It has been months and months, and I'm finally returning to this series. Fortunately and not surprisingly, my tweeting was significantly less while writing the book, especially tweets with "useful" links. So you haven't really missed out on much … not that you would anyways.

I promise I won't make you wait so long next time, but this won't be returning to a weekly series. Maybe bi-monthly; likely monthly. It all depends on my Twitter behavior. But if you need your Emily fix sooner and more regularly, just follow me on Twitter.

Without further ado, here are my subjectively-useful links from the past several months.

July 19 – November 8, 2009

sig.ma is an interesting data aggregation tool that generates live views of web data using microformats, RDF and RDFa.

Original tweet

I do, indeed, have a MySpace page. But I really don't use the system. Too clunky, too crappy, too pedophiley for me. I'm not so much of a snob, though, that I can't appreciate what a big deal it is that MySpace is getting into the semantics game and integrating hCalendar and hReview microformats.

Original tweet

I'm not a morning person, despite the fact I start each work day at 7am. Thankfully, I work from home, so none of my coworkers are subjected to my wonderful disposition during that particular time of day. But, if I were back in the office, I suspect this coffee cup would give folks fair warning.

Original tweet

I am addicted to Post-Its. Combine that addiction with my love of wood (take that any way you like) and you get Woodblock.

Original tweet

As fed up with celebrities posturing over the environment as I am? Julia Stiles Styles is just what you need … and a pair of shants

Original tweet

My 2000 Hyundai Elantra POS is far too high-end of a car for bumper stickers. But I do love code … I might just need to reconsider.

Original tweet

No introduction or explanation needed. People of WalMart.

Original tweet

I sorta get the Snuggie phenomenon. Sure, they look soft (I can attest they are not after checking them out at my local Walgreens). And I'm a sucker for "as seen on TV." But there is nothing about them that screams sex … well, maybe if you are a Furry. In fact, I suspect if you actually wear a Snuggie, you have absolutely no need for the Snuggie Sutra.

Original tweet

Dig the Beastie Boys? Dig mash-ups? Get Doublecheck Your Head.

Original tweet

"Can you make the logo bigger?" Sure I can.

Original tweet

Combine three of my favorite things — procrastination, typefaces and cheese — and what do you get? Cheese or Font.

Original tweet

Google Sites' new data API uses microformats for import and export.

Original tweet

I have much to say on the topic of women in web. But until I make the time for a blog post, this commentary on video games and the female audience reflects much of what I believe.

Original tweet

Gorgeous, sexy, lab lamps. More shit I don't need, but desperately want.

Original tweet

Hard-boiled eggs are one of my favorite breakfast items. They are quick, easy and can be prepared in advance. But there are those times that when attempting to peel the shell, I lose far too much of the egg. I now know why … and all is right in the world again.

Original tweet

Yet more (deeply disappointing) fodder for the post I promise to do about women in the web/tech: Yahoo! Hack Girls.

Original tweet

37signals launches Haystack to help designers connect with clients and vice versa.

Original tweet

I find the happiness hat deeply disturbing. Why someone would want to train themselves to smile makes no sense to me at all. Isn't that supposed to be a natural, biological response? Although, it could be useful to disguise the range of non–smile–inducing emotions that often occur during pointless meetings.

Original tweet

Flow charts, a source of guidance, information, humor … and now, The Beatles. Hey, Jude flowcharted. Next, I want to see Why Don't We Do It In the Road.

Original tweet

Disappointing, but yet not surprising. "CAPTCHA, Flash, ambiguous links, poor/missing alternative text, complex forms, and poor keyboard accessibility are cited as the most problematic items on the web." WebAIM's Screen Reader User Survey results are in.

Original tweet

Weezer launched its latest album, Raditude, with a Snuggie promotion. Clever idea (sorta). Album is, unfortunately, rather meh. And, no, I didn't get a Snuggie.

Original tweet

I've loved Medeski, Martin and Wood ever since my college boyfriend turned me on to Shack Man. Excited to see Fly in a Bottle, an upcoming documentary about the jazz trio.

Original tweet

Brian Suda has put a lovely face on his X2V microformats conversion service: H2VX. Convert hCards to vCards; hCalendar to iCalendar.

Original tweet

I have a thing for clocks. The look of them. The ticking. I have several and I love them all. Of course, not a single one reflects the right time. But they are all part of a dream I have to someday have a clock wall. This colorblind clock will be one of my favorites.

Original tweet

My book has been officially on sale for just over a month. And I've heard through the Twittervine that many folks already have their copies. While my fingers are crossed the reviews will be good, my first non-review suggests I don't have too much to worry about.

Original tweet

Franklin Gothic. Nuff said.

Original tweet

Published in: Finds

Tags: accessibility, books, bumper stickers, clocks, coffee cups, fonts, food, humor, lamps, mash-ups, microformats, Microformats Made Simple, music, Post-Its, screen readers, semantics, sexism, Snuggie, surveys, Twitter, typefaces, women in the web

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Earlier this month, Webuquerque hosted Introduction to Microformats, presented by Emily Lewis (that's me!).

We were back at Uptown Sports Bar & Grill, and had a decent turnout of about 21 people. If you weren't among that elite group (or maybe you just need a refresher) here's a recap, the slide deck, video and photos.

Recap

I began my presentation with a discussion of what microformats are and their various benefits, including:

• User experience enhancements like electronic business cards and calendars
• More meaningful search, such as Google's Rich Snippets
• Extensible data publishing
• Simplicity

Then I dove right into some examples of microformats, including rel-tag, hCard and hCalendar. For each of these examples, I emphasized the importance of the web content itself and the use of POSH

Next, I demonstrated some tools and services that utilize microformats:

• Operator Plug-in for Firefox
• Tails Export Plug-in for Firefox
• Oomph Microformats Toolkit
• HuffDuffer
• Yahoo! CC Search
• Ident Engine

Lastly, I provided a bunch of resources to help people get started publishing microformats:

• My new book, Microformats Made Simple
• My Getting Semantic With Microformats blog series
• Microformats Wiki
• Microformats: Empowering Your Markup for Web 2.0 by John Allsopp
• microformatique

Slideshow

My slides were presented as an S5, which is available for your viewing pleasure:

Video

Video of Introduction to Microformats is available on Viddler:

Photos

Even though I couldn't serve as photographer, my co-manger Jason Nakai stepped in and captured a few photos of the event:

Coming in November

Our last presentation for 2009 is Bigger, Faster, Stronger, WOW! Digital Marketing the Right Way on Wednesday, November 4, 2009, beginning at 6:30pm at Uptown Sports Bar and Grill.

In this presentation, 15-year marketing professional Reid Givens will demystify what digital marketing really is and what it is not. This talk will take a holistic look at marketing, focusing on the role digital media plays. The session will cover common mistakes and some advice on how to get it right … along side talking about movies, celebrities, bands and more.

Mark Your Calendar

Don't miss our November presentation! Sign up for reminders from your preferred social network:

• Duke City Fix
• Upcoming
• Facebook
• Webuquerque Adobe User Group

Add the Webuquerque schedule to your Google Calendar

Friend Us!

