The Australian Web Industry Association is having our Annual General Meeting next month, which means we’ve once again got a number of committee positions available for nominations and voting.

The positions are typically for a period of two years, and involve a 1-2 hour monthly teleconference (Eastern States committee) or face-to-face (if in WA), as well as participation in our committee email mailing list (time requirement varies with role, typically 30 – 90 minutes of reading/replying per week).

The reward, being a volunteer position, is the great feeling and fame(?) that you are steering Australia’s longest running web industry Association, and helping shape events (such as Edge of the Web and Australian Web Awards), education and other activities that AWIA are involved with.

There are seven positions on the 12 member board this year, so there is no better time to get involved!

Nominations close at midnight, Friday 24th July. The only prerequisites are that you need to be a financial member of AWIA, and have a keen interest in the web industry. We encourage members from all states to be involved – this ensures a better national coverage.

To nominate for a position on the board, please email a nomination, consisting of a 50-100 word biography to secretary@webindustry.asn.au before the deadline. All nominee statements will be published on the AWIA website allowing people to read about you before voting (if required) at the AGM.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below, catch me on Twitter (@milesb) or via email using miles@webindustry.asn.au

Yes, it’s back on again! After the success of previous BarCampPerth events, in 2007 and 2008, BarCampPerth3 will be held on July 18, 2009 at eCentral TAFE.

If you’ve read my last post, Why you should attend two conferences a year, you’ll appreciate why these events are a fantastic opportunity to grow both professionally and personally.

Unlike a traditional conference, you don’t fork out any money, and you don’t get a slick conference bag or even know who is going to present before the event. You are also encouraged not to just sit on a chair all day, but get involved yourself.

A BarCamp is grass roots education and networking at its best. You come along, and offer to help in any way you can. That could be helping hand out name tags, it could be serving coffee, running AV equipment, taking photographs or doing a presentation yourself.

Everyone pitches in to do their bit, and the day turns out to be great. You meet new people, you learn about new topics, and you leave with a new respect for your craft, the work of others, and the ideology of a grass roots quasi-conference.

My experience of the last two Perth ones have been great. I’ve met plenty of passionate people, I’ve heard some great presentations, and I’ve even given one myself. I encourage you to attend BarCamp3 and see what all the fuss is about. It’ll be free entry, free (and fantastic!) coffee and possibly even free lunch as well – who could ask for more than that?

It’s out of the bag; the Australian Web Awards are now open for entries, and have now been announced to the world.

What started as a humble black tie cocktail event in Perth four years ago has grown from 2005 to be a large glitzy event in Perth, and now, after many requests, we’re taking it nationally.

Previous winners and attendees of the WA Web Awards will tell you how great it is. Not only is it a great opportunity to don a more formal outfit and enjoy a great meal and networking with other web professionals, becoming a finalist is a joy for those who manage to get to this point.

We’re starting off ambitious however cautious. This year, we’ll have two cocktail events in two capitals; being Brisbane, QLD and Sydney, NSW first, before concluding with the national awards to be held at the end of the Edge of the Web conference, held in Perth.

I’m already being asked if we plan to grow to include events in other capital cities in the future – the answer is we hope so! It’s not an easy challenge both financially and logistically to hold these events, so our caution this year is to only hold two events before getting too big for our boots. We’d love to see them in every capital city; however that may take some time to achieve.

As for always holding the finale event in Perth, no, it isn’t set in stone for the future, so don’t be surprised if it does shift cities in the future – who knows what the future holds.

Thanks also to the amazing volunteers of the Australian Web Industry Association, who put this whole thing together in their spare time, along with the wonderful ladies from Red Horizon Events. This wouldn’t be possible without you, Helen, Jan, Kay, Myles and Rebecca – a HUGE thanks!

The Australian Web Awards are truly a showcase of outstanding work from Australian Web Designers and Developers. As they say, you need to be in it, to win it, so support this great initiative, by heading on over and entering your best work right now. Entries close July 7th, so get cracking!