The FOWA Summer Sale will launch from the brand spanking new Carsonified site on 9th July!
Get your clicking fingers ready to bag one of the first 10 passes to FOWA at 50% off.
To celebrate summer finally hitting the UK, we are having an absolute scorcher of a sale! 
10 seats at 50% off (save £167.50)
20 seats at 25% off (save £83.75)
30 seats at 10% off (save £33.50)
If youre not quick enough to grab one of the first 10 there is still a chance to save some pennies as the sale will continue with the further 50 discounted passes.
This special offer applies to 2 day conference passes to FOWA London 09 only.
Keep your ears to the ground to find out where and when to get your Summer Sale pass!
The FOWA schedule is jam packed but we just had to make room for these 3 amazing speakers!
We are so pleased to announce that Chris Abad will be joining us to talk about The Future of Marketing Web Apps.
Chris Abad is the CEO at iList, creators of the overnight-sensation Twitter game, Spymaster. What started as a fun exploration of Twitter’s application platform for Chris and his team, has since taken over Twitter and become an addiction for thousands passionate users. At iList, Chris is responsible for overall strategy and direction of the company, as well as product concept and innovation.
Bruce Lawson from Opera will be speaking on The Future of HTML5.
Bruce evangelises Open Web Standards for Opera. He’s a member of the Web Standards Project’s Accessibility Task Force and the W3C Mobile Best Practices Working Group. Previously, he was technical lead for the Solicitors Regulation Authority site.
Finally Simon Wardley will be joining us again! Those of you who came along to FOWA 08 will remember Simon chairing the Biz track for us.
The companies that Simon has helped range in size from start-up operations to global conglomerates and have been geographically dispersed from Amsterdam and Athens to Barcelona, London and Warsaw. The consistent theme is Simon’s ability to provide practical, workable solutions and to bridge the gap between IT and business strategy.
Check out the speaker page to find out a bit more about each of them and to see who will be joining them!
Watch this space as we may have a few more up our sleeve very soon! 
As you guys know FOWA is heading back into the heart of the big smoke to Kensington from 30th September (workshops) to 2nd October, and do we have a line up for you!!
Confirmed speakers so far include:
Gary Vaynerchuk – Wine Library TV
Dustin Diaz – Twitter Inc
Kevin Rose – Digg
Michael Arrington – TechCrunch
Aza Raskin – Mozilla
Addison Berry – Lullabot
Alex Hunter – Virgin
Check out the speaker page to see who else will be joining them!
We will be announcing three brand new speakers very soon so watch this space!
* Workshops
We have 8 fantastic workshops available for you to choose from on 30th September. Any of you guys that have attended these in the past will know that in small groups of just 40, workshops are much more intimate, in-depth and valuable sessions where you can really get up close and personal with the speaker and gain real knowledge you can put to use after the event.
We are so pleased to have the following eight sessions to offer you:
Alex Hunter – Kick-ass Online Marketing Techniques
Relly Annett-Baker – Copywriting Fundamentals for the Web
Mike McDerment – How to build a web app from A – Z
Dave Morin – How to build Facebook Connect + openID into your site
TBA – How to Build Accessible Web Apps
Francisco Tolmasky – Building Web Apps Using Atlas
Addison Berry – Site Building with Drupal
Chris Lea – Setting up Your Web App – Powerful Alternatives to LAMP
Check out the workshop descriptions and make your choice of one morning session and one afternoon session
* Expo
There will be an expo floor in the Small Hall at Kensington Town Hall on 1st and 2nd October so there will be plenty of opportunity to check it out during the event.
If you are interested in exhibiting at FOWA drop Will Filby a line at will@carsonified.com.
* Networking Carsonified style
As per usual Carsonified style we will be throwing some fab parties around the event to give you guys a chance to get to know one another, gain some valuable new contacts and generally have fun! Not only that, we also have a speed networking session planned for the first day to give you all a nudge in the right direction. ☺
* How to grab your seat!
Register for your ticket now as there are a few discounted tickets are still available for the workshops on 30th Sept at over £100 off so grab these while you can and take your pic from our 8 amazing workshops.
If you have any queries drop Jo a line at jo@carsonified.com
More FOWA news and info soon!
We’re very close to anouncing some huge keynote speakers for FOWA London 09 so we’re not quite ready to launch the site. However, you can still grab super cheap early bird tickets:
- 2-Day Conference Ticket (Only 50 available): £100 + VAT (save £235)
- 3-Day Conference + Workshop Ticket (Only 20 available): £200 + VAT (save £295)
We’ll be announcing the speaker line-up very soon. However, we’re excited to announce 8 killer workshops we’ve already got lined up for you.
