About Me
I’m a London-based freelance mobile app developer and consultant with experience in top London web agencies and social media. You can read all about my career type stuff on my work pages. Hopefully on this page you’ll be able to learn more about me than you’d find in any resumé – If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch.
A sense of identity
I first started dealing with the web back in 1996 at a time when everybody was creating their own little space on the web to promote themselves and their hobbies. You could get everything from Terry Pratchett fan sites to computer game walkthroughs but crucially there was very little actual business. This, of course, quickly changed and the web went through a period of marketing hype before the inevitable burst of the “dot com” bubble. We then had the re-invention of the internet into that awful phrase “web 2.0″ and I watched the focus of the web swing back again to the individuals that make it and again to creating a sense of identity; your own little niche on the information super highway (another great clichéd phrase). This time, rather than learning HTML and trying to decide if a <MARQUEE> tag (yes it was uppercase in those days) is what you need to stand out, we are instead witnessing the birth of the “lifestream”; a syndication of our identity on multiple social networks.
Below are a list of a few of the websites I use regularly. Hopefully you will be able to piece together my online identity from the segments scattered on each site.
- Twitter – The micro-blogging service that is now quintessential for everyone involved with tech. I tend to tweet about the latest rumblings from Apple and Google.
- GitHub – All of the code that I make available publicly can be found on my GitHub page. Take a look at my projects to see some of it in action.
- Flickr – I’ve become a bit of a keen photographer so you can find all of my shots here. I occasionally upload artwork I’ve done as well.
- Pinboard – Interesting websites I’ve bookmarked whilst browsing the big ol’ interweb.
- Last.fm – My musical interests (you can also see what I’m listening to right now).
- Good Reads – Books I’m reading and books I’d like to read!
- LinkedIn – If you want me for business, this would be the place to see my full employment history, recommendations, and ambitions.
- Firefox – I’ve made a couple of extensions for the Mozilla Firefox browser which you can look at here. You can also see details on my extensions page.
Please feel free to “add” me on any of the websites above or send me messages, recommendations, etc.
Trivia
I thought it might be fun to have some random facts about me so I’ve added them below for your delectation.
- I am a massive Doctor Who geek.
- I have a first class marksmen award for rifle shooting.
- For some reason, I find playing Pokémon very soothing when I’m stressed.
- I’m very musical – I play the piano, organ, and sing bass. I also write my own music (including an hour long opera based on The Fall of Troy).
- I am a complete and utter Apple Fanboy although not in a militant way! You can use Windows / Linux if you prefer, I like my Mac.
- I nearly became an Air Traffic Controller in the RAF although I had the aptitude to be a pilot – I am able to fly 4 seater aircraft.
- I spent 9 months directing a production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Iolanthe” at the Northcott Theatre for a week long production.
- I ended up studying Politics & Philosophy at Exeter University but was originally meant to do Psychology.
- On a project I did with some friends (@carlgaywood & @andykent) at Hack Day London, Yahoo! rewrote their Maps API for us.
- When I was around 7 years old, I dreamt of working as a croupier.
Media
I'm often asked to speak at conferences and on television relating to mobile apps and web development. I've collected a few of my appearances below:
- Working Lunch - On the 6th December 2007 I was asked to appear on BBC Television's "Working Lunch" program to talk about error messages on e-commerce websites. I’ve also given them various quotes for later programs including a report on online cashback schemes.
- The Gadget Show - The team from Channel Five's "The Gadget Show" contacted me in mid-2009 to take part in a program about iPhone app development. The program went out in October 2009 and the app that I built, Social Beacon, reached #4 in the free download charts. You can read all about the development of this project on my weblog.
As well as doing presentations at events like London Web Standards, I am also writing a book on iPad Development for a major technical publisher. It is expected to be released during 2012.