Caterbuildar

I have finished the theme and a 3D model for the MobilePublisher - a mobile site. This was a very interesting project for me, because I could screen design and create a  3D model. I learnt some new things about screen designing which were very useful.

To my Portfolio.

I was at the OpenExpo in Bern on 24 and 25 March 2010 with PHILIPP-SCHAFFNER.COM (Philipp’s blog entry). It was extremely busy and very interesting. I had the opportunity talk with many people about Drupal content management system/framework. I could explain some basics about Drupal and give some hints about different modules.

We also asked people if they could – in one word – describe what they associated with Drupal. That was very important as we could get a little picture of Drupal through the users point of view. We had a very creative idea to write down the answers on a canvas (interactive combined with a bit of art work!). The painting was definately a very interesting and fun idea for the visitors. You can see the painting on PHILIPP-SCHAFFNER.COM blog (as above).

Here is an article by Michael H. Goldhaber in which he talks about an 'attention economy'. This article is dated April 1997, so naturally, things have changed since then. He explain what 'attention' is, how we get it or give it in our everyday lives (business or private), how we use it and mainly what is the role of attention in the economy especially in the Web. Below is what I found interesting and a summary of the article.

Goldhaber says, we are moving towards an era of attention economy and we are partly already there [but I think we are in fact already there – remember this article is about 12 years old]. The Web is enforcing us to do things differently. We cannot apply the old rules to new times any more. It is a whole new way of doing things and as a business or any other venture one has, we just need to get our heads around the new digital era or we will simply fail. Times have changed now, where seeking attention is not frowned upon any more but rather it is admirable when something/someone gets attention.

# 1) The Web demands new ways of thinking.

# 2) Limited Attention: Attention is a scarce resource. We as humans can not focus on too many things at one time. It is hard to get and keep attention.

# 3) Attention is Everywhere: It is possible for everyone to get attention, in fact we get it in all kinds of small ways e.g. when we simply talk to one another.

# 4) Possibilities: Once we get attention, we can do a lot with it [Tehseen: Web example, inviting people rate something, or click something etc].

# 5) Attention Value: Individuals value attention far more than organisations, also attention flows from individuals.

A white paper by Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle called 'Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years on' explains the next phase of the Web age. This paper goes into detail and gives very good examples. However, here is a very brief summary in my words and what I understand — after reading this paper — about ‘Web Squared’.

#1) Firstly, Web 2.0: we have heard this term for some years now, is not a version of the Web, it is basically (following the dotcom bust) the “second coming” of the Web. The Web is no longer about static pages giving information but it has become a rich experience. One can interact and participate e.g. leaving comments on blogs or articles; everyone can join in and show something they want for their personal or business needs e.g. pictures, videos on platforms such Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and far more.

#2) In 2010, we will see just what the Web means to this world (well, we see this now but the next phase has far more impact). 2010 is a very important year for the Web because it is the year they say will the “explosion” of the Web.

#3) Web 3.0 or Web Squared is among many other things: semantic, sentient, social, mobile and some form of virtual reality.

As you already know, Caterbuildar along with Visual Data Systems AG (VDS) (Caterbuildar's 3D printing partner) sponsored the 3D printout of the Drupal Media Camp, Switzerland, 2009 logo. The logo and the other 3D printed objects exhibited by VDS gained a lot of attention and interest.

The Drupal Media Camp was a huge success. More than 120 people turned up on Friday and about the about the same on Saturday. Lots of great sessions with very useful hints about modules and other information one can use or should consider when creating Drupal projects. We had food and drinks and after Camp dinners were all part of the fun.

Caterbuildar aside from sponsoring the logo, supported the Camp organisers on the day and picked the winners for the lottery where participants could win various useful tech related prizes.

I enjoyed every moment of the Camp and look forward to more!

Links:

Drupal Media Camp, Switzerland 2009

Pictures on Flickr

Drupal Media Camp is coming to Aarau on 8 and 9 May 2009. Drupal is a Content Management System/Framework.

For the Camp, I 3D modelled the logo which was then 3D printed by Visual Data Systems AG (Caterbuildar's 3D printing partner). Below you will find two pictures but you can see all the pictures including the development phase of the logo in the Portfolio section.