I’m heading up to Toronto this weekend to help out with the first Microsoft Web Camp.

Microsoft’s Web Platform and developer tools like ASP.NET 4 and Visual Studio 2010 can make you a more productive web developer? If you’re currently working with PHP, Ruby, ASP or older versions of ASP.NET and want to hear how you can create amazing websites more easily, then register for a Web Camp near you today!

Microsoft’s Web Camps are free, two-day events that allow you to learn and build on the Microsoft Web Platform. At camp, you will hear from Microsoft experts on the latest components of the platform, including ASP.NET Web Forms, ASP.NET MVC, jQuery, Entity Framework, IIS, Visual Studio 2010 and much more.

Web Camps also provide the opportunity to get hands on with labs and get creative by building in teams. All this with Microsoft experts on hand to guide you through. [Toronto info here]

Web Camp is a great example of Microsoft reaching out to the developer community (something they’ve traditionally done and done well), educating and catalyzing to create.

I’m really looking forward to hanging out with James Senior and running the pitch-and-build part of the weekend (similar to Startup Weekends I help facilitate). The goal for participants is to learn about the software and platforms during the day on Friday and apply what they’ve learned and leverage Microsoft experts and resources as they develop applications Friday night and all day Saturday. I’ll also be presenting a presentation developed my good friend Dan Rockwell on ‘protobaking‘. A successful weekend means live, functioning apps Saturday night!

These kinds of weekends are fantastic. Why? Because they are isolated periods of time where creative, talented people come together and actually MAKE something. As we say with Startup Weekend – All Action. No Talk.

The weekend up in Toronto will be very cool. Why? Because no only will we have individuals and folks interested in startups, but we’ll also have people and teams coming in from large corporations (we’re expecting 300+ attendees). I’m a huge advocate of corporate techs and people participating in weekends like this. It’s a chance to act like a startup – restricted time and resources combined with an absolute deadline and the need to create something. In my opinion, it’s a great exercise and I always hope they take it back to their work environments. The more corporations allow internal groups to act like startups, the more innovation they will see, I think, and the faster it will happen.

Can’t wait to meet new people, learn more about what Microsoft is doing with regard to open source tools and web platforms. It’s always great to watch how a condensed timeline will catalyze great things.

Dynamit was honored as one of the “Best Places to Work” in 2010 & 2011 by Columbus Business First newspaper and Interactive Agency of the Year. Times are even better in 2012 and we’re hiring a Web/Graphic Designer for our aggressively growing team.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on cutting edge projects for well-known brands in a dynamic, entrepreneurial and highly creative environment. Please email resumes/cover letters and portfolio information (documents or links to online examples) to Gary Moneysmith via gmoney@dynamit.us.

A web/graphic designer on the Dynamit team will:

• Be well versed with Adobe Creative Suite: Strong knowledge of Photoshop, experience with Illustrator and InDesign.
• Have a strong understanding of Usability & Web Trends: Experience with user interface design, knowledge of best practices & examples of this in a portfolio or live site/application design. They will also be up-to-date on web trends and design tactics with examples.
• Have experience in user experience design (UXD) designing application and system interfaces. This experience is crucial for this position.
• Have Basic Programming Knowledge: We’re not looking for a developer here, but the designer should have the ability to design for web with a knowledge of the boundaries and how to design for execution by a programmer.
• Have a Strong Portfolio: We’d like to see much more web work than print.
• Be eager to learn, with a passion for design & the web. The designer should have a strong internal drive for industry knowledge and be committed to furthering the craft.

Experience is important, but personality is key. Our culture is what drives us, and we’re looking to build our team with someone who both fits and contributes to it.

The position is full time at our office in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package as well as a fun, high-energy, intellectually-stimulating work environment.

Benefits Include

• Competitive salary (compensation will be based on skills and experience)
• Fully paid medical/dental insurance for employees
• Paid parking
• Unlimited vacation time (within reason)
• Office bar + climbing wall — not recommended together

Don’t sit back. If you want to work in a fast paced work environment with great people who love what they do, apply today.

About Dynamit
Dynamit is a digital agency based in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We work with clients and brands on digital initiatives that include strategy, design, user experience and development. We influence communication and commerce. Client work includes Hilton Worldwide, Charley's Grilled Subs, McGraw-Hill, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), E-Z-GO, American Electric Power (AEP), Columbus College of Art & Design and the Ohio State Medical Center (OSUMC) to name but a few.