Stay up–to–date about Webuquerque's activities and other local web-related events:

• Twitter
• Duke City Fix
• Facebook
• Upcoming
• Flickr
• SlideShare
• Viddler
• Adobe User Group

Changes Coming Soon

Jason and I are still going through the responses to our survey, as we plan for our 2010 year. In the meantime, if you have any feedback, please shoot us an email.

Hope to see you in November!

Published in: Presentations

Tags: Adobe User Group, Albuquerque, community, Emily Lewis, microformats, microformats-2009-10-07, microformats-meetup, microformats-presentation, microformats-session, New Mexico, NMAUG, presentations, upcoming:event=4226407, web industry, Webuquerque

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Seven months ago, I posted the first article in this series, announcing that I had gotten a book deal. I was thrilled and excited for the new adventure. During the months of writing and editing, the thrill and excitement faded; replaced by stress, frustration and a growing realization that writing a book just isn't something that I would ever do again.

Now, about a month out from completing the book, my emotions have shifted yet again. The stress is slowly oozing from my body, the frustration is becoming just a memory and I'm starting to feel a small spark of excitement again as Microformats Made Simple is officially on sale!

And this blog series is officially at its conclusion. I have some final thoughts on my experience to share (and record for posterity and the needed reminder to myself to never do this again). But before I dive into all that, how about I give you an idea of what to expect … you know, in case you are on the fence about buying the book.

Rough Cuts

If you aren't sure if Microformats Made Simple is worth your hard-earned money, you can get a preview thanks to Peachpit's Rough Cuts program. From here, you can read excerpts from all chapters, purchase hard-copy and PDF versions of the book and even offer feedback and comments.

The site isn't the most usable or accessible site ever, but if you want to set your eyes on actual copy before buying, this is where to go.

Table of Contents

You can see the entire table of contents on Amazon and Rough Cuts, but let me break it down for you a bit more:

Chapter 1: Introduction

In chapter one, I define microformats, discuss semantics and The Semantic Web, and detail the history of microformats. I also write about some of the challenges that microformats have faced (accessibility, usability, etc.) and how these challenges are being (have been) addressed by recent developments like the value-class pattern. Of course, I also outline all the benefits of microformats. And, lastly, I explain why I wanted to write a book about microformats.

Chapter 2: XOXO

Chapter two lays the foundation for the structure of the rest of the chapters. I first define the XOXO microformat, then I explain the syntax. Next, I provide examples of the XOXO microformat using POSH.

Chapter 3: rel & rev

In chapter three, I cover most of the link-based microformats: rel-home, rel-tag, rel-license, rel-nofollow, rel-directory, rel-enclosure, rel-payment and VoteLinks. And just as in chapter 2, I define each, detail the syntax and provide POSH examples.

Chapter 4: XFN

I continue with link-based microformats in chapter 4 with a discussion of XFN. I explain the syntax, as well as the meaning of the different social values. And, again, I provide POSH examples of XFN in action.

Chapter 5: xFolk

Chapter five takes us into the first of the compound microformats I cover: xFolk. The format is the same: I define xFolk, explain the syntax and provide POSH examples. I also discuss combining microformats.

Chapter 6: hCard

In chapter six, I focus on hCard. First, defining the microformat, its benefits and its syntax. Then I provide several different POSH examples of hCard for people, for organizations and for named places.

Chapter 7: hCalendar

Chapter seven's focus is hCalendar: what it is, what the benefits are, how to publish it. POSH examples in this chapter range from single events to a two-day conference.

Chapter 8: hResume

I explain the hResume microformat in chapter eight, defining it and explaining the benefits. Of course, I cover the syntax and give two POSH examples: a short–n–sweet resumé and a more detailed, complex resumé.

Chapter 9: hAtom

I discuss the hAtom microformat for syndicated content in chapter nine. No change to the format. First the definition, then the benefits, then some lovely POSH examples of publishing hAtom in a single blog post and in a news article archive.

Chapter 10: hReview

Chapter 10 is the last chapter where I focus on a single microformat. This time, it is hReview for web reviews. And, again, I start with the definition, then the benefits, then POSH examples.

Chapter 11: hAudio, hRecipe, hProduct, hMedia

Chapter 11 is my last chapter focusing on microformats and this time, I quickly cover four drafts: hAudio, hRecipe, hProduct and hMedia. This chapter was a last-minute effort to save on page count. We condensed four chapters into one, which meant the coverage of these four microformats isn't as detailed as previous microformats. I do define each and explain the syntax. However, I provide just one POSH example for each, rather than several different examples of how the microformats could be published. I feel confident I get the core information across, but I can admit that I wish I had been able to stick to the original plan of detailing each of these in its own chapter.

Chapter 12: CSS

Chapter 12 is a 180-degree departure from all previous chapters. In this one, I provide CSS for some of the POSH examples in previous chapters. I do not explain CSS. I do not go into much detail about browser inconsistencies. I don't even explain the logic of the CSS I used. I simply wanted to demonstrate that using microformats does not prohibit a designer from styling their content any way his or her heart desires. It is really to prove a point, rather than teach CSS. Although I do hope it serves as some inspiration. The POSH examples I style in this chapter are XFN, VoteLinks, hCard, hCalendar, hAtom and hRecipe.

Sidebar Goodies

As much as I love microformats, I did get severely burnt out on the topic as I was writing this book. So one of my absolute favorite distractions from the topic were my sidebars. The majority of the chapters have at least one sidebar, some have two or three. And this is where I would talk about concepts, markup and other elements associated (sometimes loosely) with microformats.

Some of the sidebar topics you'll find are:

• Choosing the right list element (<ol>, <ul>, <dl>)
• Logical and physical URLs
• Data recovery and Ma.gnolia
• <abbr> and <acronym>
• Writing accessible <table>s
• Syndication formats

Friendly, Approchable & Attempting–to–Be–Funny

My writing style is, as my copyeditor described it, "bloggish." It reads a lot like a really long blog post. It is informal, conversational and friendly. And I try to sprinkle in bits of tongue–in–cheek humor.

I am by no one's definition a comedian. On a good day, I'm slightly amusing. On a bad day, I just embarrass myself. But I wanted to make this book interesting to read. And even I can admit that microformats aren't the sexiest of topics. So, I tried my best to be funny (ahem, amusing). I hope that when someone is reading, they come across one of my quips and chuckle … and then continue reading with a smile on their face.

I also tried very hard to write in simple terms with simple language. I wanted the book to read as if I was having a conversation with the reader. I didn't want to talk over anyone's head. I don't need to feel that I'm the smartest person in the world. I just want to pique a reader's interest in microformats by talking about them in a way that truly demonstrates their simplicity and ease–of–use.

I feel confident I achieved those goals. And I feel confident that, if you buy the book, you will chuckle … if only at my pathetic attempts at humor.

