Tag Archive for 'Accessibility'

Senior Web/UI Designer/Front End Developer at Technovated

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2007/5/24
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Location: London, UK
URL: www.technovated.com

Description
Do you believe in user focused, web standard design and development, driven by simplicity?

Technovated is a web software start-up based in South-West London, looking for a motivated, senior-level UI person to help us deliver a compelling product for a venture backed project.

This is an opportunity to own the entire user experience, from turning ideas into compelling HTML/CSS mockups that our engineers can run with, where you will be tasked with putting together the bleeding edge of web technologies and design aesthetics to produce an engaging, immersive product. Your background should include a blend of the creative and technical sides. Your technical proficiency and real-world experience should also show in your portfolio. You should have 3+ years experience developing frontend interfaces, be able to create mockups, and be a great communicator.

In return, you’ll have the opportunity to work on a visible web product with an extremely talented team in London.

Responsibilites:
• Ownership of interface design.
• Designing storyboards, page layouts, site grids and interface demos, and prototyping.
• Ability to apply design thinking skills upstream of the traditional role of the designer.
• Knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of modern front-end technologies & approaches (XHTML/CSS, ActionScript, JavaScript, AJAX, DHTML, etc.) and the curiosity to tinker and play.

Required experience:
• 3+ years experience in front-end web development
• Experience translating comps and wireframes into flexible and usable code templates
• Strong working knowledge developing cross platform/browser compatibility (IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.) for dynamic web applications
• Hand coded (X)HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Please provide evidence of progressive techniques, separation of markup, presentation and behaviour layers in your front-end code including use of unobtrusive JavaScript
• Experience with Smarty, Flexy
• Experience in developing web applications with rich client interfaces using AJAX, drag and drop, and other DOM Scripting techniques
• Familiarity with JavaScript frameworks and animation libraries like Prototype, Scriptaculous and JQuery
• Knowledge of SEO best practices
• Experience with SVN
• Excellent verbal, writing, visualization, and presentation skills

Desirable:
• Medium to strong PHP skills
• Experience with Seagull PHP framework a definite plus
• Familiarity with Apache

To apply:
E-mail your cover letter and resume to hello AT technovated DOT com
Subject header must have UI WEB DEVELOPER-LNDN.

No recruiters or offshore development teams.
This is a 3 month contract with the possibility of extension.

The Curious Incident of the Missing Market - Technology for Africa ‘07?

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2007/4/5
in Uncategorized
. 2 Comments

Dave Duarte and Mike Stopforth have put together a regular marketing podcast for South Africans, which is shaping up to be a promising part of the ecosystem.

Recently there was an attempt to get a “web 2.0 conference” done in SA in May, which didn’t happen for whatever reason. Apparently there isn’t enough interest, which I can picture, but like Mike and Dave, I have my doubts about how the market was approached… Which is a shame…. but that leads me to my next point ;-)

They contacted me earlier in the week to do a Skype podcast, which I naturally said of course to, and after having swanky dinner with Tim tonight, over Flirtnik, I’ve come home and decided to listen to the podcast while getting some work out of the way.

Anyways, it’s always weird listening to your own voice, but I think I get the message accross about what we’re trying to do with the conference, much better than if I could write it here…

So, go check out the blog post, and listen to it.
Tell your mates about the conference, sign up yourself at the conference site so we can mail you more info, and get involved!

Also - while you’re at it - sign up for the Amplitude podcast, and you should also probably keep an eye on Dave and Mike’s blogs… ;-)

Also, while I’m thinking about it, if you’re interested in what we’re up to in London, then this is also worth watching, although in the next few weeks I might have to eat my shorts… but more on that when the time is right.

Web 2.0 London Geek BBQ - summer kicks off; BBQ Etiquette humour

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2007/3/15
in Uncategorized
. 2 Comments

It’s been about a week now since the the good weather has hit London, so I think it’s time to start thinking about the next Web 2.0 / Geek BBQ. This year has seen an explosion of the innovator community in London, or at least, folks are starting to come out of the woodwork, so it would be really cool to meet some new people, while enjoying the sunshine at the same time.

To get you into the mood, here’s a little gem from Tim (if you’re a girl, please take this as humour, from whence it comes ;-)

Right, so if you’re keen for some sunshine, stimulating conversations, and of course good meat, then please leave a comment here to show interest, and send this link to the people you think may be interested… (my mailing list has become to big to wield effectively in Outlook, so I don’t want to miss people out)

In the meantime I’ll start looking at dates and locations.

