Documentation and Training: The User Experience Reviews

• Details
• Sessions
• Notes
• Speakers
• Reviews
• Discussion
• Media
• Events

RSS Feed

Show reviews about the conference overall
Show reviews about sessions

All Reviews Positive Reviews Negative Reviews Neutral Reviews
There are no reviews yet.
By: Ms Emma Hamer on May 29 2007 at 11:52 PM GMT	Want Success? People trump technology every time A review of the session "Technology by CMS-Power by People: The Human Side of Content Management" Without missing a beat, Rahel neatly laid out all the "misunderstandings" and "faulty assumptions" that cause the majority (up to 70%) of CM projects to falter, lose momentum, or completely fail. And what it boils down to: adding people dynamics to the equation. Internal users, customers, internal and external reviewers, all are in some way or another ignored, not taken seriously, or brushed aside as inconsequential. Rahel quite eloquently explained how to do it right the first time around, and that includes a proper analysis and upfront requirements gathering. And that includes involving people - lots of them. Great presentation, and one every senior TechComm manager should see.
By: Mr. Chris Scannell on May 16 2007 at 07:39 PM GMT	Some profound ideas A review of the session "Professionally Managing Content: What are your quality metrics?" From the session description, I expected to take away some handy metrics for measuring doc quality. I didn't get that, but instead got something more profound and useful: a good explanation of the concept of _manufacturing_ content instead of authoring it.
By: Mr. Chris Scannell on May 16 2007 at 07:07 PM GMT	Great overview of current ID practices A review of the session "User Centered Design For Web Experiences: Keeping People In The Picture" This was a very polished and professional introduction to current Web UI practices.
By: Mr. Chris Scannell on May 16 2007 at 07:04 PM GMT	Lively and informative A review of the session "Keynote: The Future of XML Publishing" Salim gave a lively presentation. I learned more than I expected to.
By: Mr. Chris Scannell on May 16 2007 at 07:01 PM GMT	A whirlwind tour of Information Architecture A review of the session "Getting to the Heart of Information Design & Architecture" This was, on the whole, a very entertaining and useful session. Thom is a very engaging speaker, knows his subject thoroughly, and has obvious enthusiasm for IA. My only quibble is the enormous amount of information in the session. An extra hour would have allowed the session to move at a more leisurely pace. However, Thom posted the slides (more than 300!) to his Web site immediately after the conference, which helped with retaining the flood of information that was covered. This helped immensely.
By: Mr. Jeremy Bryan on May 15 2007 at 03:04 PM GMT	Documentation and Training: The User Experience A review of the conference overall Documentation and Training: The User Experience
By: Mr Dale Phillips on May 10 2007 at 08:28 PM GMT	Most value, best session A review of the session "Adobe Captivate Workshop" Because this was hands-on, this session was of the most value. He didn't just talk theory, he had us using the software- this is what we should be doing more of! Absolutely the best session, and worth all the others put together. The tool has the potential to improve the way documentation is done.
By: Mr Dale Phillips on May 10 2007 at 08:18 PM GMT	Nice to do if you can convince management A review of the session "The XML Word Processor: Moving the Masses to Structured XML Authoring (A Case Study of the Irish Government)" Excellent implementation of new technology, but it came only by turning the normal business model 180 degrees. Instead of having a "done by" date, they were allowed to get it right first. Rare, if not unique, in the fast-paced business world. But an important lesson for how to do it. Would like to see someone using it in action. Many technical problems.
By: Mr Dale Phillips on May 10 2007 at 08:10 PM GMT	Excellent Keynote A review of the session "Keynote: The Future of XML Publishing" Great start, showing lots of promise, with an update on the future. He was good at breaking down what the world is like in the fast lane.
By: Mr Dale Phillips on May 10 2007 at 08:03 PM GMT	Completely useless and unprofessional A review of the session "Transitioning Your Career From Technical Writer to Technical Communicator" Worst speaker presentation ever seen at a professional organization. Waste of time for attendees. Unprofessional use of profanity in presentation, which was short, abrupt, and of no value.
