d.Construct – Europe’s First Grassroots Web 2.0 Conference | October 09, 2005

I have wanted to put on a cool, grassroots conference in the UK for a while now. However, what with setting up a new company and writing my first web development book, I’ve just not had the time. Then two weeks ago, the organisers of the Brighton Digital Festival approached me to ask if I wanted to be involved. They had a great space available with a big digital projector, AV and free Wi-Fi, for a reasonably modest fee.

Initially I thought about putting on a large-scale SkillSwap, but as I chatted to contacts in the Industry I realised we could do something much better. I started sending off emails to everybody I knew, asking if they would be interested in talking at an event, and quickly an idea started to form.

The buzzword Web 2.0 is all around us at the moment. Nearly every blog I read and poscast I listen to has made some reference to the term. There are huge conferences going in on in the US as well as smaller, grassroots affairs. Everywhere you look a new Rich Internet Application is being launched, and tech companies are snapping up every DOM script and Ajax savvy developer they can find.

There is a renewed buzz in the web development industry and 2005 could really be the year of the web app. I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to bring together some of the pioneers in the field to talk about what is happening today and how things are likely to develop over the next few years.

d.Construct 2005 was born.

(Thanks to Denis Radenkovic for the great logo)

d.Construct is a grassroots conference focussing on the future of the web as an application platform rather than a document sharing platform. We have organised an amazing line-up of speakers from organisations like Yahoo, the BBC and the EFF to talk about Ajax, API’s and the Remix economy. We also have some fantastic international speakers and tech authors talking about DOM scripting, Flash application development and the mobile web.

As the name suggests, d.Construct is a grassroots digital conference aimed at those constructing the next generation of web apps. During the course of the day we aim to deconstruct (do you see what I did there) what web 2.0 really means and what goes into making a really great web application.

Because d.Construct is a last-minute grassroots event, don’t expect any flashy brochures, bulging goodie bags (although offers of schwag, prizes and sponsorship are always welcome) and slick organisation. Also don’t expect a fancy website as we just didn’t have the time. Instead, expect to see world-class speakers talking about the stuff that really matters.

d.Construct will take place in Brighton, on the 11th of November between 9:30am and 4:00pm. The venue has a capacity of 100 people so we expect the conference to book up early. Registration opens on Tue 11th Oct at 12pm, so if you would like to attend, please book early.

If you are as excited about this conference as we are, please tell your friends, blog about the event and generally help spread the word. Feel free to link directly to the page on the Clearleft site, or use the more convenient, www.dconstruct.org domain name.

I look forward to seeing you there.

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