whatleydude

The content, obviously comes from me. The framing, the clean-theme and overall niceness that the content is framed within, that came from Pepsmedia.

However, there is a third part of the equation that doesn’t get much airtime or love…  and that is of the hosting, the ‘backend’ …the admin if you will.

And that just so happens to be one Mr Nicholas Butler.

via Phil Campbell

Nik, also known as Loudmouthman, has been looking after the backend of this wordpress site ever since it first fumbled it’s way into the world four years or so ago. Before he came along, I was posting my mad mutterings onto a VOX blog and, believe it or not, before that, even MySpace. Yeah, I know.

But, ever since I bought my very own URL, Nik has been looking after my backend. What this means is: when I first set up, he did all the annoying bits. And, when my site is down, I get to ask him (normally via Twitter), if it is for him too. When the answer is yes, it is back up again within minutes. MINUTES.

I don’t know how it works and I don’t know how he does it.  What I do know is – for example, this past the weekend, on Sunday in fact, I wasn’t able to actually publish anything and, within 30mins of emailing Nik, the problem was fixed.

This is nothing short of awesome.

What I’m trying to say is: if you’re doing anything that involves IT, admin, web-backendy things, wordpress, hosting, security, load-testing etc…  Generally all that other stuff that you don’t really want to think about, EVER; be you big business, or tiny start-up, SPEAK TO NIK BUTLER.

I whole-heartedly recommend (and use) his services.

via Benjamin Ellis

And I’m not alone either, Sizemore is a fan and, if you’re still not sold, go read the comments on this blog post Nik wrote about giving ‘lasting advice’.

Epic.

Nik Butler. This site wouldn’t be here without him.

Cleaning out my RSS, ten feeds at a time. Parts one (including an explanation of the exercise) and two are in the bag, so let’s crack on with part three -

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Alec Baldwin
This is the feed from Alec Baldwin’s semi-regular column over at The Huffington Post. I don’t read the Huff, but I do read Alec Baldwin. Intelligent, witty, worldly, entertaining and overall a brilliant thought leader, Baldwin is one of those irregular posters who I get excited about every time I see the ‘(1) unread’ light up next to his name. Read this.
Decision: Keep

Alfred App
Vero Pepperrell (and her husband Andrew) designed the theme for this blog back when they were getting their business off the ground. One of their ‘side’ projects (which has since grown and grown and grown) is Alfred App, a Mac OSX Quicklaunch Application. This is their blog. I’ve got Alfred installed, and I’m a subscriber to their newsletter too so I don’t really need to be subscribed to the blog anymore. HOWEVER, if you’re looking for the defacto search app for Mac, then look at Alfred. He’s awesome.
Decision: Remove

All About Symbian – News
This is the first of non-full feeds that I’ve come across. I’ve explained RSS before, however, if RSS readers are hooks that pull in fresh content from websites across the world, then the non-full RSS feed is the equivalent of bagging an old leathery boot. Yeah, it feels like you’ve got a bite, but when it lands on the boat there’s only a soggy title and the first 90 or so words of the content. Rubbish.

There’ll be a fair few items that get thrown out for not being ‘full feed’, but All About Symbian isn’t one of them (yet). The authors of this site know their onions and, given that the Symbian platform is on its way out, I can’t see this lasting much longer. However, while it *is* here, I want to read it.
Decision: Keep (for now)

ALL THAT IS GOOD
The blog of ex-Nokian marketing guru, Dan Goodall, ALL THAT IS GOOD is a though-provoking read. If you’re in creative strategy, and/or marketing activation around digital/social media and you have an interest in community building and content co-creation, then Dan’s blog is well worth a read. Yes, I just spewed forth a whole ton of social media garbage, but Dan knows his stuff and was creating online brand equity while you were still in nappies. He doesn’t blog too often, but when he does – you read it, and you pay attention. Got it? Good. All good.
Decision: Keep 

Allix: this is my brain on…
No updates since December 2009. I love you, Allix, but you’re crap at blogging.
Decision: Remove

Alone in the Dark
Well-written film reviews. Short, sharp and an enjoyable read.
Decision: Keep

Al’s Blog
My friend Alex Barclay blogs in fits and starts; sometimes going for months on end without an update, he’ll suddenly go daily for a two week period and then close up again, like nothing had ever happened. Alex and I used to tread the boards together (well, we did two plays) and, as a budding actor in Londontown, his blog can be an amusing read. I love him dearly and, better yet, he knows how to write too.
Decision: Keep