Lessons Learned

That's really all I've got in me to convince you to go out and get yourself a copy of Microformats Made Simple. I'm not a marketer. I suck at self-promotion. I can just tell you what I did and hope that is intriguing enough for you.

Now it is time to turn to the self-indulgent part of this post, where I sum up my experiences writing the book. Since I've pretty much done that during the previous four articles, what I offer now is what I learned along the way. This, as I mentioned, is primarily a reminder to myself in case I'm ever asked to write a book again. But I do hope some of what I learned will be helpful to other authors.

Negotiate on the Contract

I was advised to get an agent to look at my contract and I didn't take that advice. I didn't have a lawyer look at it either. I didn't even take a super good look at it myself. I was a first-time-author sucker.

I now know that the timeline I agreed to was far, far too short. I also wish I had stipulated that a technical editor had to be formally signed to the book much sooner. I also wish I could've had more design input sooner.

I have no idea if adding these changes to the contract would've meant I lost the deal. I don't even know what the process for getting those changes in would've been, or what it would've meant in terms of cost and resources.

What I do know is that some of the most frustrating and upsetting parts of writing this book had more to do with dealing with the publisher than it did actually writing. If that could've been better, perhaps my feelings about writing the book and working with Peachpit would be better too.

Design Input

While the end result of the book design is far better than I expected, the stress surrounding the design of the book was unexpected and could've been avoided if I had provided much more information about what I wanted the book to look like … both the cover and interior design.

If you have something in mind for the cover, have it at the ready at the very beginning of the writing process. Mock something up even. Be specific about colors, fonts, imagery. Know how you want sidebars and screen prints to appear.

This doesn't mean the publisher will use all of your input. But I really had no right to complain about the design, because I didn't give the designer any specifics to work with.

Don't Assume Anything

Don't assume the publisher is working tirelessly on your little book to get a copyeditor in place in a timely fashion. Or a technical editor. Your book is one of many. And if you are a first-time author, there is no track record to encourage them to bust ass on your behalf.

Also don't assume you will find out when your book is available for pre-order or even official sale. I found out from Twitter that my book went on pre-sale and again, today, that it was officially on sale. In fact, haven't heard a single word from my editor or publisher in about a month.

Don't assume that your editor or anyone you are working with from the publisher is your friend. They aren't. Their goal is to get the book published on time and to make a profit. They don't want to hold your hand if you have questions during the 11th hour. They don't want to listen to your frustrations about the process just because you weren't expecting certain things to happen.

They are there to do their job. You are there to do yours. Take your frustrations, worries, complaints to a friend or loved one who will listen and be supportive. Because your editor may not be.

Don't assume that everything that seems to go wrong is actually going wrong. There are bumps in all roads and book publishing is filled with potholes. Accept it for what it is and just focus on the writing. The rest of it is truly beyond your control.

Find Constructive Outlets for Stress

I gained a whopping 10 pounds during the writing of this book. I also started smoking again (I quit in January 2007) very heavily. And I cut back on my daily walks and trips to the gym.

I pretty much let everything in my life that was healthy slide. I can admit now it was a sort of "Poor me. I'm so stressed. I think I'll have that entire pan of brownies because I deserve it for being so stressed." Pathetic and sad, but true.

If I had instead maintained my active lifestyle and maybe increased my kickboxing sessions and walks, perhaps the stress would've been less because I would be actually taking care of myself.

Unfortunately, I chose the opposite and am paying for it now as I try to drop the "book weight" and get back to the gym. I am pleased to report that I haven't had a cigarette in six weeks.

But my choices definitely made things worse, not better. And I'm kinda hating hindsight right now.

Expect Change

I'm not the best at dealing with change gracefully. But I have learned that "going with the flow" is the only way to write a book. Especially a technical book. Especially one about the web.

If you are in the industry, you know that things on the web change quickly. And if you are writing about a topic that is subject to such change, you may need to make lots of edits and rewrites.

I started writing the book in April, and shortly after that, the value-class pattern became official. That meant a ton of rewrites to my first chapter, as well as chapter six. Shortly after that, Google announced Rich Snippets. Again, more edits and definitely more stress.

And then there were changes to the profile URIs on the Microformats Wiki, which affected almost every single chapter. Then there were page count issues, which meant changes to the original table of contents and the last few chapters. And then changes with the design. And changes with the schedule.

But this is just the way it is. The only thing to do is accept and adapt the best you can. Which I tried to do, and think I was relatively successful at.

And that's all I have for now — and probably forever — as far as Microformats Made Simple is concerned.

I don't regret it one bit, but I do regret some of my choices (or non-choices) along the way. But that is life … the best part of life, in fact. I do feel I learned a lot about myself and how I deal with things. That is definitely going to serve me well as I get older and take on new challenges.

Now, Go Buy My Book!

If you buy my book (and I really hope you do), I sincerely hope you like it. Even more, I hope it inspires passion about semantic markup and microformats.

Once you've had a chance to read it, let me know what you think. Send me a note on Twitter. Shoot me an email. Write a review on Amazon or your blog. Good, bad or indifferent, I would love to know your opinion.

And, with that, all that is left is to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support over the past months! As challenging as it was, I don't even want to imagine how bad things could've been if I didn't have all my friends and supporters backing me every step of the way.

Published in: Commentaries

Tags: book publishing, books, Emily Lewis, I'm Writing a Book series, microformats, Microformats Made Simple, Peachpit New Riders, writing

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Which means it is time to finish up this book writing series.

In the first three articles, I explained everything from how I got the opportunity to the proposal to the contract to the actual writing. Now it is time to dive into the editorial process. I'll also give you a sneak peak of the book design (you're welcome).

Without further ado …

The Editorial Side

For my book, there were four "phases" of editing:

1. Copyediting
2. Technical editing/review
3. First pass editing
4. Second pass editing

And from what my development editor, Wendy Sharp, tells me, this is pretty much standard.

Copyediting

The copyediting phase was relatively painless. It primarily involves checking for spelling, punctuation, casing (according to Peachpit's style guide), verb tense, etc. And, because I was an editor for many years before getting into the web, there wasn't a ton of copyediting that had to be done. Yes, I'm that good.

But I'm far from perfect and the copyeditor also checks to make sure what I've written actually makes sense, so there were copyedits in many chapters. Especially the first five. Why? Because I didn't get assigned a copyeditor until about six weeks into writing.

Each week, I would complete a chapter, send it to Wendy and get started on the next one, all the while waiting for feedback. Waiting and waiting and waiting … I can't begin to tell you how frustrating this was.

As a first-time author, I wasn't sure if what I was writing was readable, informative, had the right tone, lots of things like that. Like I said in part 3, I was suffering from low confidence about my ability to take on this huge project. And I was really looking for someone else's input. Not getting any input from anyone for the first five chapters was horrible. And it only contributed to my ever-increasing stress and confidence issues.

Finally, I was assigned Jacqueline Aaron as my copyeditor. It was sort of strange in that I never had any direct contact with Jacqueline. I just sent Wendy the chapters, she sent them to Jacqueline, and Jacqueline sent them back to Wendy. Wendy would then go through Jacqueline's edits, make her own comments and then send the edits to me.