By: Mr Dale Phillips on May 10 2007 at 07:58 PM GMT	Good start, needs maturity A review of the conference overall While some information was useful, our business needs more practical application to bring back as ROI. Need to be specific about what we can do and apply, not just generalities. Too many sessions offered little of real value that couldn't be got in an STC meeting. Many speakers had HW problems, were not good, or offered no value. Please expand the morning muffins to include cereal, fruit, and yoghurt, which would not cost that much. People don't have time to go out, and they need a bit more to concentrate in the morning.
By: Mr. Kieran O'Leary on May 09 2007 at 12:42 PM GMT	Tactics Over Tools A review of the conference overall I enjoyed this conference more than others I've attended. DocTrain's focus was not sales pitches (although there were plenty) but rather strategies and solutions for planning and delivering content in a rapidly changing technological environment. The grouping of sessions into various tracks helped me choose the topics I was most interested in. The speakers were knowledgeable and inspiring. The 6-hour trip was totally worthwhile.
By: Nancy Marsh on May 08 2007 at 05:05 PM GMT	good content, confusing delivery A review of the session "Designing & Architecting Technical Information" The content of this talk was very useful but there were technical difficulties with the presentation that appeared to throw Thom completely off his stride. Flipping through slides so fast I didn't have a chance to see what was on them was disorienting. Made it hard to focus. I would attend another of Thom's talks in a more appropriate room.
By: G D on May 08 2007 at 03:54 PM GMT	The right level of information... A review of the session "User Centered Design For Web Experiences: Keeping People In The Picture" I am attended Adaptive Path sessions before and I appreciate that the level of information had to be a bit more basic as this was not a web crowd per se. I think David and Sarah did a great job given they perhaps were not exactly part of the audience in terms of domain knowledge (tech writing versus web 2.0)
By: G D on May 08 2007 at 03:49 PM GMT	Welcome to Web 2.0 A review of the session "Case Study: Integrating User Assistance into the User Interface" I really suggest that the speakers pick up 37Signal's book "Getting Real" There's more to form and error prevention then sidebox messages and help manuals. Make an interface that meets the user needs and addresses issues before they come up. The interface shown lacks the visual prominence and hierarchy that web 2.0 interface can/should afford.
By: G D on May 08 2007 at 03:45 PM GMT	A Futurist! A review of the session "Keynote: The Future of XML Publishing" inspired presentation, and great speaker...really knows where things are going and I believe in the vision!
By: Ms. Sylvie Chartrand, PMP on May 08 2007 at 03:43 PM GMT	Good session A review of the session "Technology by CMS-Power by People: The Human Side of Content Management" A great reminder that we should always keep in mind who are the users 'people'.
By: G D on May 08 2007 at 03:43 PM GMT	Blurry slides, boring presentation A review of the session "Delivering Personalized, Customer-Centric Content" since the slides were directly outputted from Excel and enlarged, they were impossible to read for anyone (I was actually sitting quite close to the front). The presentation lacked passion and while I am sure Ann is experienced, the presentation was not informative, and perhaps that again leads back to the quality of the slides (and energy with which they were presented)?
By: Ms. Sylvie Chartrand, PMP on May 08 2007 at 03:33 PM GMT	Great speaker A review of the session "Metadata, Taxonomies, and Information Architecture: Putting the Pieces Together to Create an Effective User Experience" Seth Earley is full of valuable ideas and he inspires ideas through his own experiences. A guru in metadata and taxonomy. A lot was covered in this session. I did find though many overlaps with the workshop on "Taxonomy Development and Implementation".
By: Ms. Sylvie Chartrand, PMP on May 08 2007 at 03:29 PM GMT	Great speaker A review of the session "Taxonomy Development and Implementation" Seth Earley is full of valuable ideas and he inspires ideas through his own experiences. A guru in metadata and taxonomy. A lot was covered in this session. I did find though many overlaps with the session on "Metadata, Taxonomies, and Information Architecture".
