Learn Online, Connect Offline

I can’t stress enough how important it is for web designers and developers to keep themselves up-to-date with the most current technology and best practices. Those of us who work on government websites have a very important job. Ultimately, what we do directly affects the effectiveness of our agencies’ web presence. Keeping our skills sharp is a challenge today because the web is ever evolving. Luckily there are a lot of good online resources.

Online resources are good for specific tutorials and technical references. However, I believe in the importance of meeting with other creatives and developers in real life. Personal contact is a much better way to exchange ideas and build up a network of people who share the same interests as you. I’ve even seen many friendships grow out of web conferences. Some of the more well known web events are:

• An Event Apart
• South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals.
• The Future of Web Design
• The Future of Web Apps
• Gov 2.0 Expo
• Gov 2.0 Summit
• User Interface Conference
• Advanced Common Sense Workshops
• Adobe MAX

Smashing Magazine recently published a very comprehensive list of the conferences around the globe. It’s worth checking out, and make sure you read the comment section too. If your agency has the budget to send you to these conferences as training, definitely take advantage of that.

Sometimes it’s hard to go even if we want to. There are factors such as time, budget and family affairs that prevent us from traveling across the country to attend some of these informative events. That’s why I suggest local Barcamps or Meetup Groups.

BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences (or unconferences) – open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants.

The beauty of these locally held events is that the people you meet are close by, therefore making it easier to connect with them in the future. Also, if you do not see an event in your area, you can always initiate one yourself. The online tools make it easy. The last local event we attended was a blast. Check out our coverage on the Accessibility Camp.

David and I will be attending the November 14th event by Barcamp DC. We hope to meet many local designers, developers and gov2.0 people. And of course, we’ll be doing a full coverage of the event so you can read it here.

Do you have any other suggestions for connecting with your peers? Let us know.