Ever since I started working at Arc Technology Group, one of my responsibilities has been helping to address the long-term needs of our clients. I quickly concluded that there is a contradiction between the strengths of a web development specialist firm like ours, which focuses on several-month-long projects for fairly complicated new websites, and the occasional needs of established users for a

Joomla-istas are technology lovers. So you'll all want to go to Chicago's Millennium Park and check out the Wired Nextfest.

There are some very cool robots that you can program and turn loose! And how about some no-touch presentation screens, a la "Minority Report"?

There's a whole range of technologies on display, from Xerox's down-to-earth printer ink solutions to NASA's out-of-this-world

OK, I've been using the blog functionality here at Joomla Chicago for a couple of months, and it occurred to me that I should tell everybody: this MyBog extension is fabulous!

I love the fact that as soon as I log on to the Joomla Chicago site, I see the link to the "MyBlog Dashboard." Naturally, the first thing I want to do is go in and see an overview of my blogs, and see what the traffic's

Great article in the NY Times today about the use of color-coded wrist bracelets in hospitals to help staff quickly distinguish conditions and instructions, such as allergy, fall risk, DNR, and others. Great idea, right? The issue is that (a) it only helps if the colors are used consistently, and (b) it only helps if people know what the colors mean (in other words, there has to be a common

I saw this statement in the New York Times yesterday and I thought it perfectly summed up why Chicago is the place for commercially meaningful web applications to be born: "Web services start-ups . . . use simple, off-the-shelf technologies and cost very little to get up and running. Their business advantage comes from their Web sites' artistic design and ease of use, and their challenge is

I've written a lot about search engine optimization (SEO) in recent weeks, mainly because all our clients are making it a top priority. Now I'm excited to learn that there will be a training webinar available on Joomla and search engine optimization (SEO).

I like the fact that it will be two full hours focussed on SEO. I'm particularly interested in the Joomla-specific elements, such as "How

I was going to title this post "I blog, therefore I am . . . " but after the eye-opening presentation by Derrick Sorles last night at the Chicago Webdesign Meetup group, I've become much more aware of that blogs are serious search engine optimization (SEO) business!

One of the things that has been fascinating to me about the development of Joomla! Chicago, and the Joomla! EXPO in May, is the interaction it has given us with the marketing, design, and development communities in surrounding states, and with growing hubs of Joomla activity in Milwaukee, Detroit, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and other cities.

Want to take your participation in the Joomla community to the next level through social networking? Here are a few things you can do . . . .

First, get registered on the Joomla! Chicago site and spend some time providing a full profile, including a description of your interests and skills. Registration enables you to connect with other members of the community through the Joomla! Chicago forum .

Avery Cohen  of Metrist Partners (www.metrist.com) gave an outstanding presentation on search engine optimization (SEO) at the September meeting of Joomla! Chicago.

Based on the way the 50 people in the room hung on every word that Avery said, I expect to see the following developments in the days and weeks ahead:

 

• * a dedicated page on Search Engine Optimization on the Joomla! Chicago site
•  *