By: Ms. Sylvie Chartrand, PMP on May 08 2007 at 03:17 PM GMT	Dynamic speaker! A review of the session "Give Me Usability, or Give Me Death!: The Usability of Content Management Systems" A truly entertaining and yet insightful look at how usability is crucial when deploying a CMS. Excellent session.
By: Ms. Sylvie Chartrand, PMP on May 08 2007 at 03:13 PM GMT	Good session A review of the session "The XML Word Processor: Moving the Masses to Structured XML Authoring (A Case Study of the Irish Government)" The speaker presented well the case study even though there were technical problems with the pesentation.
By: Ms. Sylvie Chartrand, PMP on May 08 2007 at 03:07 PM GMT	Creating Structured Content with Blogs A review of the session "Creating Structured Content with Blogs" Useful tips and sites to visit were provided. Yahoo Pipes demo was interesting.
By: Ms. Sylvie Chartrand, PMP on May 08 2007 at 02:59 PM GMT	Energetic presenter and excellent session A review of the session "Keynote: The Future of XML Publishing" Provided an excellent overview of Web 2.0 concepts. Very few speakers so effectively combine style with content, humor with ideas and insight.
By: Ms. Sylvie Chartrand, PMP on May 08 2007 at 02:45 PM GMT	Delivering Personalized Content A review of the session "Delivering Personalized, Customer-Centric Content" Good presentation and introduction of semantic model and elements. Provided a basic view of tools and technology required to deliver personalized content.
By: Ms Ros Kewley on May 01 2007 at 10:19 PM GMT	Good solid session A review of the session "S1000D and DITA: Enhancing the User Experience" Good session. Good clear explanation of DITA and S1000D in relation to the users. Lots of practical advice and examples.
By: Ms Ros Kewley on May 01 2007 at 10:13 PM GMT	Excellent A review of the session "Introduction to the Darwin Information Typing Architecture" Excellent session. The presentation and was well sequenced - covered all the basics but wasn't too basic. The presenter was informative, inclusive and entertaining. The slides were fab and an excellent reference after the session.
By: Brian Webb on May 01 2007 at 08:53 PM GMT	Folksonomatic democratization A review of the session "Democratic Folksonomies: Emulating the Evolution of Language to Create Metadata that Matters" Mr. Shoesmith delivered a great presentation, forcing his audience to think beyond the presentation being displayed on the screen to his left. His ideas were sound and my only criticism is that he spent too long getting ready to unleash his ideas on the world and not enough time unleashing. He made a few points that made the audience lightbulbs flicker and his humble delivery made it seem more interactive than one-way, even though we were all mesmerized (my interpretation).
By: Brian Webb on May 01 2007 at 08:49 PM GMT	A conference for many tastes A review of the conference overall I am a business planner and I found the conference insightful and thought provoking. The technical writers that were in attendance also found a lot of the content relevant and so it was a conference for a varied audience. Historically conferences are too 'niche' but DocTrain UX had what the masses wanted.
By: Barbara Stuhlemmer on Apr 30 2007 at 07:53 PM GMT	Great opportunity to see what others see as trends A review of the session "Panel: Content Managment Trends" This was a very interesting panel. There where speakers from different disciplines which gave some diversity and some energy to the topics posed by Scott. Scott did a great job getting in all the questions that had been submitted before the session as well as moderating the speakers. On occasion this could have turned into a very heated discussion consisting of long, drawn-out, unrelated answers if Scott had not been as in control of the time given to the participates as he was. Very well done Scott. The session was fun and informative.
By: Barbara Stuhlemmer on Apr 30 2007 at 07:31 PM GMT	Great Place to Meet the Key People in our Industry A review of the conference overall The conference was very well organized by Eileen Savary and Scott Abel. The location was beautiful. The Marriott Pinnacle was a very hospitable hotel with excellent staff. There was continental breakfast, a wonderful lunch and coffee, lots and lots of coffee each day. There was also tea and water. Every workshop or seminar started and ended on time, which I always appreciate. The presenters where interesting and the vendors where friendly and helpful. There was lots of opportunity to network and get to know others within our own community and there was quite a diverse community represented at this conference. There was even a cocktail reception on Wednesday evening to encourage networking and get people meeting each other. The whole event was very well thought out and orchestrated. I got an opportunity to learn about new and commonly used products and processes. I also left with many new connections which are already turning into mutual associations. Overall a very good place to meet the decision making people within our industry.