;-)

Junior / middleweight Front-end developer needed for Soho agency, London

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2007/3/9
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

There’s a job going for a junior to middle person looking to hone their front end skills in a Soho agency… Details are as follows:

BIO are a young London based digital advertising looking for a full time Junior / Mid weight front end developer who has a passion for working in big brand clients and creative great creative work.

If you are interested please contact Robin Souter at BIO:
robin [AT] thebioagency [DOT] com
+4420 7494 3494
+447900 182 224

Salary: Negotiable

;-)

More good news, Future of Web Apps roundup, web 2.0 community office space

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2007/2/22
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

It’s been an interesting few weeks recently, and the last few days at the Future of Web Apps conference here in London have been pretty encouraging and although the time off work hasn’t ben cool, it’s been worth taking the time.

So on that note, I’ve got some great news regards the conference we’re trying to put together for Africans, in South Africa, later on this year. I’ve also got my own take on the Future of Web Apps conference coming soon - I’m sure loads of peeps are already debating it, but there are some folks who couldn’t make it that have asked me to post something for them, so I’m gonna asap.

Additionally, I made a sneaky announcement at the conference today - we’re going to be offering desk space at our office in Putney to the Web 2.0 community. My aim is to build a work environment where creative and brilliant people can thrive off each other (don’t get me wrong, I work hard and am not looking to find people to goof around with, but I do love being around people who I can relate to - so I figure there must be other people like that too). So far so good - we’ve had about 10 requests for desk space so far.

Related to the above community type stuff, and now that it’s getting a bit warmer in Londres, it’s time to get the Geek BBQ’s going again. Stay tuned on that ;-)

Cool - it’s late, and I need to get some shuteye.

If you’re into Mobile

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2007/2/1
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

You might be interested in this…:

The next Chinwag Live event: Mobile Metamorphosis.

http://live.chinwag.com/mobilemetamorphosis

It’s the second in the series of informal Q&A sessions that we’re planning throughout 2007 to lift the lid on the key issues affecting the digital media industries.

The format is very ‘Chinwag’ - a big comfy room under a pub, some great speakers, no long presentations, lots of Q&A, plenty of audience involvement, some drinks and a few snacks.

Mobile business models are starting to shift, and with them the mobile value chain. On Monday 26th February Mobile Metamorphosis asks how will these changes grow the mobile market and who will benefit? Will 2007 be the tipping point? In turn, as the mobile landscape is re-shaped, mobile, web and traditional media are well-placed to tap into new business prospects for content owners, brands, advertisers and services in this space.

We’ve got a great line up of speakers on the night from O2, Admob, Fathom Partners, Blyk and Mobile Entertainment.

Our first event booked up 4 weeks in advance, so for more info and booking details (there’s a hefty early bird discount that expires 11th Feb), check out:

http://live.chinwag.com/mobilemetamorphosis

If you’d like to chat about future events, or have any questions, give me a shout.

Apologies if you have already booked. If you want to be informed of future events please sign up to the Chinwag Events mailing list at the bottom of this page http://live.chinwag.com

w: http://www.chinwag.com
j: http://jobs.chinwag.com
t: +44 (0)20 71832923
m: +44 (0)7980 854 210

Chinwag - Connecting New Media People
————————————–
Chinwag Live – http://live.chinwag.com

Technology for Africa ‘07 credit card test passed, speakers announced

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2006/12/6
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

The last week or so has seen us sit with bated breath, waiting to see the reaction to the web and emerging technology conference we’re going to put together for Africans (with an African context of course). Well, we’re happy to say that the credit card test has passed, and the response has been really positive - At the moment we’re getting a sign up rate of 25% of visitors that view the site, which is not too bad I think. You can view what people are asking for at the conference, at our feedback results page.

So, that’s great but who are the speakers?
In alphabetical order, here you go for now (more on the way):

Andy Budd

Andy Budd wearing a suit but no shirt collar, sits with his hands clasped in front of him.Andy Budd is an internationally renowned user experience designer and web standards expert. Andy is a regular speaker at major design conferences and recently spoke at @media 2006 in London, and Webmaster Jam in Dallas, Texas. Andy is also the driving force behind our annual d.Construct web development conference.

Andy wrote the best selling book, CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions. In this book, Andy shares his years of experience in creating attractive, standards compliant websites.

Andy’s design experience and knowledge has been called upon many times as a judge in web design awards, most notably the Bubu Awards, the ReUSEIT Contest and the Web Standards Awards, which he founded in 2004. Andy currently sits on the advisory board for .Net magazine, the UK’s leading web development periodical.

A more personal side of Andy can be found at Blogography, a popular weblog where he writes about web design and web standards issues, as well as his passions for travel, photography and diving.

