Last night I had the pleasure of emceeing a tech forum where Jeff Whatcott, VP of Marketing at Acquia, Inc. gave a very informative presentation of his views on overall trends in the content management market, specifically in Drupal as a social publishing system and how his company is forging the future for Drupal into commercial marketplaces.  His presentation can be found here.

From Jeff’s Twitter feed:

“Completed a webcast to a Drupal meetup in virginia. Seemed to go well. Good questions.”

Frank Febrarro of Phase2 Technology then demonstrated a module they have recently released for Calais.  The Calais web service allows you to automatically annotate your content with rich semantic metadata, including Entities like People and Companies and Events & Facts like Acquisitions and Management Changes.  Phase 2 has integrated this service as a module for Drupal 5 and 6.  You can watch a short screencast Frank recorded to demo main features of the module.

Toward the end we as a group decided to keep this meeting rolling as the Drupal Northern Virginia Users Group.  We are targeting the second Tuesday of the month.  This forum will be very much dependent on audience participation for suggestions of topics and also utilizing a rotating emcee.  If you’re interested in Drupal we would love to have you join us.

I’d like to thank Teqcorner for providing the space for us along with Andy Forbes and Arman Anwar of WorthPoint for their invaluable assistance in coordinating this event.

For more information on future meetings, to suggest topics, volunteer to host or make a presentation please contact me at marc [dot] benton [at] worthpoint [dot] com.

Reston, VA (PRWEB) February 17, 2008 — WorthPoint Corporation, the premier website for art, antiques, and collectibles, announced today that Freeman’s Auction House, the oldest Auction House in America, has selected WorthPoint as a data publishing partner. Under the new agreement, Freeman’s will provide WorthPoint with upcoming and historical auction data to be published on the WorthPoint web site. With information provided by Freeman’s, WorthPoint is now able to provide more comprehensive data than ever.

“We are very excited about our partnership with Freeman’s,” said Will Seippel, CEO and Chairman of WorthPoint. “With this new relationship, we add the sales of early American decorative arts, pottery, fine art, and furnishings to our database, from over two hundred years of historic sales at Freeman’s. No one is more knowledgeable on the subject of 18th, 19th, and 20th century American art and historical documents than they are, and WorthPoint is proud to include Freeman’s records in its data collection.”

WorthPoint is a collector’s social network and search engine rolled into one. The website is changing the process of assessing worth for collectibles by providing a vast database of sales records wherein an individual can assess the worth of their own collection. Through WorthPoint, collectors connect with experts to learn more about authenticity and value in art, antiques, and vintage items. Through the WorthPoint online community, members can contact other collectors interested in buying, selling, or swapping stories, and they can share their insight and knowledge through the forums and wikis.
http://www.worthpoint.com

Spanning more than two centuries of notable auctions, Freeman’s Auction House of Philadelphia is a leader in the field of historic documents, fine art, and decorative arts. Freeman’s portfolio includes the sale of an original copy of the Declaration of Independence in 1969, the auctions of historic property, and multi-million dollar sales of modern art and furnishings. Freeman auctioneers specialize in Pennsylvania creative and historical output from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries including early American documents, folk art, furniture, decorative arts and modern design. Its recent sales range from jewelry, to modern art to oriental rugs. With partners Lyon and Turnball of Scotland and England and with a new location in Charlottsville, Virginia, the future looks equally promising for this prominent, historic, American auction house.
http://www.freemansauction.com

Contact:
Eve Hyman
WorthPoint
770-777-8221
770 777-8228
eve.hyman@worthpoint.com
www.worthpoint.com