My Role

Once I got the edited chapters back from Wendy, it was my responsibility to review everything she and Jacqueline had done. Sometimes they made word changes that altered the context, so I would re-work those edits to incorporate their concerns without changing the meaning of my writing. Sometimes they just made comments for me to clarify sections, which I would do. Sometimes I noticed edits that were confusing to me, so I would make comments on those.

After I did my review and editing, I'd send the chapter back to Wendy. If I had comments or questions, she would address them directly to me in an email. And that was that.

All of the edits, comments, etc. as displayed in Word with "Track Changes" on.

The only thing worth commenting on about the process itself is the actual notes and edits in each chapter. As I've mentioned, I had to use Word in order to make use of Peachpit style templates. Edits and comments were done using Word's "Track Changes" and "Insert Comment" functionality. If you've ever worked with a large document that has a bunch of comments and tracked changes, then you may be familiar with the Blue Screen of Death. This is not fun at all.

Also, when there are a ton of comments and edits that you need to see ("Final Showing Markup"), looking at the page becomes a headache. Comments from Jacqueline. Comments from Wendy. Edits from both. Then add in my own. It was a hot mess that made editing, at least for me, more challenging and time-consuming.

It's the Little Things

When I got my first edited chapter back, there were so many edits. But they were mostly little things. Little things that would've been nice to have been aware of while writing those first chapters, but still minor. Things like:

• Peachpit likes "web site" to be one word, as in "website."
• Peachpit likes "web" to be capitalized (though my editors changed this mid-way through the book).
• Certain heading levels are supposed to be in sentence case, while others should be in title case.
• Peachpit doesn't like random italicizing or use of quote marks, but I do that a lot as part of my writing style.
• I use AP style in my writing. Peachpit doesn't. Which means punctuation differences like how em dashes appear (without any spaces) and the use of commas in a series (included before the concluding "and").

So, because I never got any feedback in that first chapter, the little "errors" like these were all over my first five chapters. A bit frustrating for a perfectionist like me, but really not a big deal.

Fucking Foulmouthed Me

The only other issue when I got that first chapter back had to do with my language. Now, if you read this blog regularly, follow me on Twitter or have ever had a conversation with me, you know that I like "colorful" language. And in my first chapter, I referred to IE as a "piece–of–shit".

Well, you can't say "shit" in a Peachpit book. In fact, Wendy informed me that I couldn't use any of the words you can't say on TV (AKA my hero George Carlin's seven dirty words).

While you may think this threw a wrench into my writing style or approach, you'd be wrong. Yes, I'm colorful with my language but I also realized that my book is written for an audience that may not appreciate my word choices. I never planned to fill my book with "shit," "piss," "fuck," "cunt," "cocksucker," "motherfucker" or "tits."

But, when referencing IE, "piece–of–shit" just seemed so appropriate. Yet, Wendy and Jacqueline wanted to change it to "infamous." Yeah, doesn't have the same effect. So, I suggested "crap" and that was okayed.

And, thankfully, that was the only hurdle (if you can even call it that) I had to get past in the copyediting phase.

Technical Review

Once the copyediting phase was completed, the next step was technical review. And, once again, I played the waiting game … and became even more frustrated with the process.

Back in March, when I attended SXSW (and before the book contract was signed), I had the pleasure of meeting Tantek Çelik. And he graciously offered to do the technical editing for the book. I was beyond stoked, as was Wendy. Yet it took almost five months before Peachpit was able to ink a deal with him … four months of writing … 10 chapters …

Frustrated doesn't even cover it. While I did have input from copyediting — which was truly nice because I felt like I wasn't entirely alone in this effort — technical accuracy was paramount for me. So not having a technical editor for the overwhelming majority of my writing was … well, I don't think a single word exists for how I felt. Anxious, panicked, frustrated, angry, nervous … all in increasing amounts as time went on.

Finally, Wendy informed me Tantek was officially on board and had my first five chapters in hand. It was a couple more weeks until I got the first chapter back from him (via Wendy). Before I even peeked at it, Wendy told me that some of his edits/comments were his opinion and it was up to me, as the author, to say "yay" or "nay."

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but it took me a week to look at Tantek's edits. I was convinced that he hated it and none of what he read was good. And I just wasn't prepared to face that.

Of course, I'm a total pussy and a total idiot. When I did finally go over his edits, I was ridiculously relieved. Everything Tantek suggested was useful and his changes were relatively minor. Mountains out of molehills. It's my speciality.

After the first chapter, his suggestions and changes became fewer and fewer. A huge relief to me, because that signaled that I was on track technically with the book. Adding to that relief, Tantek contacted me to inform me how much he enjoyed my writing style and was glad to be involved. Getting that high praise felt like I won the lottery. And it gave me a much-needed boost to finish the last chapters.

Too Many Cooks

My only complaint about the technical editing phase is that for several of the later chapters, Wendy skipped my role in the copyediting phase. She simply sent the copyedited chapters directly to Tantek. That meant I never saw any copyedits until after Tantek did his technical review. So, when the chapters came to me, I was doing double-duty: checking Jacqueline and Wendy's edits and comments, and reviewing Tantek's additions.

Remember how I said all the change tracking in Word was challenging. Well, for those chapters it was a nightmare. And it bugged me that Tantek had to review content that I hadn't yet approved all the copyedits for. Seemed backwards. Was backwards.

And it made the last few weeks of working on the book pure hell. While I had finished writing, I now was under the gun to go over all of the copy and technical edits and do re-writes in a very short period of time. And I thought the writing deadlines were bad …

First Pass

For first-pass editing, Wendy sent all of the chapters that had completed the first two editorial phases to production. Production then put all the content into the design templates and generated PDFs of each chapter, as well as the cover, acknowledgements and table of contents. These PDFs accept edits and comments directly in the file. And that was my responsibility: Review each PDF, making note of errors, inconsistencies and the like. And do it all in less than a week.

Since this was my first time actually seeing what the book would look like, I decided I would change my editing style a bit. Rather than edit directly on my computers, I printed out every single one of those fucking PDFs (definitely killed a few trees in the process). And then I went old-school, making my edits directly on the printed copies. After several rounds of this for each PDF, I would make the edits directly in the file.

While I'm a huge fan of efficiency and this method definitely added some time to the process, I feel like I did my best editing and review during first pass. I think the combination of all the comments and edits in the Word documents plus reading content formatted for print on screen, just make editing more difficult for me. But editing the printed copies … it actually felt good, which was a nice change of pace for how I felt most of the time while writing the book.

Page Count Issues

During first pass, Wendy discovered that we were under page count (originally 336 pages). I was shocked. Why? Because back when I was writing chapter 8, Wendy informed me that I was going over page count and to take that into account. Which I did. Chapters 8, 9 and 10 are much shorter than I had originally intended, with fewer markup examples and less sidebar-type content.

