The DNN Summit is coming up very soon and I have slowly been whittling down my list of Day 3 sessions. Really, if I could attend them all it would be great, but I'd need a month. So below are my session picks for each of the timeslots.
For those of you who don't know, DNN is a CMS, not unlike WordPress and Drupal... but more like Drupal than WordPress. You can build either a small or very large integrated and complex site using this platform. There is also a thriving DNN Community of developers. DNN can be installed as the free version (called DNN Platform) and the paid version by DNN Corp (there's a few types and they are branded as Evoq) . The DNN Summit is a conference where the DNN enthusiasts get together and discuss what's happening. Its my first year after more than 6 years working on DNN based implementations. Check out more conference info here https://goo.gl/mabqeo.
This is not to say they are my pick as the best seminar in that timeslot, I'm just being selfish and thinking of what would interest me. Hopefully they have all the sessions recorded.
9.10 - 10.10 - the future of SEO is mobile - by David Kidd
Having a session about mobile is not exactly groundbreaking stuff anymore and at ITworx we have been developing mobile responsive web presences for a long time now. I freely admit that there still remains much to learn about DNN and techniques to make DNN lighter and more nimble. This is why this session interests me, David mentions mobile user experience and mobile optimisation. There are often cases where the mobile user experience is treated as a bit of an afterthought and left till last. This is why I like this session as it can provide some clever techniques but more importantly it should help ITworx continue to become more mobile-focused.
10.20 - Lead gen: The next generation - Cassidi Brickner
Yes my second pick is another marketing focused session. While were traditionally a technical company, Sites and forms that look great and interact well with the user are just so important.
I'm keen to find out about the B2B and B2C tools Cassidi recommends Content optimisation is a big one for me.
12.40 - DNN: In the Game! - Chad Nash
Sounds very interesting. Chad is the Founder of Data Springs, a very popular module suite. I like the techniques that will be covered in this session where DNN is the central storage for mobile apps. As an Integration themed session it ticks all the boxes with triggers (hooks?), 3rd party modules, Restful APIs etc. We've traditionally been quite storng at integrating DNN with CRMs and other cloud based systems but a lot of these techniques seem to show that we need to have more faith in DNN as the centre of the integration puzzle.
13.50 - Web Intelligence, Get in the Game - Mark Saunders
I"m sensing a real 'game' theme here.... lame joke. Google analytics and any analytics we can get our hands on in a way that makes sense to us as developers sounds good to me. Being able to translate these analytics to our clients that are business owners who see their site as a valuable tool is a definite win.
15.20 - Introduction to SPA Modules for Front-End Developers - Ralph Williams
"I kow nothing" (like that Snow guy), well not much about SPA Modules and how they can help. Maybe I should ask my senior and mid level developers. Or maybe i could instead go to this session. It looks interesting and I'm keen to find out as much about about SPA (Single Page Applications) and this lightweight and faster approach to adding custom functionality.
OR
What's New in Evoq and What's Coming in 2017 - Will Morgenweck
This is being presented by Will Morgenweck a true DNN heavyweight. So I'm keen to know as much as I can about what's coming up with DNN and how it will not just remain relevant but become the CMS of choice for organisations that need a robust CMS. There's a number of things in version 9 i like, such as the persona bar etc. and the general feeling of working on a system that doesn't have a bit of an antiquated look about it, and it seems that there is a big marketing focus in recent releases that was missing a few years ago.
16.30 - Online marketing at DNN - Dennis Shiao with Franck Ardourel
And for the last session I chose ANOTHER marketing themed session. I'm not going to lie, this is my focus at the conference. We're adept at building complex sites and have initially tried to stay out of the way of designers and the UI/UX crowd, however realised a while ago now that looking good is more than just an aesthetics thing, it gets more sales and more engagement. thats the truth. And connecting DNN to a CRM will beinteresting to see.
And on that note I leave you. What are your picks for day 3 of the DNN Summit? There is no wrong answer here.
Anyway time to pack my ski boots,
Waldo