Andy is the creative director at Clearleft and runs their web standards training program.

Andy Clarke

Andy Clarke

Andy Clarke has been working on the web for almost ten years. He is a visual web designer based in the UK and started his design consultancy Stuff and Nonsense in 1998. As lead designer and creative director, his clients include local and national businesses, charities and government bodies and he has designed for The British Heart Foundation, Disney Store UK, Save The Children and WWF UK.

Andy is a member of the Web
Standards Project where he redesigned the organization’s web site in 2006. He is also an Invited Expert to the W3C’s CSS Working Group. Andy regularly speaks at workshops and conference events worldwide and is the author of Transcending CSS.

Demian Turner

Demian Turner has been involved in web development for the past 9 years. His primary focus is on developing multi-tier web applications. He also has experience building standards compliant XHTML GUIs, acting in a customer-facing role and managing projects.

Demian specialises in PHP/MySQL/Apache development on Linux and also has experience in system administration, requirements gathering, UML and Object Oriented Analysis and Design. He is the maintainer for the Seagull framework project, and contributes to SimpleTest, Max Media Manager and the PEAR open source projects.

Malcolm Hall

President and CEO of Open Box Software, a 50+ team of .Net developers out of Cape Town.

Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, Malcolm was a founder member of a successful start-up (The World On Line) focused on Microsoft Great Plains—a mid-market ERP package—in the 1990’s.

Upon moving to the UK in 1998, Malcolm has, as a member of the Deloitte & Touché (UK) and then e2i (UK) management teams, managed consultancy teams in the London, Central and Northern regions of the United Kingdom. Malcolm has extensive hands-on technical experience and has also programme managed IT projects across the UK, Germany, France, Spain, The Netherlands and the US.

Since founding Open Box, Malcolm has divided his time between US, UK and South Africa overseeing operations and project delivery. He is also responsible for developing further relationships with prospective and current clients, as well as partners and suppliers.

We’ll be announcing more speakers as we confirm, and if you’re interested you can view what people are asking for at the conference, at our feedback results page.

Check out Mike Stopforth

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2006/11/28
in Uncategorized
. 2 Comments

_ Mike Stopforth » About

I am a consultant, writer and speaker. I help companies translate real value from Web 2.0 trends and technologies for better business. I’m privileged to have the opportunity to write a weekly op-ed column for the Citizen newspaper and am a technology commentator for popular business and marketing websites including Moneyweb and Biz-Community. I lecture at the Vega School of Branding in Johannesburg and feature as a guest lecturer on executive programs at the Graduate School of Business in Cape Town.

Check it out… ;-)

Get Firefox

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2006/11/28
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

_ Get Firefox ;-)

Tech 4 Africa - Gaining momentum

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2006/11/28
in Uncategorized
. 9 Comments

Technology for Africa '07

And so it begins…. We’ve started getting some really good feedback for the Tech 4 Africa conference (last check we were up to about 30 replies after a day or so of being up and emailing to an initial beta group for testing) which has totally surpassed our expectations. When the automated notification emails started coming in, you shoulda heard the shouts of joy! ;-)

Almost surprisingly, the feedback has been along the lines we were expecting:
people would be willing to go to JHB,
wanna know about stuff around web2.0 primarily,
want to hear international speakers, and
think the conference would benefit the African web community.

On top of that, we’re getting some good coverage on the blogosphere so far:
Update as of 27/11/2006:
David Duarte
Cowboysengines (business site: http://www.virtualworks.co.za/index.asp)
Hash @ Whiteafrican.com
Update as of 28/11/2006:
Coda.co.za
Scott.za.net
Muti.co.za
http://digitalafrica.blogspot.com/

Anyone else we don’t know about yet? (If you’re going to blog about it, then please use the following Technorati tags: tech4africa07,T4A7 or T4A)

Which is all good. ;-)

Some people have asked why we’re not just launching with dates and relying on “if you build it they will come” to make it a success - in short, 2 reasons:
1. We are speaking to some really, really high profile international speakers, who naturally want to allocate time to a conference on the other side of the world if they feel there are going to be enough people to make it worthwhile. We’ve invested the time up front to collect some real data, that goes beyond a thumbsuck, to show we’re serious.
2. We believe that business rules should apply - we need to at least break even, and we need to justify further time put into the project, so it makes sense that without real data we can’t make any assumptions beyond that we reckon 10 - 20% of people we email should respond to the initial email asking for feedback.

So, if you’re reading this and haven’t filled in the feedback form on the site then please do, just to prove us wrong ;-) The more data and feedback we have, the more likely we are to actually hold the event and make it something truly special!

