WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users like you. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other. WordCamps are open to WordPress.com and WordPress.org users alike.
The two-day conference will be held at the Mt. Victoria Bowling Club and will feature Matt Mullenweg (above) aka PhotoMatt, he who set up Automattic, and was one of the founding developers of WordPress, as a keynote speaker along with hands-on sessions focused on the WordPress platform and the community around it.
You’ll also be hearing for Dan Milward from Instinct, Harley Alexander from Aussie designers Baffle Inc and Anthony Cole from Dunedin’s Fresh Pacific Media. And if you have the inclination to speak yourself, head to the content wiki.
Earlybird tickets for the whole weekend are only $75, and you can get them here.
Silicon Welly content management gurus SilverStripe have had another big win in the US following their selection as CMS provider to the US Democractic Party in last year’s Presidential elections (which obviously worked out quite well).
Now Microsoft has chosen SilverStripe as one of ten companies worldwide to have their software included in its web developer suite of free apps.
According to stuff.co.nz, the free SilverStripe CMS has been downloaded 140,000 times and with 40% of users installing into a windows environment, the company has been working to integrate better with Microsoft’s server software.
The work has paid off, and now there’s a little bit of Wellington in every Windows install. Congratulations Tim, Siggy and the crew! SilverStripe are based upstairs from our Wellington HQ at Silicon Welly, so we’ll be off up the lift now for a celebration…
Auckland based web designers Fracture have taken out one of the top spots at 12th Annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Web Awards for their work on www.jasmax.co.nz
Sponsored by Adobe, the SXSW Web Awards honored 20 of the top Web developers and designers chosen from hundreds of entries submitted across the world.
Up against the likes of CNN and home improvement mega-brand Lowe’s, the young guns from Fracture showed they are world class talent who can compete for web design on an international stage. Fracture won the Business category which covered sites devoted to the promotional needs, functions and services of for-profit businesses.
“To win at South by Southwest is just an amazing honour. We were the only Kiwis in the finals, up against the biggest names in web design from around the world and we took it out. It’s quite a coup,” says Creative Director of Fracture Nick Shaw.
Fracture hopes that with accolades like this, savvy overseas client who need amazing work will become aware of New Zealand’s massive creative talent base, a very favourable exchange rate, and start sourcing production down here.
“It’s already happening with our film industry right now, and there’s no reason that design and technology should be different,” says James McKee, Fracture’s Managing Director.
The Jasmax websites was one of the first in New Zealand to use a complete 3D environment; new technology that gives the user a sense of being part of the visual space with elements of the website rotating around them, and brings the buildings to life in their own virtual world.
The SXSW interactive festival is held in Texas and attracts digital creatives as well as visionary technology entrepreneurs from around the world. The event celebrates the best minds and the brightest personalities of emerging technology.
Xero was designed from day one to be a global business made from New Zealand. Our development team in in Wellington New Zealand and we have staff in the UK and soon Australia.
Already we have customers in the United Kingdom and Australia. Watch out world, Xero goes global early in 2009. Xero is proudly listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange.
Online Accounting Software
Xero is an online accounting system designed for small businesses.
Xero was founded in July 2006 by successful technology entrepreneur Rod Drury and specialist small business accountant Hamish Edwards. Xero is now listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange and is a fast growing company with offices in Wellington and Auckland.
The Big Idea
The foundations for Xero were established back in 2003 when Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards worked together, building the award-winning software company AfterMail – Rod as chief executive and Hamish as the virtual CFO, running his own accounting practice.
But it wasn’t until 2006 with growing internet access and advanced web development techniques, along with increasing acceptance of the internet that the time was right to begin development.
Building Xero
Rod and Hamish set about hiring the best and brightest people and forming relationships with small businesses and their advisors, to get direction on the features and design of Xero. They fused this with their own extensive knowledge of small business – Rod having built numerous successful enterprises from scratch, while Hamish, a chartered accountant, had advised hundreds as a virtual CFO.
Growing Up
Listing on the NZX in June 2007 was an important milestone for Xero – growing from a small start-up software company to a listed company within a year – demonstrating how determined we are at Xero to set milestones and to achieve them.
Our goal remains to build a long-term global business from New Zealand, creating an environment that’s attractive to the country’s very best people. We’ve always said we wanted to revolutionise small business, and that’s what we’re here to do.
Kia ora and chur - my name is Potaua and I operate Tangatawhenua.com, a site dedicated to telling Maori stories and exchanging Maori news, views and opinions online.
We’ve been around since 2003 and have built a community of over 6000 members. Along the way we have developed an online e-panui (newsletter) called RANGIKAINGA (meaning Celestial Blessings) which is Maori news straight to your In-box.
Google Aotearoa
We also led the team to develop Google Maori, an te reo Maori language tool with Google. This generated world wide buzz and we are currently in talks to create new IT projects - more soon.