An International Smoothie
There isn’t much I can say about Sam Ismail. He disappeared a while back and, if there’s any truth to what went down, he’s going to stay that way for a very long time. Take care Sam, wherever you are.
Decision: Remove

Andrew Currie on WordPress
Dead blog. Andrew has since moved on (I’ll talk about how awesome he is when I get to his other RSS feed later on in ‘O’ – I’m sure).
Decision: Remove

anonlinegreenworld.com
The blog of 1000heads creative director (and one of my closest friends), Robbie Dale. Described as ‘a record of the beautiful, inspiring and constantly surprising world we live in’ – Robbie’s content is often as interesting as it is surprising. Not a bad insight into what makes creative people tick; take a look.
Decision: Keep

——

Part four, coming soon.

Whatley out.

I’m publicly sorting through my RSS feed, ten feeds at a time.
Background (and part 1) posted last week.

Next ten, here we go -

501st TK Project
We’re into part two and we hit the first of my geeky/arty subscriptions that help connect things in a different way. The 501st TK Project is, believe it or not, an entire blog dedicated to Stormtrooper Helmet mods. No, no really. IT IS AWESOME. Well, it was. The last post went live on Christmas Eve 2010 and there hasn’t been one since. I’ve no idea why. Sad really. The blog is still live so you’re still able to check out the community submissions however, for the purpose of this exercise, it’s time to cut.
Decision: Remove 

76square
Ha! Hilariously this is the ex-tumblr of one Stefan Constantinescu – the chap that originally inspired this series of posts (and someone with whom I’m now podcasting – more on that, later) God knows when he stopped tumbling, but it looks like the blog is dead. So… even though it started out well… it’s time to say goodbye.
Decision: Remove 

:: gia’s blog ::
Gia Milinovich is a lovely woman. I first met her at the original Tuttle club (or maybe perhaps through Seesmic, I forget) and the soft, warm american drawl had me at hello. These days, she’s known as Mrs Brian Cox (something she’s written about also) but having worked on everything from X-Files through to Indiana Jones (and a fair bit inbetween) her blog is quite frankly, excellent.
Decision: Keep

a binary life (aka ‘the typing monkey’)
The blog of my friend Ana Bee. Ana and I met on the now-defunct (but fondly remembered) Finnish social network, Jaiku. A former Londoner who now lives back in her native Poland, Ana’s distinct point of view on the world is one that I quite enjoy. That as well being quite bonkers means that her blog gets to stay.
Decision: Keep 

a Brilliant Blog
Brilliant by name, brilliant by nature – I met Jeb Brilliant at Mobile World Congress several years back. We’ve met up several times since then, even managing to work together on both Mobile Geeks of LA + Las Vegas, and he’s a great guy. A massive mobile head, like me, his opinions often jive with mine – so I like to read them.
Decision: Keep 

A smidge of what I fancy
I love Peter Hay. The end.
Decision: Keep

About Foursquare
When I was working at the ‘heads (and constantly getting my inner creative technologist on), being on top of the latest and greatest developments across multiple social networks was part of the game. About Foursquare, the unofficial source for all things related to the location-based service, was one of my tools (and it helped). Lately, it’s mainly been about badges and promotions but, that aside, it’s still a good way to keep an eye on what brands are doing in this space. It’s rare that anything gets missed, and on that basis alone, it stays.
Decision: Keep 

Adam Greenfield’s Speedbird
Futurologist, ex-Nokian and author (of the fantastic ‘Everyware: the dawning age of of ubiquitous computing’), Adam Greenfield is one helluva smart guy. I saw him speak once, at Nokia Open Labs 2008, where he discussed how the line between man and machine will continually blur over the coming years and used the humble contact lens as his example. While he doesn’t blog that much these days, he’s still an engaging writer and, when he does put e-pen to e-paper, I’m all ears / eyes.
Decision: Keep 

adliterate
The blog of Saatchi & Saatchi strategy director, Richard Huntington. I like it.
Decision: Keep 

AdVerve
Creative inspiration from Darryl, Bill and Angela. I found this blog after following Darryl there after he left his switched from Brandflakes for Breakfast (another great source of interesting advertising stuff). There’s a whole bunch of cool stuff that gets chucked out several times a day. Good to keep an eye on what’s going on out in the industry. Especially good for ‘Yeah, been done’ conversations.
Decision: Keep 

—

Part two finished. Part three coming at some point in the future.
Meanwhile, while we’re sharing, do have any suggestions for blogs I should be reading?

