This Saturday, I will have the pleasure of speaking at the Roanoke Code Camp. I will be presenting my talk “jQuery From The Ground Up”. I definitely recommend that you come out for the day, even if its a few hours drive. Roanoke has a great community, and I’ve been looking forward to this event since last year.
There are still spots available, so please go register today if you haven’t already.
http://www.rvnug.org/CodeCamp.aspx
Are you a developer in the Mid Atlantic?
Are you interested in the the goings on in the Mid Atlantic?
If you answered YES to either question, then you might want to join the Mid Atlantic Developer group! This group is free to join, and you’ll be in direct contact with other developers in the Mid Atlantic region.
If you’re a user group leader, use the list to look for speakers. If you’re a community speaker, use the group to look for speaking opportunities. Interested in speaking, but not sure how to get started? Use the group as a resource to get started in your community involvement.
We’re here to support each other!
Join Today!
http://midatlanticdevs.groups.live.com/
Also, if you’re interested in the Southern Developer community, I would recommend you also join the Southern Developer Community started by Keith Elder. And yes, I totally ripped this idea from Keith. Thanks Keith!
My first experience with INETA was back in 2008, when I started the planning for the Hampton Roads .NET Users Group. I think they are a wonder organization, who are a huge help to user groups across the country.![OfficialLogo[1]](http://www.kevgriffin.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/OfficialLogo1.png "OfficialLogo[1]")
It was very surprising for me to have been asked last week to be an INETA mentor for the state of Virginia. Mentors are the liaisons for users groups to INETA, and their purpose is to give the user groups the tools they need to succeed. This is a position I take very seriously, as I think its a huge chance to give back to the community that has helped me so much over these past few years.
I’m hoping that over the next few months, I’ll be able to get around to all the user groups in Virginia and get to know better the people who run them. Is your group registered with INETA? If not, take a few seconds and register it today over at http://www.ineta.org. If you’re running a group already registered with INETA, expect an email from me within the week!
I just received news yesterday that I have been invited to join ASPInsiders. This is really exciting for me, as it opens up a new world for me professionally. I’m really hoping that being a part of the Insiders group will help me be a better person in the community.
I would also like to extend a huge thanks to the members of ASPInsiders that thought enough of me to consider me for joining the group. I really hope that I don’t let any of you down.
![ASPInsider_Logo_Small[1]](http://www.kevgriffin.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/ASPInsider_Logo_Small1.gif "ASPInsider_Logo_Small[1]"){kind=logo}
Take a few minutes and head over to the Community Megaphone Podcast, and listen to their latest podcast with guest Joel Cochran.
Joel is a good friend of mine, and has certainly taught me a lot when it comes to WPF and how to navigate through Expression Blend. He’s a terrific resource, and I definitely recommend that if you bump into him at an event, chat him up (although he might do most the talking).
I’m hard at work right now preparing some presentations for the 2010 code camp/user group season. In order to make these presentations the best they possibly could be, I’m putting them out for the public to see and review.
Asynchronize with jQuery
jQuery is a fantastic tool for web developers interested in giving their web applications a little glitz and glamor. In addition to its powerful DOM transversal engine, jQuery also comes equipped for handling AJAX requests. In this presentation, Kevin Griffin will guide you through getting started with jQuery’s AJAX functionality. A basic understand of jQuery is recommended, however not required for this presentation.
Awesomize Your Windows Apps
With the release of Windows 7, many developers might be looking to take advantage of the features Windows 7 offers. This presentation offers attendees a broad overview of the Windows API Code Pack, which is a managed library for .NET developers to use for accessing some of the underlying functionality of Windows that was typically reserved for Interop fans. Topics and demos include Windows 7 taskbar functionality, Task dialogs, Libraries support, and more.
ASP.NET MVC From The Ground Up
ASP.NET MVC has taken the web development world by storm. It’s a technology that many people are curious about, but might have had trouble adopting. In this presentation, we’ll take a look at ASP.NET MVC from the ground up. We’ll peel back the layers, and look at each component of MVC individually without the Test Driven Development or Dependency Injection mantra. The goal is for you to walk out of this talk with enough knowledge of MVC to dive in! This talk assumes no experience with MVC or Web Forms (although some web forms knowledge would be helpful).
jQuery From The Ground Up
Web 2.0 has taken over; there is no doubt about it. However, many developers are being left in the dust. Amazing technologies such as jQuery allow developers to easily add flair to their web applications. In this presentation, Kevin Griffin will guide you through the world of jQuery. Starting from the bottom, we will discuss what is possible with jQuery, how do you obtain and setup jQuery in your projects, and then actually putting jQuery to work. This presentation is designed for developers with no experience with jQuery (or Javascript in general). An understanding of HTML and CSS is recommended.
