Blog entries about Webby stuff
Here’s my long overdue rant about participating in Full Code Press, a competition recently held in Sydney in which teams build a website in 24 hours. You have all no doubt been wondering how it all went.
Well, we did it. The organisers admitted at the outset that they were uncertain as to whether it was possible, but two teams managed to build two fully-functioning websites and enjoy the adulation of a grateful Victoria not-for-profit client-organisation that now has a presence on the WWW.
You are no doubt wondering ‘how’. This is where it gets interesting, as each team adopted very different methods for tackling the challenge.
Our brief:
Work with strangers in a team under the gaze of bloggers (video, audio, text) who documented every twitch, building a site for an unknown client to a ridiculous deadline in windowless rooms that were the temperature of a fridge.
Methodology:
New Zealanders - met, talk and strategise and (dare I say it) practise. Earnestly set about building a CMS from the ground up. Risk sanity of developer who later confesses to mid-point meltdown. Win by 2.7 points. Developer does celebratory jig.
Australia - swan up to hotel (late after being in an accident in a taxi), meet team mates, set up hardware, have a pretty good idea we might use an open source CMS, get a bit loud and psyched, befriend clients, open the bar at midnight, deliver website with good cheer and ease 30 minutes early.Go to pub for breakfast during judging. Lose by 2.7 points.
Judge for yourself:
NZ: Grampians Disability Advocacy
Australia: The Ripple Effect
The fine print
I have to say that the best bit (other than feeling good about helping the gals at The Ripple Effect) was working with an awesome team of people. Russ Weakley tells that we won the cheerful team prize and he was right - it was uncanny how well we all worked together. Here’s the roll of honour:
- Rex Chung
- Ruth Ellison
- Jeffery Lowder
- David MacDonald
- Marla Mitelman
- Sarah Peeke
August 22, 2007 |
Posted in Webby stuff
Like the new site? Can’t see much difference? That’s because the main changes have been under the hood.
Ben Bailey has worked away patiently at customising Expression Engine so that I can practice what I preach and manage my content in a CMS.
Onwards and upwards.
August 16, 2007 |
Posted in Webby stuff
As part of my mission to bridge the communications gap between techies and content managers, I am collecting tips and tricks that make content managers can use to make content work harder online.
There are a lot of tags that it pays for a content manager to know about. I have just discovered a new one. I swapped it for an hour’s editing with my favourite front-end designer/IA.
The acronym tag is a clever way of managing the wordy explanations for acronyms. I am planning to stick to the old fashioned print convention of spelling out the acronym in its first instance, following it with its acronym in brackets, and then using the acronym tag for successive citations.
Example: I have have just completed a project for the Media unit at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). They were so happy they recommended me to the NGV Multimedia team for another gig.
August 16, 2007 |
Posted in Webby stuff
Full Code Press (FCP) is in peak frenzy. It is anybody’s guess what we will asked to build for whom. The judges have been selected and I have ‘met’ my fellow team players (via email and phone) and read the biogs of the NZ crew and so it is all becoming much more real – we are going to sit in a room and build a site for a lucky (or not-so-lucky) charity in a short, short 24-hour burst of optimism and strong caffeine. All the action will take place in a hotel in Sydney and generous sponsors are covering our costs. There will be chummy meals with the NZ team before the blood-letting begins…
Always a 100-per-cent gal, my FCP training program is rigorous and involves:
July 25, 2007 |
Posted in Webby stuff
Um, so I was out of town at a family reunion in Coffs Harbour when an SMS arrived announcing that my name had been drawn out of a hat and I was to be the content chick on the Full Code Press Australian team. Am pleasantly surprised at how many women are on the team and impressed with my fellow team members’ credentials. The big test will be how we work together having never met before.
My friends are accusing me of actually undermining the web design industry by participating – if we can pull this off, they predict, clients are going to start questioning timelines for web development projects: “I heard a team of 6 built a fully functioning site in 24 hours. Why are you saying it will take a month?”….
What have I got myself into?
July 10, 2007 |
Posted in Webby stuff
A good friend has badgered me into registering to be considered for selection in Full Code Press – a geek fest organised by Web Industry Professionals Association.
Here’s the basic idea:
“On Saturday 18 August 2007, teams from Australia and New Zealand will compete to build a fully-operational website for a non-profit organisation in 24 hours. No excuses, no extensions, no budget overruns.”
When I heard about the idea I had visions of over-caffeinated geeks freaking out and watching the clock in a small room with no windows. Not expecting to be selected…
June 26, 2007 |
Posted in Webby stuff
