, but they all came well-prepared. It was obvious that they were selected for their expertise and competence.

The hour-long format of each of the sessions ensured no one yawned. There was plenty of Q&A and the speakers all graciously made themselves available afterwards for more specific questions. Lastly, WMJ '06 helped me to locate my current strengths and weaknesses in the industry. Surprisingly, I found that I'm not that far behind the curve. Those areas that I need to investigate, i.e.: CSS, building accessibility for those with special needs, and Web 2.0 readiness, are now on the top of my list to consider while designing (and redesigning) my clients' sites. Great interaction, camaraderie, information, and people made this the single-most valuable conference I've ever attended.

Derek Featherstone gave one of the best presentations - funny and informative, my web pages will never be the same again after this. I never understood the need of alt tags. Now I'll never leave one blank. This presentation opened my eyes to a portion of the population with accessibility needs that do surf the web. I also learned the importance of layout and how screen-readers can get mixed up. Thanks a bunch for this presentation - I'll have to be sure to forward this presentation to my colleagues in my web design class.

“Why Use Web Standards?” - gave me a fresh perspective on how to SELL accessibility standards to the powers that be. I work for a state agency serving the blind and provide training to other state agencies on how to make their sites accessible to people who have severe vision loss or are blind. The main approach to the why of accessibility used FORMERLY by me was mainly based on legal requirements. But thanks to Derek I now have reasons that matter to sighted business leaders.

Cameron Moll's session on the distinction between good websites and great websites was very instructive. I'm extremely glad when he presented his nine items that separated a good website from a great website that he used the words good and great. I felt humbled but challenged. He was a great plus to the Webmaster Jam Session.

Layout Standards and Techniques with Nick Finck was an excellent presentation! I learned plenty about how to process workflow and get it from concept to design. I used to use Photoshop but after this lecture I learned other methods which appear to be more suitable - HTML prototyping. I will definitely be back for the next Webmaster Jam Session!

I loved Jared Spool's presentation! The very title of the presentation SUCKED me in. The presentation was not only entertaining but instructive. I feel greatly honored to have had an opportunity to hear Jared speak and talk to him. Understanding how the Scent of Information is needed to improve a website is of paramount importance. Jared's use of humor, examples, and data made his information quite USEABLE to the average web administrator.