Interlink: the Web is about to Evolve.

 

The web has become so much more than just a vital piece of technological infrastructure – it supports, enhances, and enlightens an enormous majority of our daily interactions and lifestyles, and a creative base of developers, designers, and innovators are essential to its progress. That’s why events like the Interlink Conference carry such immense breakthrough potential: the minds behind web ventures like Zaarly, The Manual, Yellow Pencil, and Filament come together and demonstrate how the power of innovation builds a better web, sharing their knowledge and encouraging others in the industry to keep pushing it forwards.

The event kicks off on June 6^th with a full day of hands-on workshops for honing skills such as writing compelling copy, refining design techniques, and drawing with HTML5 minus the plug-ins. Lead by industry leaders such as Simon Collision, Thomas Lewis, and Lynne Polischuik, each three-hour workshop aims to engage like-minded web professionals in further development and share insider tricks of the trade. At the end of the intensive but extremely gratifying day, participants are invited to join in a dodgeball tournament, presented by MailChimp and officiated by the Vancouver Dodgeball League. The following day is devoted to a series of presentations in which other web greats including Faruk Ates, Erin Kissane, Paul Boag, and Jon Tan share their stories and experience with the overall intention of inspiring listeners to push the web to its full potential. By imparting better knowledge of ecommerce platforms, content strategy, entrepreneurship, code structure, and more, the conference strives to empower participants in their ongoing web development endeavors and inspire innovation outside the box.

In addition to admission to these fantastic workshops and presentations, participants are well plied with tea and coffee, snacks, and a home-made bagged lunch on the conference day. There are also lots of great free happenings, such as coffee talks and a killer after party, for kicking back and connecting on a more personal level with fellow web-thusiasts. Wireless internet will, of course, be infinitely accessible, and there will be ample sources of power. You know it’s a web development exhibition when there are power stations for charging devices of every kind, at every corner!

By all accounts, last year’s Interlink Conference was a booming success, the offshoots of which you may have come across somewhere on your web travels (check out last year’s lineup, videos, and blog here). It’s events like this one that foster positive growth in the creative web industry, and by extension, the creative world as a whole. We designers, developers, programmers, and creators gain so much from the chance to see how our work interacts and intersects, generating a much greater effect than we realize. By sharing and coordinating our industry knowledge, we can reach new levels of kreativity and ingenuity that together make the web better than we could have imagined on our own. We can build a community whose boundaries are limitless, and whose web serves its every whim. It just goes to show that when it all comes down to it, we’re limited only by our imaginations, because kreativity is the key.

Check out the Interlink Conference 2012 webpage for a full lineup and more info.

Written by Alison, alison@kihadaworksdesign.com