Morning Workshops
Copywriting fundamentals for the web (Relly Annett-Baker – Poppycopy )
This workshop draws on her experience to explore the fundamentals of copywriting for the web, why it should be your first consideration for both sites and apps, a DIY guide to copy, when to get a professional in and the most common mistakes rookie writers make.
How to build Facebook Connect + openID into your site (Dave Morin – Facebook)
It’s becoming increasingly important to allow your users to login with Facebook Connect and openID. In this workshop we’ll show you how to get started.
Building Web + iPhone Apps Using Atlas (Francisco Tolmasky – 280north)
With the launch of Atlas, the team at 280 North redefined what is possible with web apps. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to use Cappuccino, Objective-J and Atlas to create amazingly powerful web app user interfaces – that can be easily deployed as an iPhone app.
How to Build Accessible Web Apps (Speaker TBC)
In this workshop you’re going to learn how to make your web app accessible. Experts will walk you through the accessibility essentials you need to know and how to avoid common mistakes.
Afternoon Workshops
Kick-ass Online Marketing Techniques (Alex Hunter – Virgin)
How to get the biggest bang for your buck online and make your site stand out among the rest.
How to Build a Web App from A-Z (Mike McDerment – Freshbooks)
Having a great web app idea is only the beginning of the fun. Taking that idea from your head and getting all the way to launch is no easy task and unfortunately there aren’t any official instruction. So in this workshop, we are going to give you tips on the complete process of building a web app, from A to Z.
Setting up Your Web App – Powerful Alternatives to LAMP (Chris Lea – Virb)
The Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP-Perl-Python (LAMP) stack is absolutely one of the most ubiquitous development platforms for web applications in the world. So much so that there are many who have never strayed outside the well known environment it provides. However, there are exciting software developments currently that may provide better solutions than the trusty LAMP setup.
Site Building with Drupal (Addison Berry – Lullabot)
Drupal is a popular content management system (CMS) that powers a wide variety of dynamic, content-driven web sites. Its modular design means that thousands of modules can be used to add the functionality that your site needs without any custom programming.
Get your early bird tickets here
It’s all systems go here at Carsonified HQ as we prepare for this years FOWA London!
The all important dates for your diary are 30th Sept to 2nd October 09.
We are launching FOWA 09 on 6th May at 1pm so get your clicking fingers at the ready!
The first batch of 50 conference passes and 20 workshops passes will be available for just £100 and £200! The cost will go up gradually as they sell out so get in there quick to bag one of these.
We have a fantastic line up this year with a day of in depth workshops followed by two jam packed days of conference sessions, networking and of course the parties!
We are keeping the identity of the speakers under our hats for now but i will say that for one amazing speaker it will be the first time he has spoken in the UK.
You don’t want to miss this one!
All will be revealed on 6th May!
The location of all the Pre FOWA Tour meetups are:
14th April – Edinburgh – Dragonfly
15th April – Leeds – We are merging with GeekUp Leeds at Old Broadcasting House @ Leeds Met!
16th April – Bristol – Pitcher & Piano
7th May – Cambridge – The Slug & Lettuce
Further info on how to get there is now on upcoming.
They are all bars in each city centre so very easy to get to for an after work drink and meet up with the Carsonified crew!
See you guys there!
As you guys are aware we are running a FOWA Tour which hits 4 major cities in May and June.
However you’ll be seeing us a lot sooner than that as we are coming along to meet you guys for a drink first!
The Pre FOWA Tour meet ups will be taking place as follows:
14th April – Edinburgh
15th April – Leeds
16th April – Bristol
7th May – Cambridge
The exact locations are to be announced shortly, but will be a bar in each city centre.
This will be the first time we have visited some of these places so we would love to meet up with some of the locals, get your ideas and thoughts on the tour, chat about all things webby and have a drink or 3.
Check out Upcoming for further info and to sign up so we know how many of you to expect!
Looking forward to it!
Thankyou so much for coming along to our first FOWA in Dublin!
We had a great time over there and enjoyed meeting all of you.
The video of each session will be up on the FOWA Dublin site sometime this week so if you missed anything you can watch it again!
Due to technical difficulties we are really sorry we are unable to upload the footage from IQ Contents presentation but many thanks to them for being a part of FOWA Dublin.