I’ve been waiting for this announcement for a little while, but I’m finally pleased to announce that I had the pleasure of being the first guest on the new Community Megaphone Podcast.
In this episode, I talked with Dane Morgridge (@danemorgridge) and Andrew Duthie (@devhammer) about general stuff I’m interested in. Topics included Windows 7 for developers, jQuery, and the developer community.
Please take an hour and listen to the show. Let me know your thoughts! Also, please send a note to Dane and Andrew. Let them know if you enjoyed the show.
Listen Here (http://www.communitymegaphonepodcast.com/Show/1/Kevin-Griffin)
MIX 2010 is around the corner! In order to pay my way to MIX this year, I am renting out myself out for the three days of the conference. I have three blank t-shirts that are ready to be filled with names and logos of any person or companies that want to advertise.
Here are the conditions of the donation:
* Need me to work a booth, pass out flyers/swag, I’m open to suggestions!
If I do not raise the funds to pay for MIX 2010, the proceeds will carry over to Tech ED 2010 or another developer community event.
On January 12, 2010, the Hampton Roads .NET Users Group will celebrate its first anniversary. Running a user group is a huge undertaking, but the rewards are priceless. I’ve met dozens of new people, many of whom I interact with on a weekly basis. We’ve had 12 awesome speakers come visit us. With the turn of the new year, I think it’s time to take HRNUG to the next level (or the next version).
Here’s a list of my plans for HRNUG Version 2.0:
Some time in January, we will be releasing a new website. The current basic template is nice, and it’s served its purpose. However, I feel that HRNUG should really have a top notch web site. In order to fulfill this, I’ve been working on a Silverlight version of HRNUG. It will include several new features, most of which you’ll have to wait for the release to see. My hope is to release the new site in January.
Currently, we have a single email address for HRNUG, and it ends in a @gmail.com. That’s not providing the level of professionalism that I would like HRNUG to express. A few weeks ago, I registered HRNUG with Microsoft Live Domains. All email will now come from our domain. This will help prevent emails from going into spam filters. Additionally, I can now have a email address for our newsletter and job offers.
We’re going to be updating our process for RSVPing to HRNUG. RSVPing is an important aspect of a user group meeting. Our sponsors pay for food and drinks for all the attendees. However, if they don’t know how many people are coming, it’s possible that food could run out before the people do. As a courtesy, we ask members to RSVP for the meeting.
Our current solution, ClickToAttend, has one flaw. Users are required to have a Microsoft Live account. I discovered that not everyone has a Live account, nor has the ambition to register for one. Because of this, we miss out one several RSVPs.
The new system will be integrated into web site. Users can either RSVP from the main page, or directly from the Newsletter. We’re hoping that this will entice people to RSVP early. Sometimes that lack of food isn’t enough.
HRNUG has some great sponsors, and we’re looking to obtain more. The current website was not designed to show off our sponsors. In HRNUG v2.0, I’d like to make the sponsors stick out some. I’m hoping that this will help us bring on more sponsors, but show existing sponsors that we really appreciate everything that they do for us.
The largest hurdle for HRNUG will be growth. My goal for the group is for it to grow more and more. In order to do this, we need to get creative with ways to get users to the meetings. Majority of our users are repeat attendees. I would like to see a high percentage of new members. This can only be done by introducing the group to people that haven’t heard of it. Starting in January, we’re going to start a SWAG enticement program. If you bring a friend or coworker, we’ll give you a ticket for a big prize. Additionally, we’re going to start giving away larger SWAG items when attendance is over 25 people a month.
I’m curious to hear other people’s suggestions for growing a user group. Let me know in the comments!
The next quarter of MSDN Mid-Atlantic Roadshows are coming to a city next you! Below is a list of events coming up, when they’ll be, and how you can register for them! These roadshows are not to be missed. You’re guaranteed to get a lot of great information, and it’s an excellent opportunity to meet some developers in your area.
For the latest information, check out Andrew Duthie’s blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/gduthie/archive/2009/10/30/msdn-roadshows-coming-to-a-city-near-you.aspx!
Pittsburgh, PA
11/12/2009
1:00 – 5:00 pm
Register
Harrisburg, PA
12/1/2009
1:00 – 5:00 pm
Register
Reston, VA
12/3/2009
1:00 – 5:00 pm
Register
Roanoke, VA
12/8/2009
1:00 – 5:00 pm
Register
Malvern, PA
12/10/2009
1:00 – 5:00 pm
Register
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