But even those shortened chapters wasn't enough. By the time I was mid-way through chapter 9, Wendy informed me we would have to cut some of the originally proposed chapters and reorganize the table of contents. At this point, I can honestly say, I didn't care. I was exhausted and just wanted the book done. Fewer chapters meant less work.

So, Wendy and I decided to combine four chapters into one and keep it at a short length. I was fine with that, until I started working on that combined chapter (chapter 11, by the way). I quickly realized that the format I'd been following for all previous chapters wouldn't work. I also started worrying that readers would sense that this chapter was "off" and rushed. Kind of like a Stephen King ending.

But there wasn't anything I could do other than accept it for what it was.

So, when I found out during first pass that I was now under page count, I wanted to scream. It was too late for me to go back to the chapters I had shortened and add stuff. It was too late to split chapter 11 back into the original chapters. It was just not the right time to be finding that shit out.

Ultimately, Wendy decided we would drop the page count of the book from 336 to 312, which is some magic number tied to how they actually produce the book. Something about page signatures and the printing press. Wendy felt positive about it. I no longer had the energy to feel anything.

Second Pass

Which brings me to second pass, which is the very last chance to make any changes to the book. Actually, "changes" isn't the right word. In second pass, you can fix errors. That would be a minor typo, a misspelled word, maybe a first-pass change that was overlooked. That's it. And you can't make any changes that would affect page count.

In fact, part of me debated even skipping a look at second pass. I mean, if it was just to correct very minor errors, then was it even worth my time? Wendy was checking to make sure all the first-pass changes were addressed, and I was severely burnt out.

But Wendy was able to give me about a week to go over second pass, so I did it. And I really only looked to ensure my first-pass changes made it in. I didn't invest any other energy into it. Was this good? Bad? No fucking clue. And even though it is now a week after I handed over my second-pass changes, I'm still burnt out and I don't really care at this point.

And that was the editorial process. Deeply frustrating for me at times. Sometimes difficult to juggle while also writing.

I have no idea if what I experienced is normal. I'm almost afraid to ask, because if it wasn't normal, that would just piss me off even further. If it was, it just gives me yet another reason to never write a book again.

The Design Side

As I mentioned in part 3, one of the first things I did for Peachpit was to complete their Author Questionnaire, which includes one question about the book cover and design: "Do you have any comments regarding the cover artwork for your book?" That's it.

And, as I also mentioned, when I completed that questionnaire, I didn't have any idea what the book should look like. I simply offered a few suggestions, such as including the microformats logo, using a "friendly" font and color and maybe including some code snippets.

From my perspective at the time, Peachpit had book designers on staff who had far more experience than I … why should I meddle in their work?

So when mid-July rolled around and Wendy sent me a sample chapter PDF that showed the book's interior design, I didn't have too many expectations. However, even limited expectations couldn't have prepared me for the utter disappointment I felt when I looked at that PDF.

Initial design for chapter introduction pages

What I first noticed was some strange Tron-like graphic used on the chapter intro pages. In red. Deep, bloody red. I didn't know what the fuck it was. It just looked to me like somebody decided to practice with the Bézier pen in Photoshop. Amateurish and completely out of any context with my book.

As I continued to go through the sample chapter, I continued to be disappointed. First, red was the color used throughout. Generally speaking, I like red. But I don't like it in a tech book. Makes me intuitively percieve alarm. It is an assaulting color. And my book is supposed to be friendly, simple and approchable. I didn't feel that red was the color choice to reflect that.

Arrow icon in initial sidebar design

Then it was the use of completely pointless arrow things on the chapter intro pages and sidebars. Not only were they just plain ugly, but they were unnecessary. Why add ugly unless there is some point? I didn't see a point, and I felt like these arrows only made things seem even more disconnected than the Tron graphic.

Then it was the line length, which appeared far too short to me. This resulted in most of my code snippets being less than readable and a huge gutter.

And then, and then, and then. I just kept finding things I didn't like. And I got increasingly upset because I had been told from the outset that I would have very little (if any) say about the book design. Further, Wendy had warned me that the design I was looking at was close to final.

So, I bitched on Twitter. Cried to myself. Whined to my friends. And then sent Wendy a list of everything I didn't like about the design, crossing my fingers that at least one or two of my points would be considered.

To my amazement, Wendy reported back to me that the designer had decided to make a number of changes based on my list 'o complaints:

• Change the color from red to green
• Drop the arrow icons
• Add rounded corners to the sidebar borders
• Increase line length
• Incorporate the microformats logo/icon

And she informed me that this was, basically, a miracle.

Wendy also explained to me what the hell that Tron graphic was: leaves. Yeah. I didn't get that either. Especially in red. So, I was still very concerned about that particular design element but didn't want to push my luck any further.

By the time I recieved my first pass PDFs, the book interior design had been modified and the cover was done. I hadn't yet seen the cover, but Wendy told me it was that Tron-leaf graphic. I wasn't really looking forward to seeing it.

Initial cover design

But when I did, it finally made sense. The graphic on the cover actually looks like leaves, as it spans the front and back. Also, the designer had added code snippets to the leaves themselves, along the "veins." So, at least I now felt comfortable that the graphic wasn't entirely shit.

And, as for the leaves, Wendy explained to me (far too late), they represent growth and "reaching out." I can dig that. I feel like learning something new (microformats) is growth and the microformats community works tirelessly to reach out to people. All good.

While I still am not a fan of the red and green together on the cover, the design is starting to grow on me. Now that I can actually see that the graphic is leaves, and that the interior color has been changed to green, the rest of it matters very little to me. Plus, I'm starting to like that the cover is white and simplistic.

I certainly have no intention of writing a book again. But if you do, may I recommend that you come to the table prepared with specifics about design. I would even suggest mocking up a design and providing that. Design is not the purview of the author, but if you can get your input in early, you may have more say than I did.

What's Next

So far, I've covered all of the major phases of my own book writing experience. I've also done a fair bit of bitching and venting. I really just wanted to document everything for myself, so if I'm ever asked to write another book, I will have something to reference and remind me what the past five months have been like. And I do hope by sharing this, maybe it will prove useful to another aspiring author.

But I'm not quite done. In the next and final article in this series, I'll let you know what you can expect from the book: my writing style, types of code examples, the final table of contents. And, knowing myself as I do, I'll probably conclude the whole shebang with some final thoughts.

In the meantime, you can pre-order Microformats Made Simple from Amazon (yes, that's an affiliate link) and/or you can get an early preview of the book in Rough Cuts.

Published in: Commentaries

Tags: book publishing, books, Emily Lewis, I'm Writing a Book series, microformats, Microformats Made Simple, Peachpit New Riders, writing

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Two weeks ago, Webuquerque — along with our sister NMAUG organization Animotion NM — hosted Podcasting & Vodcasting 101, presented by local audio/video producer Vincent Ascoli.

We had a lovely turnout of over 35 people joining us at our new (to us) venue, the UNM ARTS Lab.

Weren't able to join us? We've got you covered with a recap, the slide deck, video and photos!

