The Web Standards Group (WebSG) met on 4th Aug 2010 and it feels like its been a year since we last met.
Andy Croll started the night with his experience on running a web business. He shared his personal tips and tricks of the key stuff that matters. From day rates to distractions, from client issues to payment collections.
The point that really resonated with me is how he mentioned about designing within the browser and how its like sculpting and chipping away at a huge piece of rock while photoshop was more like a modelling tool. So designing within the browser meant using HTML to design and build the end product step by step and getting closer to the end product just like his sculpting analogy. I read something like this before but can’t seem to remember where. This concept is sound, just that it might not work for a traditional-new-media company (if you know what i mean).
Yuhui was up next. He shared on his 2 weeks experience on HTML5’s canvas element and how he used it to create his Lantern Corps logos and Singapore flag. Cools stuff. It reminded me of my primary school days when my dad sent me to computer classes to learn logo programming which I really loved.
The above photo is of Dr. Kevin Lim sharing about how game mechanics can make productive work fun. He shared hardcore stuff and I think his knowledge came from years of experience and research during his PHD. It felt like a real crash course, somewhat like chicken essence for your brain. Real good stuff. You can find his slides here.
My take away was not really the content in his presentation, but instead on how receptive he was to comments and feedback. I could literally see “+1exp” rising up from his head like an RPG game when he listened attentively to those in the audience. I see too many people trying to be defensive, but his receptiveness was a real breath of fresh air.
I finally met Winnie Lim. I’ve know her online for eons and had never had a chance to meet her till this WebSG. I’m glad she came.
So the first official WebSG meetup happened in 2007 and its been 3 years now. How time flies. Looking forward to the next one. Once again, thanks to Lucian who made all these possible.
