So I went, and RubyConf was pretty awesome. It was filled with people who love the language and what can be done with it. I really liked that the conference wasn’t just about Rails, it was about Ruby in general, so I got to learn about all sorts of things that are out of the scope of what I normally do with Rails. I learned about MacRuby, a project that aims to let people write apps for the Mac (and hopefully iOS, eventually) in Ruby. This opens the door to a lot more people who want to write Mac code because they don’t have to learn another programming language.

I was highly impressed with Daniel Jackoway, a young Stanford undergrad who had lots to say about his project Ruboto, which is Ruby for Android devices. He was very knowledgeable for someone his age. It was pretty inspiring to listen to his talk.

I also learned a lot about app security and best practices for keeping your apps safe from prying eyes, and how to write more future-proof, manageable code. It’s good to plan ahead when coding so that you don’t hate yourself later on when you come back and try to decipher what you wrote and how it works. I also learned about Ruby 1.9, the latest version of Ruby, what it supports and why it’s much better than the current version of Ruby in most cases.

I even ran into some cool people who write web applications that I use every day, like Chargify.

My favorite part, however was when a Japanese programmer, Shugo Maeda gave a talk. His English wasn’t very good, and Matsumoto had to translate a lot of what he was saying. Eventually he was done with his presentation and asked if there were any questions. A guy from the audience asked a question, but both Matsumoto and Shugo had a difficult time understanding just what he was asking. Eventually, someone got the bright idea to have him come up and write code that demonstrated his question. It was amazing to see how quickly everyone in the room was on the same page when he did that. The question was quickly answered after that. It was really amazing to see a real-life example in which it was clearly shown that we might not all speak the same language, but we all understood the same language, Ruby.

All in all, it was a really fun time, much new knowledge was gained, I got to put faces to usernames that I’d only seen online, and I learned so much about what is being done with Ruby outside of Rails. RubyConf 2010 was awesome.

We’re proud of what Zach is doing and excited to have assisted him with his new website.

The new PolicyPitch.com website designed by Gatorworks

The Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC)

Scheduled for April 8-11 in New Orleans, the SRLC is the most prominent GOP gathering outside of the national convention. Confirmed speakers include Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Tax Gov. Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and more. The SRLC will be carried on Fox and CNN, and Sean Hannity will broadcast live. More than 3,500 people are expected to participate.

We are pleased to have had such a large impact on the national conference.

SRLC Website Screenshot

Rodriguez said, “I was very excited to see the conference quickly adopt our technology, and we hope to provide value to many future events of all sizes through both EventConnect.org and the iPhone app.”

Scheduled for April 8-11 in New Orleans, the SRLC is the most prominent GOP gathering outside of the national convention. Confirmed speakers include Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Tax Gov. Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and more. The SRLC will be carried on Fox and CNN, and Sean Hannity will broadcast live. More than 3,500 people are expected to participate.

EventConnect.org is an online social networking platform for conferences, conventions, tradeshows, and events of all sizes. The website is simple to use and integrates many existing social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

“Our company is honored to have one of our best designers speaking at such a great event. Dave will have the opportunity to provide some insight on how our firm uses the Wordpress framework each day,” said Gatorworks President Brian Rodriguez.

David will be among some of the most influential internet gurus including Ben Huh, who runs one of the largest blog networks in the world. The event will also include a host of New Orleans-based marketing and internet gurus such as Damien LaManna of Morgan+Co, Tiffany Starnes of Fabre Smith & Coco , and Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures. For the complete line-up of speakers, check out the WordCampNOLA website.

Check the Gatorworks website after the event for a recap of David Link’s presentation.

1. The Y@T PACK from New Orleans

Part of the Y@T PACK Bus Wrap

Net2NO, led by Damien LaManna, Tiffany Starnes, and Jessica Rohloff, is a group of young professionals dedicated to social change in New Orleans. The group puts a special emphasis on technology and economic development and they meet once a month to share ideas, collaborate on projects, and learn from special presentations by industry professionals. I joined Net2NO a few months ago and have greatly benefited from the gatherings. This group’s enthusiasm, creativity, and general concern for their community is truly contagious.

The Net2NO crew decided that we would charter a bus and go to the SXSW Interactive Conference as a group to let everyone know that not only is New Orleans open for business but also that the state is a thriving place for digital creatives and technology entrepreneurs to start or expand a business. With the help of awesome sponsors, we purchased booth space at the tradeshow armed with materials on Louisiana’s Digital Interactive Media Tax Credits for technology businesses, Angel Investment Tax Credits for start-ups, and personal success stories. We had a daily drawing at 5:04pm to give away weekend stays at the W Hotel New Orleans and a free registration to WordCamp NOLA in New Orleans, LA. (coming up April 10-11… David Link is a panelist… more info to come! )

Personally, I loved working the tradeshow booth because I saw so many people get instantly engaged in the idea of moving their businesses to New Orleans. I would mention the tax credits, the cost of living, the amazing culture, and the overall quality of life in New Orleans…and I would see people’s faces light up with excitement. I firmly believe that Net2NO will get at least one business to actually move their firm to New Orleans as a result of attending the SXSW conference.