Let me know.

Muchos gracias.

Are we over water now? I think so. At least, we should be. I guess we’ve been up for an hour now, maybe longer. My toes hurt.

Damn shoes.

I love my job. Six seats to my right a couple of competition winners sit happily drinking beer, looking forward to their prize; two VIP red blue carpet tickets to the Tron: Legacy ‘World Premiere’ in Hollywood.

I was at the London one last weekend. That was cool. Although Patrick probably nailed it best when he said “Premieres are fun but it’s essentially like going to the cinema with a suit on” – Yes Pat, just like that (if you ignore the Hollywood superstars arriving around you and of course the free popcorn.. that’s always a winner. Let’s not forget that).

LA. Again.

I’ve been there before y’see, although last time was a holiday, this time it’s for work. I think I’ve managed to wangle some down time over the coming week, with both Sunday evening and Monday daytime currently cleared for catching up with some of my favourite Californians. Matt & Jen namely and probably Jeb too, if there’s time.

I love the internetz for stuff like this. Having such a large global network means that more often than not there is always someone to see or meet. Some might see that as an annoyance (and to an extent, I can understand why), however if I ever want to completely escape… utterly switch off… then I know how to do that too.

Obviously you wouldn’t know when those times happen because I don’t actually talk about them. But they are there. Gently. Flowing back and forth.  Slowly. Like a soft breath on the wind…

But I like people. I love people. Even the inconsiderate German chap in front of me on this flight (seat thrown back, feet pushing against the wall in front) I love them all.

Well, I try…

I’ve raced over the deadline and time has caught up with me. Annoying. Time hasn’t been my friend and a full year has lapped my moleskine entries.

In a word; balls. Time to knuckle down and bust these guys out. The next few posts are going to be ALL moleskine entries.

I really need to catch up.

Until later…

Not really much to see here.

The interface is quite twee but aside from that, nothing to write home about. I’ll keep playing and see what else it can do.

The adventures with the Nexus One continue…

Moleskine entry: July 9th, 2009

I’ve never flown this far South before. Cape Town is 10hrs straight down. Damaraland, Namibia 2hrs back up again.

The stars are very different here.

Last night we slept out under the skies, in the middle of a half-million hectare concession, where people, wildlife and animals all co-exist together. Rhino, Springbok, Zebra, Giraffe, Leopard, Cheetah, Elephant and Ostrich. We’re told there’s no real danger, but we’re quiet all the same.

On the way out, Eric – our guide – remarks that the stripes of a Zebra are as unique as that of a human fingerprint.

“Zebras have human fingerprints?”…asks a not-really-listening Suhel.
“Yes Suhel, Zebras have human fingerprints.”

We laugh, uncontrollably.

Lions walked past through our camp, right past them. There are paw prints outside my door. I heard them late, out there in the dark, purring their deep, low grumble. Not quite a growl, not quite a roar but still… that sound.

A glimpse through the window revealed nothing. I could see the light from a distant toilet-tent knocking gently in the trees, but that is all. The moonlight, so bright out here in the middle of nowhere, shines down clearly, basking all in pale illumination.  But I see nothing.

Still, I hear them mumble.

I’ve been away.

This entry – originally written in long hand at around 32,000ft on April 30th – might explain why things have been quiet of late…
__________________________________________________________

It’s official. I’m on Holiday.

The last time I took any kind of break like this was in the gap between my last job and this one, some 20months ago in fact.
Sitting on this plane mere hours from my destination, eagerly awaiting my arrival, I look forward to days of Sun, sea and sand along with a smattering of sight-seeing & shopping.

The City of Angels is where I’m headed.

Plans ahead, although few in number, are making me smile; Dinner with friends, drinks with others.

Plenty to see, find and do and yet – there’s no urgency around any of it.

There is no rush.
There is no fuss.
There is only L.A.

And I like it.

Here’s to good food, damn good company and here’s to having a bloody nice time!

__________________________________________________________

I’m back now and, as seems to be the norm l whenever I go away, I’ve been catching up with a lot of writing.
Stay tuned.

Whatley out.