By: Kyla Cragg on Apr 30 2007 at 12:26 PM GMT	Best conference I've attended A review of the conference overall Loved: the venue, the variety of topics and speakers, the conference web site, the price, the quality of the presenters, the level of quality of the presentations (expert-level), the free iPod shuffle, long lunch time Could have been better: slides should have been available for each presentation, breakfast and lunch were minimal in terms of selection Suggestions for next time: have people sign up for specific topics at lunch and then have people sit in those groups for a better use of the lunch time
By: Ms Ros Kewley on Apr 30 2007 at 12:33 AM GMT	Good conference A review of the conference overall This conference provided alot of valuable information and ideas. Most session were well presented and the coverage of topics was great. I would like some more workshop-style sessions and networking time next time.
By: Ms Ros Kewley on Apr 30 2007 at 12:22 AM GMT	Great! A review of the session "Keynote: The Future of XML Publishing" Excellent session. Explained many concepts in a simple manner. This knowledge formed a great base for subsequent sessions during the conference.
By: Ms Ros Kewley on Apr 29 2007 at 05:24 PM GMT	Enthusiastic session A review of the session "User Centered Design For Web Experiences: Keeping People In The Picture" The presenters enthusiasm for what they do was infectious. Message was pitched at the right level and was easily understood. I really enjoyed this session.
By: Ms Ros Kewley on Apr 29 2007 at 05:20 PM GMT	Good Web focussed session A review of the session "Delivering Personalized, Customer-Centric Content" Good session. Very web focuessed - would have liked a little more training info. However, the content, techniques discussed and presentation were superb for web.
By: Ms Ros Kewley on Apr 29 2007 at 05:18 PM GMT	Great Case Study A review of the session "The XML Word Processor: Moving the Masses to Structured XML Authoring (A Case Study of the Irish Government)" Good session. Great to see the tools and techniques discussed across the conference applied in a practical setting.
By: Ms Ros Kewley on Apr 29 2007 at 05:16 PM GMT	Valuable A review of the session "Standardizing the Quality of Documentation and Training Using Simplified Technical English" Great session. Introduced and demonstrated a useful tool. Well presented. Enjoyable presenter and interesting content.
By: Ms Ros Kewley on Apr 29 2007 at 05:15 PM GMT	No Value A review of the session "Transitioning Your Career From Technical Writer to Technical Communicator" Dreadful! Waste of time. Speaker unprepared and inexperienced.
By: Connie Brizendine on Apr 27 2007 at 08:04 PM GMT	Clear and Unambiguous Tech Documentation A review of the session "Standardizing the Quality of Documentation and Training Using Simplified Technical English" Very interesting and insightful presentation. Mr. Braster gave good examples of the importance of creating clear and unambiguous technical documentation by using terminology that is easy to understand.
By: Connie Brizendine on Apr 27 2007 at 07:51 PM GMT	Personalized Content Benefits A review of the session "Delivering Personalized, Customer-Centric Content" Very well presented. After attending this session, I had a better idea of personalized content and how it can benefit the customer.
By: Dan Boylan on Apr 27 2007 at 05:58 PM GMT	Delivering Personalized Content A review of the session "Delivering Personalized, Customer-Centric Content" A very professional and thorough introduction to the subject. Surprisingly this was one of the few sessions that supplied handouts.
By: Lisa Bourgault on Apr 26 2007 at 11:08 PM GMT	Good networking A review of the conference overall This conference included some great sessions and a couple of disappointing ones, but overall I thought the content was pretty darn good. The networking was even better -- nice mix of professions for varied perspectives. The big downside for me was that for such a small venue, the breaks between sessions were too long -- especially the lunch break. Shame there wasn't more happening during lunch to fill the time.