Check out the pics on Flickr too and if you have any to upload don’t forget to tag them fowadublin so we can all share them.
We hope to be back next year so if you have any ideas on how to make the event even better then just let us know.
Looking forward to it already!
The Carsonified crew are back from FOWA Miami and we are gearing up for our first ever FOWA in Dublin!
With only 2 days to go, here is everything you need to know as an attendee, including all venue details and party plans! Plus some info on Facebook Developer Garage and how to use Twitter to connect to your fellow attendees!
Conference – 6th March
FOWA Dublin takes place on Friday 6th March at Liberty Hall in the heart of Dublin.
The venue is within walking distance of all bus routes and the mainline rail station. There is also ample secure parking in the Irish Life centre. For more details on how to get there including a map of the area, see the venue page of the site.
The day kicks off at 8.30am for registration. You will be able to grab a much needed coffee from the bar area as well as snacks and a bit of lunch during the day. The conference starts at 9.30am and is due to finish at 5:30pm.
There will be free WIFI in the auditorium and places where you can charge up your laptops in the bar area during breaks.
Passes
Don’t worry we have taken good care of your passes and they will be available to pick up from registration on arrival at Liberty Hall. Simply go up the stairs from the main entrance and registration will be directly in front of you.
Uni sessions
As an attendee to FOWA Dublin we are also offering FREE uni sessions! These are mini conferences that take place during breaks and lunch so you can get the most out of the day. There will be around 60 seats on a first come first served basis so better get your skates on and grab a seat as soon as Ryan announces the break! Microsoft, Sun and IQ Content will all be hosting a uni session.
Party!
The Official FOWA wrap party will be taking place at The Dandelion Club
The party will kick off at 7.30pm and is a short walk away from the venue. The bar will be open until 11pm then we will be able to go downstairs to the club until the wee hours of the morning so bring your dancing shoes
Connect with fellow attendees using Twitter!
Darren Ferguson has built a very cool social twitter app to help you find and meet fellow conference attendees. So you guys can get the most out of the event we have set this up for you to use during FOWA Dublin!
Heres how it works:
First, follow fowadublin and wait for it to follow you back.
Keep your twitter profile location up to date or include a link to a google map at the end of your message when communicating with fowadublin. If using an iPhone Tweetie or Twitterific will all allow you to append map links to your messages. Twitterfon, Sparrow and Brighkite allow you to update your twitter profile location.
To publicise your location send a direct message to fowadublin, for example:
d fowadublin Holiday Inn Hotel Bar, Swilly Road
Optionally attach a twitpic so that people trying to find the venue have something to recognise.
To find people try the following commands:
d fowadublin near
d fowadublin nearest
d fowadublin newest
d fowadublin where @twitterid
Don’t forget to add a map to the end of the command if you can!
You will receive a direct message as a response – usually within 2-3 minutes. for nearest, newest and where commands the response will include a link to a map showing you how to find the appropriate person e.g.
nearest @fmoriyama 6 mins ago 0.6 miles away in Dublin http://tinyurl.com/dbre9o “Sycamore House”
If you want to be kept up to date every time someone updates their location send the following direct message:
d fowadublin alerts
d fowadublin noalerts
If you get stuck you can get a reminder of all of these commands by sending the following direct message:
d fowadublin help
Tips on updating your location:
If updating from a laptop give street level locations e.g “Castle St, Dublin” or a Latitude, Longtitude postion. If updating from an iPhone or other GPS enabled mobile update your location outside before going into the venue. If updating from an iPhone update with WIFI turned on even if you are not connected to a wifi network – Don’t ask me why, you just get a better location fix especially on 2.5g iPhones.
If things don’t seem to be working for you. Send an direct message to fmoriyama for help or email df@fergusomoriyama.com
Finally, if you want to get in touch with someone before meeting up, you have their twitter ID so it is easy to get in touch.
Facebook Developer Garage – 5th March
If any of you guys will be in Dublin the day before FOWA then check out the Facebook Developer Garage!
Facebook Developer Garages are just like they sound – a place to explore, get gritty, tinker, experiment, and test out ideas for Facebook Platform.
The Facebook Developer Garage Ireland is an opportunity for community involvement and learning.
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009
Time: 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Location: Digital Exchange Crane Street Dublin, Ireland
If you are interested in presenting or demo opportunities send email to web2ireland.editor@gmail.com
Need to chat to us?
If you have any questions at all we are all here to help you, so just contact jo@carsonified.com for any event queries
Looking forward to seeing you guys soon!
