Port80 is run by the Australian Web Industry Association. It's open to AWIA members and other web industry professionals; designers, developers, suits, sys admins and web hosts. Founded in 2002, port80 is proud of its informal meetings - no long speeches, no admission fees, no forced networking. Just an interesting talk, great discussion, a few drinks and the chance to meet others in your industry.
Some of the best talent from the NSW Web Industry were recognised last night at the NSW Web Awards. The winners all progress to the National Finals to be held on the 24th October during the Web Directions conference.
The awards are judged firstly by making it through a validation process using tools like W3Validator and Jigsaw, sites that don't validate are removed from the running for a Web Award. We then look at accessibility, this year we used the OzArt tool with some manual inspection also. If the accessibility isn't deemed to be up to standard the website is removed from the running for a Web Award.
Remaining sites are then allocated among judges who score them based on 5 criteria;
1. Visual Design
2. Content
3. UX
4. Development
5. Accessibility
Each criteria has its different attributes and we rate them on a 5 point scale.
The results are exported to a spreadsheet and we wight the scores, because some attributes are more important than others.
Things like "innovation" are used for tie breakers, so you can still win an award with a great site that is not innovative. (Except in the Innovation Category.)
Shortly we will publish all the attributes and all the weightings on the AWIA website webindustry.asn.au and you get to tell us how they can be improved.
The night kicked off with 4 showcases picked from our NSW entrants;
Showcase 1 - Anurag Chakradhar, Development Manager Thinkun
GoGet CarShare
Showcase 2 - Katie Finnegan, Design and UX Manager The Web Showroom
Salvation Army Aged Care Plus
Showcase 3 - Edmund Tadros, Data Journalist The Australian Financial Review
Australian Financial Review
Showcase 4 - Geoff Bowers, Director Daemon Internet Consultants
Sochi 2014 Australian Olympic Winter Team
Here at the AWIA, we're going to keep giving awards to companies that build well-designed, accessible web sites with well-structured markup.
These are our NSW winners;
In the hotly contested Commercial Category, sponsored by Parmia Insurance we would like to congratulate our joint winners:
Love Me Again Boutique by The Web Showroom
ONSydney by OnMedia
In the Culture and Events Category, sponsored by Partner and Prosper we would like to congratulate our winner:
Sochi 2014: Australian Olympic Winter Team by Daemon Internet Consultants.
In the Not for Profit Category, sponsored by Eduka we would like to congratulate our winner:
Wesley LifeForce Service Finder by Rowan Atkinson Photography.
In the Mobile Category, sponsored by Bankwest we would like to congratulate our winner:
Goget by Thinkun
In the innovation Category, sponsored by Web Directions South and judged by Russ Weakley and John Allsopp we would like to congratulate our winner:
Women Love Tech by Women Love Tech.
A special thanks to our sponsors for supporting the night;
Parmia Insurance
ReInteractive
Media Access Australia
and to our judges;
Buzz Usbrone and Jonathan Crossfield.
Who is the AWIA?
It stands for the Australian Web Industry Association.
It's the association that represents web developers and people who work in or around the web. We don't represent everyone. We’re actually only interested in the people and companies who have high ethical standards.
Now you probably have an idea in your head about what a professional association is. But the culture of our organisation is very much a work in progress. It’s pretty clear we’re not going to be stodgy and conservative. It's not going to be a committee and a newsletter. It's going to be events and projects and content and it's going to be an organisation that has a public voice. It's early days but here's a bit of what we're up to:
Widelines stands for Web Industry Guidelines. A Code of Conduct for the web industry. It's what separates us from the cowboys. And it's a set of useful questions that clients should be asking their web developer before they sign a contract. So when they ask you those questions, because you're an ethical operator, you'll give different answers to a shonky operator, which should win you business. It's a tool for us to show that there's more to web development than the lowest advertised price. With Widelines we're educating the market and we're giving ourselves a marketing advantage. You'll be Widelines-compliant. Dodgy Brothers will not.
Geeks for Good. We're starting a project that promotes the work we do for Not for Profit organisations. Most of us do free or heavily discounted work for NFPs and it makes a huge difference to their influence on the world. That's a story we should be telling. It promotes the charity, it promotes our members and it makes the industry look good. If you have an NFP whose effectiveness has been transformed by your generosity, let us know; we're putting 2 minute videos together.
Port80, We do Port80 meetups in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide & Perth. And we support the Web Design Meetup Group in Brisbane and Web Developer 42 Degrees in Hobart. People get jobs, people learn stuff, people make friends. It’s meant to be social, it’s meant to be different every time you go. It’s the place where people’s eyes do not glaze over.
EOTW - Edge of the Web, we run a conference called Edge of the Web. Next year it will be a distributed conference, running in all cap cities. Perhaps you’d like to get on our mailing list.
AWA - And we do this, the Australian Web Awards. Because we want to acknowledge the people who do good quality work and lift the level of discussion about what's happening in the industry.
