Dopp Juice Archive

Sometimes I wake up and remember that I’ve worked on some really neat projects and never bragged about them. Here’s one of them.

Locke Liddell & Sapp is a law firm in Texas with over 400 attorneys. Last year, they refreshed their public image and invested in a new website. I collaborated with designers, brand strategists, and back-end system experts to produce the site’s browser-safe user interface.

What’s exceptional about this website? It fits a lot of information and functionality into a small space without overwhelming the user or breaking technical requirements. And not only that, but it does it with style — the dashboard is downright clean and friendly.

Opportunities like this, where I get to finesse square pegs into seemingly-round holes, are what makes this whole game worth playing.

I love O’Reilly. Their books are wonderful and their conferences are top-notch. But I have a prejudice against conferences that cost more than $1,000. I don’t go to them. There are plenty of cheaper conferences throughout the year that are more accessible to the people who actually use and build the web, and I go to those. O’Reilly can have its CEOs; I’d rather hang out with the entrepreneurs and freelancers who create free useful tools for their community. Life is just better that way.

(Nostalgia check: remember the Web 2.2. Unconference that I helped the Social Media Club organize in November? The tickets cost $32.95, and totally coincidentally it was held the same week as O’Reilly’s Web 2.0 Conference, the tickets to which cost $3,295.00.)

So thank $deity (as Whump would say) that O’Reilly finally caught on. They’re hosting the upcoming Web 2.0 Expo, and no, it’s not less than a grand to go, but they are allowing in their hipster open source little brother, Web 2.Open — a free side-conference that will be going on simultaneously.

It’s a smart move on O’Reilly’s part. They’re pulling in people who make a difference, and whom they normally wouldn’t have any sway over. I’m hearing rumors that some people are ditching the Big Conference altogether in favor of the Open, because really, that’s where all the action’s gonna be.

Consider this your insider’s tip and go register now before the slots close. Click “Expo” for your ticket type and enter this discount code: webex07em . It will be free. No credit card info requested at all.

Oh yeah, and it’s in San Francisco, so round them locals up!

Seth Godin cracks me up and seduces me with his absurd grand ideas at the same time. Read his reposted article, NoBS, the End of MBA, about the true purpose of business school and his attempt to help us bypass the stupid stuff.

I want to apply.

No, really. I want to apply.