Webuquerque Survey

But before I dive into all that, let me first ask you to take a few minutes to complete Webuquerque's first user survey, Help Us Help You.

I know I sound like a broken record, but Webuquerque is about community (that means you). And we want to make sure we are delivering what the community (you) wants. So, let us know what you think!

All respondents will be eligible to win one of five $10 Amazon gift cards we are giving away as a thank you for taking the time to complete the survey.

Don't wait! The survey closes tomorrow, on September 18, 2009. Gift card winners will be notified the week of September 23.

Now, back to regularly scheduled programming …

Recap

Vince kicked off the presentation with a thorough discussion of his background in the field, including his work with Lawcast, University of New Mexico and Apple.

He then dove into the details of podcasting and vodcasting, including:

• Conception
• Production
• Encoding
• Distribution
• Best practices
• Tools of the trade

Software Giveaway

Also at this month's event, we gave away two copies of Camtasia Studio screen recorder software (one Mac license, and one PC) thanks to our new sponsor TechSmith.

Congratulations to winners Mark Casias and Sarah McCollum!

Slideshow

Vince's presentation deck is available on Slideshare:

Video

Video of Podcasting & Vodcasting 101 is available on Viddler:

Photos

Photos of the event are available on Flickr:

Coming in October

Our next presentation is Introduction to Microformats on Wednesday, October 7, 2009, beginning at 6:30pm at Uptown Sports Bar and Grill.

In this presentation, you will learn the basics you need to start publishing microformats on your own web site. Local microformats expert and Webuquerque co-manager, Emily Lewis, will discuss the history and basic premise of microformats, and will show examples of common microformats. She will also demonstrate some of the tools available that leverage microformats for machine data.

Mark Your Calendar

Don't miss our October presentation! Sign up for reminders from your preferred social network:

• Duke City Fix
• Upcoming
• Facebook
• Webuquerque Adobe User Group

2009 Presentation Schedule

While you are at it, mark your calendar with our remaining 2009 schedule:

November 4

Bigger, Faster, Stronger, WOW! Web Marketing the Right Way

Presenter: Reid Givens

December 8

NMAUG holiday party (time & location TBA)

Add 2009 Webuquerque schedule to Google Calendar

Please note, these topics and presenters are subject to change.

Friend Us!

Stay up–to–date about Webuquerque's activities and other local web-related events:

• Twitter
• Duke City Fix
• Facebook
• Upcoming
• Flickr
• SlideShare
• Viddler
• Adobe User Group

Tell Us What You Think!

Don't forget to take a few minutes to complete our survey. We truly want Webuquerque to be everything you want from a community group, so we need your feedback. And, as a thank you, we will enter you in the drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card.

Not into surveys? No worries. Shoot us an email with your thoughts!

See you in October!

Published in: Presentations

Tags: Adobe User Group, Albuquerque, community, New Mexico, NMAUG, podcasting, vodcasting, web industry, Webuquerque

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Microformats Role Play

The awesome folks at MIX Online asked me to write an article on microformats to coincide with their release of Oomph Microformats Toolkit v2. The timing couldn't have been worse, as I was in the final stretch of writing for the book, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

So, I agreed and wrote Microformats Role Play. The article is a high-level view of the benefits of microformats, broken down according to the different roles people have on the web: users, web managers, designers, developers and content authors.

Despite the timing, it was actually a great change of pace for me. The past few months of writing for the book have been focused on the narrow details of individual microformats. It was nice to focus on a broader perspective and, basically, evangelize microformats. Plus, I expect the audience for this article is much broader than that for my book.

Go give it a look and, while you are there, check out Oomph2.

Customizing ExpressionEngine RSS Templates

When I started developing this blog, I realized a number of EE's out–of–the–box features weren't exactly what I was looking for, including their RSS templates. So, I spent some time customizing them and then decided to share what I did with the world.

Now, a year later, this post got some play on one of my favorite EE sites, EE Insider.

SXSWi 2010 Panel: Standards of Stalking

After my amazing first experience at SXSW, my partners–in–crime, Mark Casias and Jason Nakai, and I decided we wanted to propose a panel for 2010.

What we came up with was Standards of Stalking, a tongue–in–cheek look at social stalking:

As the popularity of social networks has increased, so too, has the incidence of stalking. But is all stalking bad? This presentation will propose a working draft of the Acceptable Stalking Standards to help you continue to follow your favorite people, without becoming that creepy person who constantly gets banned.

If would like to learn more about how to stalk without being creepy, then vote for Standards of Stalking!

Microformats Made Simple Available for Pre-Order

While the writing for my new book, Microformats Made Simple, is now finished (yes, you heard me right), there are still about five more weeks of editing and reviewing. But, thankfully, we are still on schedule.

The book is set for release on October 26, 2009. But, lucky you, it is available for pre-order on Amazon!

If you buy it now, I promise to love you forever.

Published in: Commentaries

Tags: Emily Lewis, ExpressionEngine, microformats, Microformats Made Simple, Oomph, RSS, shameless self promotion, SXSW

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Webuquerque's recently hosted The Battle of Development Frameworks & Libraries, presented by local developer Mark Casias. We had a nice turnout of about 20 people. If you weren't able to join us, we have everything you need to feel like you were (almost) there.

Recap

Mark surveyed some of today's most popular development tools, discussing the pros and cons of each. He also encouraged audience participation, getting opinions and feedback from attendees regarding their favorite tools.

Highlights included Mark's comparison of JavaScript libraries, including:

• jQuery
• YUI
• Mootools
• Prototype
• Script.aculo.us

As well as frameworks such as:

• Zend
• CakePHP
• CodeIgniter
• Zope
• Ruby on Rails

And some of today's popular CMSes:

• Drupal
• WordPress
• Joomla
• ExpressionEngine
• Django
• Plone

Slideshow

Mark's presentation deck is available on Slideshare:

Video

Video of The Battle of Development Frameworks is available on Viddler:

Photos

Photos of the event are available on Flickr:

Coming in September

Our next presentation is Podcasting & Vodcasting 101 on Wednesday, September 2, 2009, beginning at 7:00pm at UNM ARTS Lab.

For this event, we are joining forces with our sister NMAUG organization, Animotion. As such, we are changing venues and starting the presentation 30 minutes later than our usual meeting time.

Other than those minor changes, you can expect another great presentation! Local audio/video producer Vince Ascoli will examine the full cycle of podcasting and vodcasting:

1. Conception
2. Production
3. Encoding
4. Distribution

Vincent will also demonstrate several examples of pod- and vodcasts, what people are doing with them and how they can be made to work for you and your clients.

Mark Your Calendar

Don't miss our September presentation! Sign up for reminders from your preferred social network:

• Duke City Fix
• Upcoming
• Facebook
• Adobe User Group

2009 Presentation Schedule

While you are at it, mark your calendar with our remaining 2009 schedule:

October 7

Introduction to Microformats

Presenter: Emily Lewis

November 4

Bigger, Faster, Stronger, WOW! Digital Marketing the Right Way

Presenter: Reid Givens

December 8

NMAUG holiday party (time & location TBA)

Add 2009 Webuquerque schedule to Google Calendar

Please note, these topics and presenters are subject to change.

