journal [paulhammond.org]

Wed 08 November

Being a Dad

It's been quiet around here for the last month or so because I've been busy becoming a Dad.

Things are slowly returning to normal, mostly through a process of redefining "normal". Everything is the same but different, in subtle and awe inspiring ways. It's great.

(photo by Dave Smith)

Sat 07 October

Thu 05 October

Mon 02 October

Wed 27 September

Mon 25 September

Fri 22 September

Thu 21 September

Wed 20 September

Tue 19 September

Mon 18 September

Sun 17 September

Thu 14 September

Wed 13 September

Tue 12 September

Mon 11 September

d.construct 2006

Following on from Barcamp London, this weekend saw 400-odd geeks descend on Brighton for the second d.construct.

Simon and I were there to speak about the Yahoo Developer Network, and how Yahoo use of APIs and web services internally to scale, move faster and encourage innovation. We also threw in some extras, including a discussion of Hack Day, and some bad photos of some well-known UK geeks.

As always, the slides are available.

Dominic Mitchell summarised our key points, and Ms Jen wrote some decent notes on what we actually said. There is also a video out there of the session, but I'm not going to link to it until I've had a chance to watch it myself.

The event as a whole was very different compared with last year - bigger and generally better. When an event goes so smoothly and has a great venue, decent AV equipment, goodie bags, working wifi, a sponsored bar and free crazy golf, then you start to think it's maybe moved beyond the "grassroots" label. But I don't see this as a bad thing - I spoke to several people who flew halfway round the world to attend, often out of their own pocket.

It's a real credit to Clearleft guys that they've established d.construct's worldwide reputation so quickly. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Barcamp London 2006

Barcamp London was over a week ago at the Yahoo offices in London.

I've been reflecting on what happened, and like Ian I think it was a near-perfect barcamp. I led a session at the end of Sunday about what we could change, and we couldn't find a single suggestion that even three people could agree on. Even the wired internet had it's fans.

The success of an event like barcamp is really important for London and the UK - it makes it much easier to organise similar events in the future. In particular, it has opened the doors to new venues and sponsorship opportunities. Yahoo got a huge amount out of the event, and other companies will definitely want to be involved next time.

Thanks to Ben, Ian and Murray for organising it, and the attendees for making it what it is. Expect another barcamp and other similar-yet-different events to happen in the near future.

Sun 10 September

Wed 06 September

Tue 05 September

Sat 02 September

Tue 29 August

Phrases from Foo Camp

"I am not a werewolf"
"I want presence without IM - where I am not an invitation to talk."
Innovation as "a difference that makes a difference"
"Flow has nothing to do with reality. It's about the perception that the next compile will nail it."
"When ThingLinks Go Wrong"
"Mess is only a problem when it bothers you"
"Open Governance"

Of course, most of the really interesting conversations happened when I wasn't writing things down.

(See also writeups from Erik, danah, Scott Berkun, Tom, Niall Kennedy and the usual flickr photos)