I’ve also been asked what I’d personally like to see at the conference, so for posterity, here goes:
1. Web app dev in Africa - what it takes, how to do it, what markets are ripe
2. How the web can help Africa lift itself up - technologies that come into play, mindsets that need to change, strategies that work
3. What Africans need to do to compete internationally - once we’ve gotten over the bandwidth issue, what needs to happen for Africans to create more Thawte’s and PayPals.
4. What web 2.0 really means for business - technologies, trends, people -> how can it be leveraged?
All underscored by a good vibe, good music, good networking, and some good ‘ol fashioned fun of course ;-)

If you want to stay tuned to what’s happening, then watch this blog, and/or our business’ blog category wev’e setup for the conference (yes, I know the theme is still default K2 - something about the cobblers shoes I think…;-( - so it will change soon enough, as well as being an addition to our shiny new site which is being designed as we speak).

Also, we’ve been asked what to do if folks are interested in helping out:
1. Email us to say so whether you think you can help with something small or big - the more help we get the better - and we’d really appreciate it. Up front, we don’t have cash to pay people now, but as and when that happens then we’re all about getting the right help, so that may be an option. Right now, telling 10 of your mates would be the best help in the world!.. and…
2. Blog it - please blog it and help to moibilise the troops ;-)
3. If you have a speaker you would really like to hear, then please do email us to say so - being able to tell speakers they’ve been asked for by people is good motivation for them!

Cool - more soon - time to go to bed ;-)

Linux and Web Development Intro - Monday By Noon

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2006/11/28
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

_ Linux and Web Development Intro - Monday By Noon.

TECH4FRICA 2007 - Technology for Africa: A web and emerging technology conference

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2006/11/22
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

We’ve been a long time in preparation for this, and it’s taken a huge amount of work to get to this point, but I’m happy to say that we’ve launched the site for the TECH4FRICA 2007 - Technology for Africa: A web and emerging technology conference, and we’re starting to mail the people we know to tell them about it…

Here’s the blurb for ya!:
We’re trying to figure out whether there is demand for a web and technology conference in Southern Africa, and we’d really appreciate your help if you can spare a few minutes.

What’s the big idea?
We’re convinced that there should be web and technology growth in Southern Africa, so we’re really interested in getting together a bunch of leading, internationally respected speakers and thinkers from the industry to discuss what’s happening and what’s possible.

Some of the things we’d like you to get out of the conference:

* Hear international speakers and authors presenting in your own back yard.
* Discuss what the global web and technology opportunities are over the next 5 years
* Understand what technologies are making the biggest impact
* Thrash out how the web can positively play a role in the development of (Southern) Africa
* Create a fun, informative event where you can meet and interact with other people like you

Call for feedback
Of course, there are loads more things that are important and that could be discussed, so this is why we’re asking for your feedback – we’re committed to a bottom up conference where you get value for money, you make new friends, and where you walk away inspired.

Let’s hear from you
Tell us what you think by filling out the questionnaire below. Stay tuned, and tell your friends! We’re looking forward to seeing you in 2007. We won’t sell, trade, or abuse your data. We’ll only email you if you express interest in attending this conference.

And that’s it!

Tell us what you think by filling in the questionnaire at:
http://www.technologyforafrica.org/

Also, please tell as many people as you can, blog it, add the site to http://del.icio.us, http://digg.com (and others like Reddit and Newsvine), and tag it for http://technorati.com/.

Actively looking for South African / African writers and bloggers

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2006/8/17
in Uncategorized
. 14 Comments

I’m *still* throwing this into the wind to see where the seeds fall, so here goes:

I’m looking to get in touch with anyone who is African or South African (or for that matter interested in matters relating to Africa / South Africa) that is interested in writing and/or blogging on matters relating to Africa/South Africa, especially if they’re not already doing so for technical reasons (as in, they’re not sure how it all works and so they’ve not really got started).

I’m looking for people from anywhere, so they don’t have to physically be in Africa, and I’m also interested in whether they are passionate and want to talk about stuff that is important to them. All the technical bits I can teach, so don’t let that be a limiting factor.

Also, if you’re already a writer, and/or have your own blog and you’re talking about Africa / South Africa, then please do get in touch.

Similarly, if you read and comment on this blog regular like, then please get in touch as well - I’ll probably mail you in the coming weeks but it would be good to get a heads up of your interest anyways.

If you know anyone that fits the above descriptions, then please forward this post to them!

Cool - here’s to the interweb and all it’s magicality ;-)

BarCamp London

Published
by
Gareth Knight
on 2006/8/7
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Signed up for BarCamp London…