November 11, 2011 By 29 Comments

Microsoft TechDays 2011 in Vancouver

I’m excited to be presenting at Microsoft TechDays 2011 in Vancouver on November 15th and 16th 2011. If you are a software developer that loves staying up to speed on the latest trends, tools, and strategies for developing software effectively, you need to attend TechDasy 2011.  I’ve been doing the Microsoft TechDays tour since they started a few years ago, and every year they continue to get better and better. This year in Vancouver will be no exception with the likes of Scott Hanselman, Mary-Jo Foley and others presenting live.

My sessions are focused around my passions. User Experience, and Windows Phone. I strongly believe that as a software developer, you need to be focusing on honing your user experience skills and expanding your wings. With the consumerization of information technology, users of the software you develop are no longer just expecting applications that function.  They are also expecting beautiful user experiences that capture and engage them. If you are in Vancouver, and have a chance to come to TechDays 2011, make sure you head over to my sessions that are sure to keep you entertained, and also provide you with some real world tips and strategies you can take back with you and use immediately. Here are the two sessions I will be presenting. Don’t miss them!

Windows Phone User Experience Design Using SketchFlow

This session is an instructor-led lab where you get to roll up your sleeves and get your hands on the software. In this lab, you discover principles of good user experience design and you start to build a prototype for an application using the SketchFlow Template for Windows Phone and Expression Blend. Prototyping in Sketchflow allows you to add sample data, customize the look and feel of your data, and add interactivity with objects that you create right in Expression Blend, or that are imported from other sources, such as Adobe Illustrator. There will be a limited number of machines provided to complete the lab for those who are unable to complete the exercises on their own laptops.

Windows Phone 7.5: An Overview and Architecture Deep Dive

Windows Phone is a different kind of phone, architected to put the focus on end users while enabling developers to build compelling, connected experiences that enhance the phone. Peer under the covers to see how the architecture evolved to deliver powerful functionality for users and developers: enabling rapid seamless transitions between applications; delivering continuous user experiences in the background; combined Silverlight/XNA in a unified UI; sharing data between phone and applications; sensor fusion for integration of the physical and virtual worlds; and many more. Along the way, we will demonstrate how Microsoft brought together these features to deliver experiences that are responsive and battery efficient.

Make sure you take the time to register today for TechDays 2011 in Vancouver at the beautiful Vancouver Convention Centre

[This Article Also Appears on Miguel Carrasco.com - Where Marketing and Technology Intersect]

Filed Under: Microsoft, Microsoft Expression, Windows Phone 7 Tagged With: , , , , ,
June 5, 2011 By 100 Comments

Social Media, Digital Marketing, and User Experience

Social Media Digital Marketing User Experience - Imaginet Interactive

Taking Technology to New Heights

I’ve always been a big believer in technologies ability to reshape our lives.  Over the last 20 years you have seen technology make inroads in our enterprise environments. The big shift you are seeing now, why the iPad is so popular, why the XBOX has sold over 55 million consoles, is consumers are driving technology.  Why does this matter?  When consumers start to drive technology adoption, the rules change.  Users want technology that just works, looks fantastic, is enjoyable to use, and gets them excited to show their friends.  Users don’t want viruses, keyboards, mice to plug in.  Users want to swipe, touch, feel, and talk to the technology.  Users want to connect with their friends, and share their accomplishments.

Almost a year ago I made a big shift and joined Imaginet to focus solely on Social Media, Digital Marketing, and User Experience.  Why do these fancy words matter?  I believe there are three key reasons people will choose to use your product, over a competitor’s product:

Connection, Beautiful interfaces, Joy of using technology

Imaginet Interactive was born, and we already working with some amazing companies making a huge difference in the way they do business.  What makes us unique is our ability to blend these core principles, with software development excellence. 

We are currently working on the largest SharePoint Implementation in the world.  We are creating custom desktop experiences for Sport Chek.  We are creating customized internal portals for airlines.  We are creating world-class web sites for large corporations.

I’m not sharing this to brag about how awesome we are, I’m sharing this to make a point. 

Companies that evolve and learn to embrace and understand Social Media, Digital Marketing, and User Experience will leave their competitors in the dust. 

Those that don’t, will be left wondering what hit them.  I would even go as far to say that everything you think you now about IT and Software Development is about to change.  Even the Social Media Winnipeg scene has changed.  The City of Winnipeg even has a page dedicated to Social Media in Winnipeg.

Filed Under: Digital Marketing, Social Media, User Experience Tagged With: , , , ,