David Link, Alise Johnson, Damien LaManna, Brian Rodriguez

Of course,  it wasn’t all work all the time. We had to throw a New Orleans party and show Austin a good time! On the night of Monday, March 16, the Y@T PACK rounded up a few hundred people at Lucky Lounge to listen to DJ Othertempo, a.k.a. Elliott Adams, who is also the Director of the Digital Interactive Office in the Louisiana Economic Development Department, and Austin Nights Brass Band. The amazing party was organized by young arts enthusiast, Andrew Larimer.

2. The SXSW Presentation / Panels

Of course, this was the meat of the conference. I had the opportunity to attend many beneficial keynote presentations and panels that discussed a variety of topics that will help further my career and ultimately provide a better product to my clients. On Saturday, I attended a presentation by Robert Hoekman, Jr. entitled “The 7 Rules of Great Web App Design.” It was a well-done presentation, and I’ll expand on his 7 rules in a future blog entry. Later that day I also attended panels that included design greats such as Jeffrey Zeldman and Jason Santa Maria.

By far my favorite presentation was by Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary has built a $60M business with his light-hearted and fun video blog “The Wine Library.” Gary had a tremendous impact on me, so I’ll have a comprehensive blog entry coming up that recaps his talk. Stay tuned!

3. The Support for New Orleans Entrepreneur Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures

Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures

Net2NO member, Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures, moderated a panel at SXSW called “Outsourcing 2.0: Is the World Flat or Not?” The interactive format included Q&A with other panelists, including New Orleans developer Matt Tritico, Sandeep Sood of Monsoon Multimedia in Silicon Valley and Andrea Azdril of Startech Global in Los Angeles. The room was packed with entrepreneurs, developers, and designers full of questions on the topic. Schultz did an exceptional job, and it really made me proud to see a New Orleans entrepreneur leading a discussion on a very important topic at a major tech conference. I had a tremendous sense of pride during the presentation, and I feel privileged to share both a business relationship and friendship with Chris. If you don’t know Chris yet, you need to get on it.

So, there you have it folks. I had the time of my life. I cannot wait until next year!

**Did you go to SXSW? Briefly share your exciting moments from SXSW with us below in the comments area!**

Jeffrey Zeldman. Photo by Adrian Q.

I, of course, complimented him on his lecture and told him how much I was enjoying the conference (and the free beer). After the pleasantries, I wanted to ask him a few questions that couldn’t possibly be better answered by anyone else in the industry. I asked him how to overcome that feeling of “average-ness” that new designers often experience. To which he concisely replied, “Almost everyone goes through that. Just keep working hard.” I then asked him my #1 most important question, “How do you get your clients to listen to you?” His answer was perfectly on point:

“Always bring it back to the user.”

I won’t go into what he said after that, but that statement alone was profound enough for it to change my entire perspective on web design. When Zeldman told me to bring it back to the user, he wasn’t just giving me a method for convincing clients that my design motives were legitimate. He was also swiftly pointing out one of my own flaws as a designer: I had been designing for my clients, instead of for their users. After I realized that, I’d swear I saw a heavenly light shining down on him and could faintly hear the hymn of angels.

Since then, I’ve changed. My designs are almost exclusively centered around the user’s experience, instead of purely aesthetics. It’s better to let the appearance of the site come more as a function of the interface design, instead of just “making sure it looks pretty.” Besides, simple is beautiful.

I’ll never forget what Jeffrey Zeldman said to me that night. And I truly hope it’s something other designers (and clients) can take to heart as well.

P.S. – Happy Birthday to my brother, Spencer.

Check out blogger Blake Killian’s interview with Prospect.1 Curator Dan Cameron below:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1871825" height="380px" width="550px" /]

Check out the list of the participating artists and the list of the participating venues. I know I plan to attend this wonderful event, and I encourage all of you to check it out as well!

One of the recent initiatives that Hecht and his staff are working on is the Greater New Orleans Digital Media Alliance. Hecht’s goal for The Greater New Orleans Digital Media Alliance will be to market the metro area to technology companies, advocate policies that support those firms, and work with universities to develop curricula that support the technology industry. The Times-Picayunne recently covered the story here.

I look forward to following GNO, Inc.’s initiatives as they help re-build the New Orleans business community.