KMP were proud to sponsor the Speak the Web conferences held across the northwest over the last few weeks. With our very own Rich Clark forming half the super-duo behind the events, we were delighted to be able to attend the events.
We sent our own Rob Sandbach to the events in Manchester and Liverpool, who had the following to say;
The format of each event was similar: 3 or 4 talks in a small bar with a wonderful, intimate atmosphere which fostered social interaction with other web folk whether you wanted it or not! Comfy couches were par for the course if you were an early bird, sturdy pillars and walls to lean against if not. This might sound like a complaint but in reality the pub-like atmosphere was Speak the Web’s second greatest asset. It set the tone for an informal heckle inducing melting pot of forward thinking ideas to be churned out, discussed and disagreed upon in abundance.
The greatest asset was, naturally, the people. The speakers ranged from your best mate Joe, to Andy Clarke and each brought a unique style of presentation to the party. From #macfail filled presentations to #keynoterocks professional, rehearsed talks, the speakers brought a range of ideas, advice and predictions to the room. Andy Clarke’s forward thinking “Hard Boiled” presentation in Manchester was a highlight. Andy put forward an uncompromising agenda to deliver fantastic web experiences to capable browsers before facilitating an equally presentable, but perhaps less inspired, experience on less-capable browsers. Graceful degradation is too compromising, he argued, instead we should focus on, and design for, the bleeding edge; using whatever tool each the browsers affords us.
Jake Smith’s discussion at the Liverpool event on the use of custom fonts in modern design was frank (“95% of free fonts are a bit shit”), but fascinating for a non-designer-but-still-a-geek type like myself. As one might expect, CSS3 and HTML5 were hot on the agenda, but topics varied as far as mobile, SEO, and post-modernism inspired design.
Speak The Web was driven by a sincere desire to deliver a passionate calendar of events to the northwest web scene. All profits are going to local charities, with Andy Clarke and other speakers contributing their fee to the charity pool which reflects the passion of all speakers and attendees to bring this format of event to the northwest.
Here at KMP Digitata we look forward to seeing Speak The Web develop further and will continue to support this and other events in the North West.