By: Michelle Lasure on Apr 26 2007 at 09:48 PM GMT	Salim rocks! A review of the session "Creating Structured Content with Blogs" Salim is one of those people in whoch you want to "download" the info from his brain into yours; he really knows his content wether it be blogs, DITA, pipes, xml, etc. Watch for him to be running Yahoo someday!
By: Michelle Lasure on Apr 26 2007 at 09:46 PM GMT	Strategic Planning A review of the session "Implementing CM: Facilitating Change" Emma stressed the fact that planning change is as important as facilitating change. She listed many things to consider when choosing a CMS, and gave many examples from her experiences. She delivered the content in a clear and concise manner, but added a bit of fun but interacting with the group. Overall, a great experience.
By: Michelle Lasure on Apr 26 2007 at 09:40 PM GMT	Needs more organization A review of the conference overall This coneference had some good features, but the course descriptions really needed user levels in them. I went to a DITA course to get an overview, and the instructor expected everyone to already know the DITA structure. Each course should have a user level attached to it: beginner, intermediate, etc. and a better description of what will be covered in each class. For instance, the Captivate workshop should have been labeled as beginner; I expected to get some expert insight into cool ways to use the product above and veyone the basics, but the I was the only one in the class who had used the software extensively. The instructor basically knew the program, but I could have taught the class. I didn't get anyting out of the 4 hours of instruction. A user level tagged to the course could have prevented this.
By: Rahel Anne Bailie on Apr 26 2007 at 05:15 PM GMT	Engaging way of making the business case A review of the session "Strategic Usability, Smart Organizations: Taking User Experience Beyong the Interface to Maximize Business Value" If there was ever a reason to bring a skeptical C-level executive or Director-level management type to a usability presentation, this would have been it. Jerome Nadel's presentation hammered home, without being nasty or condescending but simply in a factual and compelling way, how the Web world really works - with facts and figures from high-profile organizations to back it up - and the natural and unintended consequences of corporate actions when they decide to take shortcuts. It's almost a shame he was speaking at this conference, because it's a little like preaching to the choir. Jerome should have been down the block, talking to the Board of Trade crowd, or wherever the CIOs hang out, and are still making the penny-wise, pound-foolish decisions around usability issues.
By: Rahel Anne Bailie on Apr 26 2007 at 05:02 PM GMT	Unexpectedly delightful A review of the session "Democratic Folksonomies: Emulating the Evolution of Language to Create Metadata that Matters" From the title of the presentation, I thought I knew what was going to be covered, and was attending to be able to argue with the presenter after the session. So I was pleasantly surprised to hear a bit of a new take on folksonomies. Kevin took a well-considered position, and lost a star only for taking a long time "preambling" and then leaving us not enough time to ponder what was at the heart of the matter, which is, after all, what we'd come to discuss.
By: Rahel Anne Bailie on Apr 26 2007 at 04:56 PM GMT	These two make a dynamic duo A review of the session "Creating Structured Content with Blogs" What I liked in this session was the balance between Salim discussing the technology of structured blogging and, in particular, Pipes to create your own mash-ups, and Scott discussing how he used structured blogging to solve a real-world problem with results that were better than any "duct tape and binder twine" solution that would normally have been adopted under similar circumstances. It really cemented the concepts. Both of the speakers are quite dynamic, but put them together, and they feed off of each other's energy to create an effect where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, (though I'm sure that their mathematical minds will balk at that notion).
By: Rahel Anne Bailie on Apr 26 2007 at 04:47 PM GMT	Pop Rocks for the brain A review of the session "Keynote: The Future of XML Publishing" I've heard a variation of Salim's keynote before, and it's a bit like that candy called "Pop Rocks" that kids empty from a tube onto their tongues, and they get an explosion in their mouths. Salim starts talking, and there is a little series of explosions in my brain as I start seeing the applications for what he's talking about. Salim sketches out, with a very few strokes, some alternate realities of how we could do business or communicate or generally run our lives, better and with more efficiency, and the dots starts to connect, all over the place. I assume this is happening for everyone else in the audience, though some people looked at me a little askance afterwards and said that they had no idea what I was going on about. The one way Salim's presentations could bring the point home would be to use more illustrative stories, use cases, if you will, but there's no "4.75" rating on Confabb, so he'll just have to settle for a 5!
