News from the crew at instinct: WordCamp New Zealand will be held in Wellington, New Zealand on the 8th and 9th of August.
Here’s the Word from the event site:
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.
Check this interview with Nick from Fracture on KiwiFM.