And that’s where WordCamp 2007 started and stopped feeling like “camp”. This is not the YMCA.

The Skinny

After letting everything soak in for the past week, three key things from WordCamp 2007 jump out at me.

1. Blog from your heart
2. You want your readers to be like you
3. Don’t complete your thoughts

Maybe I’ve over simplified it a bit. You might as well return to writing in your 5th grade journal. Actually, after having some time to reflect, I’ve realized all 3 of these key points have 2 things in common. 1) They are all tips for the blogger. and 2) They are all points made by Lorelle VanFossen’s presentation on kick ass content. Brilliant, Lorelle.

I was a bit surprised that these three things stuck with me more than anything else in the conference. During the conference, I was much more engaged in the philosophical and cultural implications of blogging vs. journalism, in John C. Dvorak’s and Om Malik’s presentation. I think the reason is quite plain. When all is said and done, I went to WordCamp for me (as one should) and I wanted to learn how I could be a better blogger. Selfish and simple.

Highlights

WordCamp started off Saturday morning, with the practical. Dan Kuykendall, developer of PodPress gave a great presentation on Podcasting. I’m not a Podcaster, so Dan probably captured my attention the most when he started playing Weird Al’s White and Nerdy.

Once my blood was flowing (Weird Al / Excessive Caffeine), John C. Dvorak and Om Malik dumped a proverbial watermelon in our laps, with a discussion about blogging vs. journalism. This was certainly the highpoint of the conference for me. The key difference between the two, of course being comments. Oh yes, and “credibility”. And of course, this opens the same can of worms we’ve been trying to choke down for lunch, since the rise of Wikipedia.

To say the least, Lauren and I are both very involved and devoted to this discussion, so thank you John and Om, for the beautifully delivered presentation. Lauren wrote a brilliant recap on her blog An Endless Array.

Thanks also to the sponsors and organizers of WordCamp 2007. My only complaint is the seating was too hard and too few. Felt a little like detention, but that’s forgivable. The Swedish American Hall is quaint and interesting. And it strangely reminded me of scenes from Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part 1.

WordCamp 2007 Images

It’s time to announce what I’ve been working on for the past few months and it’s your chance to get in on the ground floor with what I feel is going to be the next generation for online media.

We’re looking for beta testers for a new media application we’re working on and YOU can help!

If you’re interested in participating in our Private Beta…

send me an email penguin@repeatpenguin.com

If there’s anything that is sure to ruffle the feathers of your friendly, neighborhood web developer, it’s throwing around terms like “wiki” and “Ajax” simply because they are trendy. But don’t worry. Web developers are just a persnickety bunch.

That aside, there is an undeniable trend around this technology. That is, peoples’ inability to keep themselves from talking about it (for good or for bad).

The Wiki

Wiki is just one such example of this, but is it completely without merit? In a week where Wikipedia founder, Jimbo Wales was in Chennai, India, speaking at a Wiki Camp “Unconference” and chatter around wiki hits publications, ranging from the coverage of Anna Nicole Smith’s death to the debate over the inclusion of Wikipedia in the classroom, the message is clear. Wiki is here to stay.

The phenomena of “wiki” has been around for some time now and the attention brought on by Wikipedia, has brought wiki to the forefront of business and scholastics. So where does this leave the developer when your average brochure client is asking for a wiki? Probably asking yourself, “how does this really apply?”

So How Does Wiki Apply?

I just returned from a meeting for one of the wiki projects I’m working on. There’s no question how wiki fits into the development spectrum of web applications, but I find myself, more and more, getting requests from clients for wikis to supplement brochure sites. So, does wiki have a useful application in this area? And if so, how does the average business stand to benefit?

When I was first approached to develop a supplement wiki for a clients’ brochure site, I wasn’t sure how to approach it. It became very apparent that wiki can have a powerful roll in business, and moreover that the adoption of a wiki philosophy has great potential to change the nature of commerce. But this is very utopic and goes against my nature. Yes, I’m pessimistic and support open source. Go figure.

In this particular case, the use of a wiki format will be applied in much the same way as it has been in the past: for the growth of knowledge through open discourse. Taken outside this application though, I’m not sure if the wiki format is of use. How does business stand to benefit from opening communications in this way?

The same question seems to follow the wiki wherever it goes, that of credibility. However, if you put the wiki in a normal business setting, the function becomes one of open discourse and this can be controlled. The question then becomes, is “open discource” something business really wants?

Where Does This Leave The Designer?

Regardless of your opinion on how open the
private business sector is to “open
discourse”, wiki is evolving and with
this evolution new challenges are
emerging for the designer. Wiki came on to
the scene strong, with a ‘look’ and a learning
curve. The learning curve has been a wrench in
the spokes of design evolution for the wiki.
Fortunately, Wikipedia has allowed users to
manage the learning curve, by sticking to a
basic Mediawiki skin (which isn’t so bad, if you ask me). But the desire for more is always present and the scope of the wiki can be greatly expanded if the learning curve conundrum can be tackled along with the expansion of its visual language.

It’s on the designer to find this balance. I am very excited to see the next generation of wikis unfold.

I am a designer and web developer in San Francisco.

“Oh no, another web developer BLOG,” you say?

Fortunately, YES! There just aren’t enough of them, so I’m doing my part to bring you the goods. um…

The point of all this is to share my experience. So what’s on the plate?