Booktopia: Online Retail, Java Web App and Mobile Site using AOP and RESS.
Back on September 11th at our monthly event Port80 members were treated to a great presentation by one of Australia's top online retailers Booktopia.
Wayne Baskin CTO of Booktopia gave a technical presentation on their web and mobile site with a focus on technologies like Java, AOP and RESS.
Steven Traurig, Online Entrepreneur, Founder and CIO of Booktopia gave a rundown of the business drivers and key decisions that contributed to Booktopia's market leading success.
Delivered in 3 x 15 minute video clips this is the full recording from the night.
Port80: Booktopia pure-play online retail & mobile, brought to you by reInteractive
AWIA's Port80 Sydney in conjunction with reInteractive is proud to bring you an exciting new topic for September!
Booktopia: Pure-play online retailing, building a killer mobile website and becoming the #1 online book retailer in Australia.
This Australian company has been online since 2004 and has made a positive reputation for itself amongst customers. While Booktopia has to compete with the international big names it has emerged as Australia's #1 online Book retailer.
Focusing on keeping Australian business within Australia, Booktopia is a family run company that employs Australians and supports future writers.
Regularly featured in the BRW fastest growing companies list and making it in as #28 in this year's 2013 e-commerce leaders' playbook by Power Retail this is a true homegrown success story.
Wayne Baskin CTO of Booktopia will give a technical presentation on building a web app that handles massive retail traffic using Java, an insight into what stack they use and a run down on their mobile site which is using AOP & RESS.
Steve Traurig, Online Entrepreneur and CIO of Booktopia will be giving a rundown on the business drivers and key decisions that have contributed to making this market leading website an Australian household name.
Come share knowledge, network and have some fun with other professionals in the Web Industry!
A big shout out and special thanks to reInteractive for picking up the bar tab for this event and for their annual sponsorship of Port80 Sydney!
Wednesday, September 11th, 2013 6:00 PM
King St Brewhouse 22 The Promenade, Sydney
We are located on the King Street Wharf - within walking distance from Sydney CBD, Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay.
RSVP here on our Meetup page
What can you expect from Port80?
A current, insightful and informative topic every month that matters to the web industry.
Excellent presenters that are leaders in their field and want to share first hand knowledge.
A good representation of both the Business and Technical aspects of our topics.
Great networking with your peers in the Web Industry, no sales pitches.
Learn something outside your comfort zone
Who comes to Port80?
eCommerce Entrepreneurs, C level Managers
Digital Managers, eCommerce Managers, Marketing Managers
Port80 is run by the Australian Web Industry Association (AWIA).
Founded in 2002, Port80 is proud of its informal meetings, no long speeches, no admission fees, no forced networking. Just an interesting talk, great discussion, a few drinks and the chance to meet and share knowledge with others in your industry.
This image was recently emailed to one of the senior-most technology executives at LinkedIn. In case you can't read it, the text says:
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
Contrary to what you might be thinking, the email didn't come from an eternally optimistic employee who cheerleads regardless of outcomes or a feel-good management coach whose office is plastered with posters defining "persistence," "teamwork," or "dedication."
It came from an engineer whose team has worked tirelessly over a period of years to develop and maintain an important back-end technology for the company. It's the kind of technology that just works, and subsequently, makes LinkedIn work. It's also the kind of technology that is so fundamental to what we do that it becomes easy to overlook -- unless, of course, it's not operating as expected. Then the team is inundated with questions about what's wrong, when it will be fixed, and how they can put measures in place to ensure it doesn't break again.
The engineer who sent the image to the executive added his own short message:
"This is what I feel after reading [your] email."
Other members of the engineer's team sent emails with similarly effusive sentiments. If you've ever worked closely with a team of highly talented, hardcore engineers you know that this show of unbridled happiness can be a bit unusual (to put it mildly.) So what had gotten them so enthused? An email written by the executive explaining how important the team was, how much value they had created, and his appreciation for their consistent diligence, perseverance, and excellence. Essentially, they were responding to a simple "Thank you."
The highest ROI management tool I know is one that is available to everyone, costs essentially nothing, and is a proven driver of workplace productivity. That tool is gratitude.
As obvious as this may sound to some, it is oftentimes overlooked, particularly in companies and among teams for whom seemingly no results are good enough and no bar is ever set high enough. Yet, developing a high-performance culture and one that encourages the expression of gratitude shouldn't be at odds. To the contrary, recognition can be an invaluable source of motivation and subsequently inspire people to do their best work. Looking back on my career, I've seen and experienced this dynamic more times than I can count, and conversely, have witnessed the negative repercussions of managers who take their teams for granted.
Here are a few things to consider the next time you're inclined to show your appreciation for a job well done:
1. Be thoughtful
Not all thank yous are created equal. Be thoughtful about the how. Sometimes it's best to do it in person, in the moment. Other times, an email or call might make sense, especially if the person is remote. Some of the most memorable thank yous I've received were handwritten notes (a few of which I still keep on a table behind my desk in the office).
Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, has elevated this kind of recognition to an art form. For example, mention offhandedly to him that you like dark chocolate, and don't be surprised if several months later, he returns back from his latest trip to Europe with a few specialty bars he purchased for you, inevitably delivered with a resounding thanks for the positive difference you're making to the company.
2. Be genuine
More often than not, the words you communicate are not nearly as important as the thought and energy behind them. The person on the receiving end can tell the difference between someone going through the motions and deeply heartfelt appreciation. When it comes to expressing gratitude, always be 100% genuine.
For example, the next time an email thread starts up congratulating a team on their most recent win, try to refrain from adding the fifth or sixth "Great job!" and give some thought to why you're appreciative for their specific accomplishment. Conveying the latter will make all the difference.
Recently, I was asked to join one of our teams in celebrating their recent launch of a major product initiative. In addition to the standard t-shirts, cupcakes, and group photo, the team member who organized the event also asked another exec and me to share the best compliment we had heard about the product, and some of the key learnings we took away from the launch. The team was so appreciative of the positive feedback that we ended up receiving thank-yous for our thank-yous.
3. Pick your spots
When thinking about when to give thanks, make sure to apply The Goldilocks Principle: Compliment someone too often and your words will ultimately ring hollow; don't say thank-you enough and your top talent will ultimately feel so under-appreciated you'll potentially face retention issues. However, express appreciation at just the right time and you'll make a huge difference in the way that person thinks about their role and what it means to be a part of your team.
For those more quantitatively inclined, there has actually been research done on the optimal ratio to achieve when communicating positive vs. negative feedback. It's called the Losada Ratio (and the answer is 2.9x.)
4. Solicit suggestions
When your organization is smaller, and everyone is located in one place, it's fairly easy to be aware of who is doing what and is most deserving of praise. However, as a successful organization inevitably scales to larger numbers of employees and multiple offices around the world, it can become more challenging to stay on top of the day-to-day progress of the team. One way of overcoming this dynamic is by making sure you remain in the flow of information regarding their wins, e.g. dashboards, wikis, weekly updates, etc. At LinkedIn, we conduct a global all-hands every other week which provides a natural channel to identify and recognize some of the team's most important accomplishments.
Another effective technique is to just ask. From time to time, remind your directs to mention individuals or teams you may have less direct exposure to, but who they feel are deserving of a special call-out. The further away from headquarters they sit, and the more junior they are, the better. You'll be amazed at how appreciative the people on the receiving end of those calls and emails will be.
5. Learn how to take a compliment
The better you are at receiving a compliment, the more effective you'll be at giving one. Many people struggle when on the receiving end of a kind word, inevitably looking down at their shoes, shuffling uncomfortably, and mumbling something about how it was truly a team effort. While humility is a highly valued trait, disconnection is not, yet the latter is typically what happens when these scenarios play out.
The next time someone compliments you on a job well done, try grounding yourself from the feet up, look the person straight in the eye, and let them know how much it means to you. That sense of recognition and connection is what we're all trying to achieve. It's also what ultimately makes the difference between a perfunctory thank you and an expression of gratitude the recipient won't soon forget.
One last note: Every now and again, the same senior tech executive I mentioned earlier will remind me of the first time I shared my views with him on the importance of gratitude. Despite the fact that conversation took place nearly eight years ago, he thanks me every time. The most recent example occurred just a couple of weeks ago. It was ultimately the reason I wrote this post.
Port80 Sydney last night: RedAnt & 12WBT.com showcase
Hi Members,
To those of you that came last night thank you.
To our Sponsors;
Anchor - Managed Hosting (picked up the bar tab for the night)
Ninefold - Cloud Hosting
reInteractive - Results driven web sites, guaranteed
A big thank you for your support which made the night possible.
To our Presenters;
RedAnt - Building large, engaging web sites
12WBT.com - Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation
Thanks for a great informative and entertaining topic, the presentation was top class.
Any of our members looking for work at the moment would be well served by visiting our Sponsors and Presenters websites as they are all hiring multiple positions right now!
A total of 62 people turned up for the event, our best turn out yet and from all accounts on the night it was enjoyed by all. Some thought it was too technical, others thought it was not technical enough. We hope this is a good thing, surely we can all benefit from getting out of our comfort zone and learning a little from the "other side".
Please take the time to rate the event and submit your reviews.
Any feedback or suggestions for future Meetups are welcome, please send them to one of the organisers through the group messaging function.
What can you expect from Port80?
A current, insightful and informative topic every month that matters to the web industry.
Excellent presenters that are leaders in their field and want to share first hand knowledge.
A good representation of both the Business and Technical aspects of our topics.
Great networking with your peers in the Web Industry, no sales pitches.
Learn something outside your comfort zone
Who comes to port80?
eCommerce Entrepreneurs, C level Managers
Digital Managers, eCommerce Managers, Marketing Managers