Friend Us!

Stay up–to–date about Webuquerque's activities and other local web-related events:

• Twitter
• Duke City Fix
• Facebook
• Upcoming
• Flickr
• SlideShare
• Viddler
• Adobe User Group

Feedback, Comments, Concerns?

Don't forget to let us know if we can be doing something better or different! Webuquerque is about you, so make your voice heard.

See you in September!

Published in: Presentations

Tags: Adobe User Group, Albuquerque, CMS, community, frameworks, JavaScript, libaries, New Mexico, web development, web industry, Webuquerque

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But since I'm already two months late in posting this recap, a few more minutes won't kill you. Let me first tell you about the event during which I gave the aforementioned demo.

NMTC Tech Thursdays

The NMTC is an association of individuals, companies and organizations working in concert to promote the growth and success of New Mexico's technology sector.

Amongst its many activities, NMTC hosts "Tech Thursdays." These are the council's monthly membership events, which occur on the second Thursday of each month from 3:30–5:00 PM at O'Niells Pub. "Tech Thursdays" are a chance to meet folks from New Mexico's tech community in a casual, yet educational setting.

CMS Case Studies

For their May event, NMTC hosted CMS Case Studies and invited several local folks to talk about and demo their preferred CMS. And I, as the local EE freak, was invited to talk about, you guessed it, ExpressionEngine.

Joining me in the demonstrations were:

• Julie Heinrich, who reviewed Joomla
• Lesley Molecke, who reviewed Plone 2.5
• Alex Sielicki, who reviewed Plone 3
• Vincent Thomé, who reviewed MiniCMS

If this little summary has you intrigued, check out the full recap of the entire event.

My Demo

Now, finally, to what you've been waiting for: my demo recap.

It was a very short demonstration. The event is only an hour and a half long, and the five us us were each allotted 15 minutes to cover our respective CMSes.

If you use EE, I'm sure you can imagine what a challenge it was to try to cover ExpressionEngine in that short amount of time. While I felt rushed and definitely sounded like an auctioneer in the last minute, I believe I gave enough of an overview to get people excited about EE.

I kicked off the demo with a bit of background on my experience with ExpressionEngine. I explained that I am a designer with limited programming experience (just enough to be dangerous), and that I've only used EE for about a year. Yet during that short time (and despite my lack of development knowledge), EE was relatively easy for me to teach myself, and I've used it for this blog, several large work sites and a handful of small freelance projects.

I then talked about how EE is a full-fledged CMS tool, not a blogging system that has to be wrestled with to create non-blog sites. I also discussed the pricing models and what users get for their money, including EE's phenomenal technical support.

I also talked about how my employer replaced a $5 million custom Vignette CMS with ExpressionEngine, saving us millions of dollars and hours (upon hours, upon hours) of development time.

The rest of my 15 minutes were spent going into the ExpressionEngine control panels for my blog and my employer's main corporate site:

• I demonstrated the core interface, including how Multiple Site Manager (which my employer uses) works.
• I showed how the templates work, emphasizing how easy they are to customize and work with (whether directly in the control panel or in your preferred editor).
• I explained what EE tags, variables and parameters are, and showed examples of them in templates.
• I talked about creating custom fields and showed several different types of examples from my employer's control panel.

I concluded my demo with a quick overview of some of the highlights expected in the highly-anticipated EE 2.0 release.

Also, included in the slideshow were several of my favorite EE resources I recommend you check out if you haven't already:

• Devot:ee
• EE Insider
• Train-EE
• ExpressionEngine Screencasts
• ExpressionEngine Blog
• ExpressionEngine Showcase

Feedback

Due to the fast-paced nature of NMTC's event, there wasn't any time for questions after my demo. However, after the event, most folks stuck around for the monthly ABQ Web Geeks meetup.

I got a lot of positive feedback about my presentation, and several comments about how I'm an EE fangirl (there are worse things to be). I also talked to one local developer who had looked into EE but never followed through on developing with it. He told me my demo got him off the fence and that he was going to give it a whirl for a project he had just landed (yay!).

It was a great experience for me as well. I always love to talk about things I love, and EE is definitely one of them.

Published in: Presentations

Tags: Albuquerque, CMS, community, demo, Emily Lewis, ExpressionEngine, New Mexico, NMTC

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I'm still busy as hell, but I'm also still committed to this series (for now). So, here are subjectively-useful links from the past several weeks of tweets. If you don't want to wait another month (or more), just follow me on Twitter.

June 21 – July 19, 2009

I have spent more than my fair share of hours (upon days, upon weeks) developing HTML emails for my employer. This effort is torturous, filled with <font>s, redundant CSS and nested <table>s. But to get these emails to work across clients makes it even more painful, particularly when trying to get Outlook to cooperate. So when Microsoft announced Outlook 2010 would continue to use Word as its rendering engine, I felt even more convinced that killing those Microshit idiots would be justifiable homicide. Thankfully, smarter (and more rational) people started fixoutlook.org to try to get Microsoft to embrace email/web standards. Who knows if the effort will work (doubtful, since MS are douchebags), but the concept is great and the mosaic interface is nothing short of astounding.

Original tweet

Thanks to years of therapy, the natural aging (and wizening process) and a growing realization that life is too short to sweat the small stuff (and most of the big stuff), I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment.

Original tweet

I'm not all that concerned about saving the Earth … mostly because I think those efforts are really about saving the human way of life. I believe in evolution and if that means we fucked up the planet to the point we can no longer survive, then so be it. It's not PC and it's not popular. But then I discovered these Martreeni glasses. Go ahead, call me a treehugger, as long as vodka and cool glassware is involved.

Original tweet

I'm as juvenile as any 14–year–old boy, so ball (as in testicle) humor is definitely a favorite. Hardees' commercial for its new Biscuit Holes (AKA Goody Balls, Creamy Sweet Holes, Tasty Nuts, Dingle Balls, Fisticles) touches upon perfection in this particular genre.

Original tweet

HTML5 is all the talk these days. Personally, I've only just experimented with it for the Webquerque site. And it wasn't too difficult. But it also wasn't too easy. HTML5 Doctor is a great resource that breaks down the new specification into easy–to–understand articles and examples that I wish were around when I first delved into HTML5.

Original tweet

In college, I drank a lot of beer … as I continue to do today. But back then, it was Natty Bo and Beast Lite. Until my senior year, when I met Newcastle Brown, fell in love, and never drank shit beer again. As such, Newkie Brown has a special place in my heart. And it is soon going to be available in a portable draught keg. This alone may make me rethink my atheistic leanings, for there must be a god for this to happen.

Original tweet

Personally, I don't need any reason or justification to be profane (that's just how I roll). But it is always nice to hear a "reputable" news source support my love of curse words.