By: Rahel Anne Bailie on Apr 26 2007 at 04:33 PM GMT	Good variety, lots of food for thought A review of the conference overall Because I go to a lot of conferences, I've gotten jaded about attending - you know, sit near the door, ready to escape if what I hear isn't new or exciting within the first few minutes, scan the program for something different than the same old, same old topics. So, first good sign, I was put in the unusual predicament of having multiple sessions in the same time slot that I wanted to attend. Then, second good sign, I didn't sneak out of a single session. (Except to attend to some urgent conference business, which doesn't count.) And third, I tracked down a couple of speakers afterwards to either find out what they had to say because I'd missed their sessions, or because I wanted to hear more. So overall, I was very pleased with the brain food I got out of the conference. What would have made it a "5"? No specific ideas, but I want to keep the organizer motivated to keep raising the bar!
By: Ms Emma Hamer on Apr 25 2007 at 12:18 AM GMT	Stimulating ideas in an intimate setting A review of the conference overall Compared with last fall's DocTrain conference in Boston, the experience in Vancouver was a big step above. What a great gathering of old hands, new tricks, and eager learners; vendors and writers; usability folks and taxonomists (no, they don't stuff dead animals). Having some of the "innovative thinkers" in the content management and usability fields (Ann Rockley, Seth Early, Salim Ismail, David Verba, Thom Haller and many others) congregate in one place, easily accessible, is just fabulous. From what I hear, this year's Fall event, just outside of Boston, will be great, also. With a theme "Advancing your Career" - I'll be there, too.
By: Ms Emma Hamer on Apr 24 2007 at 11:50 PM GMT	What's cookin' in Astoria's kitchen? A review of the session "Under the Microscope: User Experience Test of Astoria Software Hosted CMS" Dressed to the nines in a chef's hat and a floral barbecue apron, Eric took the participants on a whirlwind usability tour through Astoria's OnDemand CM solution. With little bags of candy and various chatchka's hurled at whomever came up with a comment - good or bad - about the interface, he made this session one of the most entertaining (and I suspect very, very useful to Astoria) usability tests I've ever witnessed. With an audience made up of everything between power users of CM systems, and absolute user experience novices, the session was rowdy, noisy, and a lot of fun. And if you can't have fun, what's the point?
By: Ms Emma Hamer on Apr 24 2007 at 11:42 PM GMT	Linking Linguistics to Web 2.0 -- very clever! A review of the session "Democratic Folksonomies: Emulating the Evolution of Language to Create Metadata that Matters" Initially, I was very skeptical about the value of folksonomies, as I'm not too optimistic about how articulate the lol, cul8r, and brb crowd is (sure, peg me as an old-fashioned elitist, who values good grammar and correct spelling...). But after listening to Kevin's erudite explanation about linguistics and the natural development of language, and how he sees opportunities for a hybrid system of formal taxonomies combined with folksonomies, I'm not so secure in my smugness. I concede that he has a very good point, and he certainly made it well.
By: Camille H on Apr 23 2007 at 01:19 AM GMT	Lots of info, not enough time A review of the session "Getting to the Heart of Information Design & Architecture" Thom is a thoroughly entertaining and energetic speaker. I felt this workshop was rushed and wish there had been more time to focus rather than skip through it. The content was excellent but I think it would have been more helpful to present less material and go into it deeper. Thom does provide a ton of backup resources and slides on his site that will make all the difference in reviewing what he taught.
By: Camille H on Apr 23 2007 at 01:05 AM GMT	A good opportunity to step out of focus A review of the conference overall As a usability professional, I appreciated being able to see the user experience from new perspectives. This conference offered great intros to new topics, in depth workshops and lots of time to network and exchange ideas.
