Writing

Tech Culture

The public sector web design dating game

Somebody contacts you out of the blue, possibly through a friend or from an advert you posted on a dating site, interested in meeting up for a drink and possibly more. They like what they've seen so far, but before telling you about themselves, they want a little more information. It's noting big and perfectly normal. They just want a copy of your passport, your last quarter bank statement and the phone numbers of your past couple of dates. Oh, and could you sign this contract agreeing with my standard date conditions assuming I chose to go out with you.

Design Practice

My First Impressions of Balsamiq

I recently received a wireframe from a potential client outlining their plans for a new homepage, which in itself was pretty impressive. It showed that the client had knowledge of the industry as well as a good understanding about the importance of planning. To produce this wireframe our prospective client had used a relatively new tool called Balsamiq, which aims to capture the sketchy nature of hand drawn wireframes with the utility of a GUI application. On the surface this seems like a really good idea and it obviously allowed the client to produce something relatively quickly with little or no prior experience. As such, I think a tool like Balsamiq does have a place in the non-professional market. However I think the tool has a number of fairly fundamental problems.

Speaking & Events

Conferencing part 2 - SXSW

Every year SXSW takes on a slightly new dimension so it's never the same experience twice. Change is inevitable and I always have a good time at the event. However I always find myself harking back to years gone by. I guess that's age for you.

Speaking & Events

Conferencing part 1 - ETech

As you're no doubts aware I'm an unabashed conference junky, so it will come as no surprise to you that I've spent the last couple of weeks in the States attending three such events. First up was "ETech":http://en.oreilly.com/et2009/, the emerging technology conference from O'Reily. Moved from it's spiritual home in San Diego, this year it was help in the Chino wearing capitol of Silicon Valley, San Jose. The event was much smaller than last year and the tone was somewhat downbeat. However I don't think this was necessarily down to the economy as a lot of people were speculating. ETech is an amazing place to showcase new technologies and is where start-ups like Flickr made their debut. However if there are no new breakthroughs on the horizon, the events obviously lacks its reason d'etra. I think that was the case this year.

Tech Culture

Why Friends Reunited Failed

I was recently interviewed by the Independent on Sunday to get a design perspective on why Friends Reunited ultimately failed. However rather than the design of the site, I think the design of the system was ultimately to blame.

Speaking & Events

9 Ways to Stop Your Conference Panel From Sucking

Each year, hundreds of assorted geeks will get the chance to speak on a panel at SXSW, many for the first time. I've witnesses some truly inspiring and thought provoking sessions at SXSW. However I've also had to sit through my share of turkeys, from the mind numbingly boring to the painfully embarrassing.