The Monthly Newsletter for Web Professionals

Volume 7 Issue 05 - May 2005

Letter from the Executive Editor

By Bill Cullifer

What a long strange trip it’s been.

-- The Grateful Dead

Sorry for the cliché quote above. It’s just that nothing describes the last seven years any better. It was seven years ago that, working with a colleague from a California State University at Sacramento, I started the World Organization of Webmasters. And now, after all those years of trying to create a professional organization that not only would bring Web professionals together but would advance the causes of community, education and certification, WOW has reached a milestone of sorts.

WOW was invited to present a workshop at the Fourteenth International World Wide Web Conference (http://www2005.org/) this month in Chiba, Japan. I attended the conference along with accomplished Web developer Molly Holzschlag, who will present WOW’s Current Best Practices in Web Development and Design workshop. This is the same workshop WOW working with Molly and many others has presented all over the country.

Calling this invitation an honor would be an understatement.

Although WOW’s membership already is international, this gives us a chance to really spread the word about the organization’s mission. Again, that mission is to:

The second point is worth some elaboration. When WOW was established in 1997, the concept of teaching Web professional topics, especially to teachers, was foreign to many. Now, a couple dozen community colleges nationwide, including six in our home state of California, offer Associate degrees based in part on WOW-developed curriculum.

Many colleges and universities now get it. For graduates to find a job as a degree-level Web professional, the curriculum must not only be available, it must be meaningful and current.

Developing that curriculum and getting it out to those who need it in the form of conferences and workshops has taken up much of our time. That effort has paid off well. Our membership is growing, attendance at our conferences has been good and we are being recognized for our good works, as evidenced by our invitation to Japan.

We also are working hard to elevate the role of standards in Web development, bridging the relationships between government, education and standards bodies, such as the W3C. Corny as it may sound, we are trying to make the Web development world a better place.

I’d like to zoom in on one WOW course in particular. The Web Application Development Workshop (http://www.webprofessionals.org/community/events/), which will be offered later this year in Washington, D.C., Sacramento and Albany, N.Y., demonstrates how techniques used in engineering can be used in Web development as well.

Bebo White (http://www.stanford.edu/~bebo/), a retired departmental associate at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Computing Services and managing editor of the Journal of Web Engineering, is a firm believer in this area, otherwise known as Web engineering.

“The complexity and importance of modern Web-based applications and services require that they be designed and managed using sound project methodologies based upon proven rigorous engineering principles,” White said.

White, who is the Tutorials and Workshops Co-Chair at Chiba, also will moderate a panel on Web engineering.

Shouldn’t we take a lesson from the past? Doesn’t it make sense that we in the fledgling field of Web development should use techniques that have been developed over the last 20 years in IT and engineering?

This from the WOW course description:

Known and proven concepts exist in Information Technology and engineering and they can be applied to help strengthen contemporary methods in Web development.

This is the type of thing we are doing at WOW – bringing to the fore opportunities that busy Web professionals might not have time to study – to put Web development in perspective and offer professionals a chance to advance in their field and see how what they do affects the world around them.

And to do that well, professionals must learn from other professionals – not just from the instructor, but from others in the class as well. I have seen many professional relationships take root at WOW conferences. These contacts often turn into lifelong friendships. I can’t tell you how many knowledgeable people I have met over the years at these things. It certainly has enriched my life.

As for me personally, I attempted to attend a number of sessions while in Chiba so I can keep up the ever-changing world of Web technology. My wife, Nancy and I also sneaked away for a little vacation time by visiting the area’s Esoteric Buddhist temples and other sites. And when it was over, my wife headed home, while Molly and I flew to Chicago for a WOW Web Design and Project Management Conference (http://www.webprofessionals.org/community/events) were we met a terrific group of Web professionals from all over the world.

In next month’s letter, I’ll tell you all about the trip and what we achieved.

One more thing. I must tell you that these last seven years have been very exciting and personally rewarding. WOW is making a difference. I feel incredibly lucky to be working with such gifted and wonderful people. Everyone I meet is incredibly excited about the possibilities awaiting us in Web development.

I’m just glad WOW is along for the ride. Please let me know if you would like to get closer involved with WOW. We have lots to do and I thank you for your continued support!

Have a good one,

Bill