By: Camille H on Apr 22 2007 at 08:05 AM GMT	so much to say, so well, in so little time A review of the session "Taxonomy Development and Implementation" This was a great workshop - appropriate for the topic, well-paced. Seth prestented a lot of in-depth information in a very streamlined and retainable manner, and with some jokes thrown in, it was pretty entertaining. We walked through definitions, examples, case studies and live deliverables for a complex taxonomy. I gained a better understanding of the importance of taxonamy and how it benefits/applies to my company as a whole, as opposed to just my current slice of the project.
By: Mr. Luc-Rock Paquin on Apr 20 2007 at 11:36 PM GMT	Good Topic, Disappointing Delivery A review of the session "Getting a Foothold: Using BaseCamp Improve Productivity and Collaboration" I was looking forward to getting a good overview of Basecamp and seeing how it could improve collaboration. Unfortunately, the speakers seemed ill-prepared to give this presentation, gave a 10-minute break (in a 75 minute session!), and lacked some public speaking skills. I still managed to get some information out of the session, but the session didn't live up to its title.
By: Mr. Luc-Rock Paquin on Apr 20 2007 at 11:28 PM GMT	It's not about the technology! A review of the session "Implementing CM: Facilitating Change" Emma demonstrated that when you implement a CMS, it's not about the technology, it's about the user. In order to be successful, you must include change management in your process.
By: Mr. Luc-Rock Paquin on Apr 20 2007 at 11:24 PM GMT	The masters of UX! A review of the session "User Centered Design For Web Experiences: Keeping People In The Picture" I'm a huge fan of Adaptive Path (they organize some of the best conferences about Usability and User Experience), so I was very happy to see Sarah Nelson and David Verba at this conference. They managed to give a good overview of what User Experience (UX) is and how it is an integral part of of Web 2.0.
By: Mr. Luc-Rock Paquin on Apr 20 2007 at 11:15 PM GMT	Covered the basics of personalization A review of the session "Delivering Personalized, Customer-Centric Content" This session covered the basics of personalization, with a focus on preparing for what can be personalized. I would have liked to see more information about *why* you should personalize, and *how* to decide the level of personalization that is needed.
By: Mr. Luc-Rock Paquin on Apr 20 2007 at 04:43 PM GMT	Short presentation, but good discussion A review of the session "Creating Structured Content with Blogs" The presentation part of the session was very short, but it ended up generating a lot of discussion and some very good Q&A.
By: Mr. Luc-Rock Paquin on Apr 20 2007 at 04:19 PM GMT	Fun & informative session A review of the session "Keynote: The Future of XML Publishing" Salim Ismail delivered a great keynote that managed to be both informative and fun. He managed to give a good overview of "Web 2.0", which is a concept that is not well understood by many people and too often used as a buzzword. I would have liked to know where the "Internet 3.0" term came from, as this was the first time I had heard of it.
By: Scott Abel on Apr 20 2007 at 01:08 PM GMT	You've Got Ismail! A review of the session "Keynote: The Future of XML Publishing" As usual, Salim captivated the audience and lead them through a keynote address jam-packed with thought provoking, paradigm-shifting ideas. Attendee comments included: "Brilliant," "Best Keynote I've heard in a long, long time," and "Where did you find this guy? And why have you been hiding him from us?" Salim made a complex (Web 2.0) topic understandable, accessible, and useful.
By: Salim Ismailsalim on Apr 19 2007 at 11:08 PM GMT	Rob rocks... A review of the session "Web 2.0 - From Chaos to Clarity" Very funny, hugely informative... dealt with all the stuff that Salim forgot in the morning...
By: Salim Ismailsalim on Apr 19 2007 at 10:20 PM GMT	Great conference A review of the conference overall This world is new to me, but these sessions are hugely informative. No schwag, but the people are great and the facility is really top-notch. The wifi works great.
By: Scott Abel on Apr 19 2007 at 02:55 PM GMT	Documentation and Training Brings The User Experience To Vancouver A review of the conference overall Excellent event. Beautiful venue. Top-notch content. Well worth the price (and the free pre- and post-conference workshops were an added value). Of course, as organizer of the event, I have a biased opinion. What did you think of the event?