Original tweet

Phaeton is a lovely new handrawn font from the talented and humorous Kevin Cornell.

Original tweet

For all my bitching and complaining about the objectification of women and misogyny in our industry, I'd be remiss to not point out that there are folks who love female geeks. Plus, I'm a coder girl and there is no doubt my source is tight.

Original tweet

I love books. And by books, I mean actual books. I'll probably never get a Kindle. I just love the sensory experience of books. This lamp shares my love of books. It's book-sensitive.

Original tweet

I'm pretty much disgusted by the executive bobblehead-speak that I have to tolerate for my job. It's all talk and posturing; no action. Really wish the bobbleheads I work with would realize how fucking stupid they sound.

Original tweet

I'd love to go to Mars and be probed by a Martian. It probably won't happen though. Fortunately, part of me will make the journey.

Original tweet

99.9% of the time, meetings are toxic. They are pointless, useless and more of an opportunity for douchebags to listen to themselves talk while simultaneously preventing other folks from getting actual work done. And they waste an astoundingly ridiculous amount of money.

Original tweet

Had an amazing, eye-opening experience when I saw RIP: A Remix Manifesto at my local independent theater. Great documentary that explores the world of music mashups and copyright and patent law. Two thumbs up! A must-see.

Original tweet

Published in: Finds

Tags: beer, copyright, fonts, glassware, HTML5, humor, lamps, Microsoft Outlook, music mashups, profanity, tweets, Twitter, typefaces, useful tweets, videos, women in the web

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Two weeks ago, Webuquerque hosted Search Engine Optimization, presented by local online marketing expert Chris Kenworthy.

We had a record turnout of over 50 people, including folks who made the trip down from Santa Fe. If you weren't able to join us, we've got everything to make you feel like you were there.

Recap

Chris gave an excellent presentation, covering key strategies for

• Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
• On-site optimization
• Off-site optimization
• Link building
• Social media and bookmarking
• Measuring results

In keeping with Webuquerque's aim of encouraging best practices, Chris also emphasized white-hat SEO methods:

• Audience-focused content
• Organic keyword optimization and density
• Semantic markup emphasizing heading elements (<h1>,<h2> …)
• Good information architecture
• Internal links
• Text-based navigation
• User and search engine friendly URLs
• Descriptive, keyword-focused page <title>s and <meta> content

If you'd like to see Chris speak again, he is presenting Inside Google Analytics for NMTC on Thursday, August 13, from 3:30– 5:00 pm at O'Niells Pub.

Software Giveaway

One of the perks of being an Adobe User Group is that Webuquerque is able to give away books, t-shirts and other swag to our attendees at every event. For our July presentation, we raffled a free Adobe CS4 Web Premium package. The winner was local web designer/developer and craftsperson Kimm Weins.

I'd be lying if I didn't say this giveaway was, in part, responsible for the astounding attendance. But it was great to see so many new faces and, hopefully, we made a good enough impression (in spite of the standing–room–only crowd) that those folks will come back for future events.

Personal Note

Chris's presentation was, by far, one of the best Webuquerque has ever had the privilege of offering. I can admit that, when it comes to Chris, I'm not entirely objective. He is a close friend and a very active part of our local web community. But I am objective from a professional perspective: Chris's emphasis on practical and easy–to–implement strategies was only surpassed by his focus on white-hat methods.

I have worked with a lot of agencies and consultants who push questionable (black- and gray-hat) SEO and SEM. These rarely work in the long-term and can often have devastating effects on sites's search results. It was so refreshing to hear Chris's take on things, especially given his years of experience in the field.

Frankly, New Mexico and Albuquerque are lucky to have such a talented professional who is open, willing to share his knowledge and eager to engage with the community. Webuqueque was honored to have him as a speaker. And I am honored to count him as one of my friends.

Okay, enough emo. Here's what you are really interested in: deck, video and photos.

Slideshow

Chris's presentation deck is available on Slideshare:

Video

Video of Search Engine Optimization is available on Viddler:

Photos

And, once again, I served as photographer for the event. Photos are available on Flickr:

What Webuquerque Is Doing For You

Aside from organizing and running our monthly events, my co-manager Jason Nakai are working tirelessly (seriously, the work involved is staggering) to help the broader web, design and technology community in Albuquerque and New Mexico:

• Meeting with leaders and managers of other local groups to identify ways we can support each other and collaborate.
• Developing a centralized resource for all Albuquerque (eventually New Mexico) web designers and developers, including a single calendar of all group events and a professional directory.
• Brainstorming ideas for creating a major web conference in Albuquerque in the next year or two.

For us, it is about community: connecting people, sharing knowledge and, hopefully, helping create opportunities. But this isn't an easy mission and we need your help:

• Keep attending our events
• Get involved with and support other local groups:
  • Animotion NM
  • AdobeQuerque
  • ABQ Web Geeks
  • Ignite New Mexico
  • IxDA New Mexico
  • Upgrade NM
  • NMTC (New Mexico Technology Council)
  • New Mexico LinuxFest
• Let us know how we can improve and better meet your needs
• Volunteer for Webuquerque:
  • Be a speaker for future events
  • Help us find sponsors
  • Lend us your PA system
  • Work with us as we transition our web site to ExpressionEngine
  • Ask us how else you can help out

Coming in August

Our next presentation is The Battle of Development Frameworks & Libraries on Wednesday, August 5, 2009, beginning at 6:30pm at Uptown Sports Bar and Grill.

Local developer Mark Casias will review the pros and cons of the tools available today to help you create killer web applications quickly and easily:

• Javascript Libraries: jQuery vs. Prototype
• CMS: Drupal vs. Wordpress
• PHP Frameworks: Codeigniter vs. CakePHP vs. Zend (cage match)
• Possible guest battle featuring Plone

Mark Your Calendar

Don't miss our August presentation! Sign up for reminders from your preferred social network:

• Duke City Fix
• Upcoming
• Facebook
• Adobe User Group

2009 Presentation Schedule

While you are at it, mark your calendar with our remaining 2009 schedule:

September 2

Podcasting & Vodcasting 101

Presenter: Vincent Ascoli

October 7

Introduction to Microformats

Presenter: Emily Lewis

November 4

Topic: Web marketing

Presenter: Reid Givens

December 8

NMAUG holiday party (time & location TBA)

Add 2009 Webuquerque schedule to Google Calendar

Please note, these topics and presenters are subject to change.

Friend Us!

Stay up–to–date about Webuquerque's activities and other local web-related events:

• Twitter
• Duke City Fix
• Facebook
• Upcoming
• Flickr
• SlideShare
• Viddler
• Adobe User Group

Thank You, Community!

I've said it already, but I'll say it again: Webuquerque is about community. Which means it is about you! Our success depends on whether we are meeting your needs, so be sure to speak up if you have feedback of any kind.

As always, Jason and I are forever grateful for your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Can't wait to see you in August!

Published in: Presentations

Tags: Adobe User Group, Albuquerque, community, New Mexico, NMAUG, search, SEM, SEO, web industry, Webuquerque

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