Category: Internet

Something I wrote for Engaging Networks

A few weeks ago I received a marketing email from the Engaging Networks team quoting some stats about the possible improvements to website conversion rates that can be achieved with A/B testing. I was caught off guard (but pretty chuffed) when I realised I was being quoted my own case study from a presentation I… Continue reading Something I wrote for Engaging Networks

Bibliofaction short story website needs a new home

Would you like to run Bibliofaction.com? Despite our best efforts, Andrew and I are no longer finding the time to properly look after the Bibliofaction website and community. So it’s time to find someone new to take care of it. It’s going free to a good home (though it has some costs involved and would… Continue reading Bibliofaction short story website needs a new home

Why removing evolution from science textbooks might not really matter

This needs more thought, but writing this has helped me to join up a few ideas I was stewing over with my coffee yesterday morning while my son was napping. So I’ll publish this as is, and your thoughts are welcome. While it’s useful to teach the fundamentals of physics, chemistry and biology in schools,… Continue reading Why removing evolution from science textbooks might not really matter

For a free and open internet, be quick

“On December 3rd, the world’s governments will meet to update a key treaty of a UN agency called the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Some governments are proposing to extend ITU authority to Internet governance in ways that could threaten Internet openness and innovation, increase access costs, and erode human rights online.” – src: protectinternetfreedom.net Here are… Continue reading For a free and open internet, be quick

Learning Backbone.js and Single Page Applications

Following up my post about the backbone.js book I downloaded, I’ve been playing, testing and learning as much as I can. So much so that I’ve neglected my Coursera design course, though I think this is a better use of my time in the long run. This particular Coursera course was mainly to test out… Continue reading Learning Backbone.js and Single Page Applications

On getting agile with Google @App_engine

In the course of just 48 hours I deployed six separate upgrades to Done by When, mostly thanks to Google App Engine. These weren’t major changes, but they were distinct pieces of work driven by user feedback and an analysis of the system/user stats. I was shipping early, and shipping often and had quietly moved… Continue reading On getting agile with Google @App_engine

On the future of publising, today

I’ve had a couple of interactions with non-traditional publishing of traditional books in the last week, so thought I’d make a note of them as a way to digest the experience. First, I wanted to learn Backbone.js, as it (or something like it) will likely be the basis of front-end web based software interaction for… Continue reading On the future of publising, today

A simple and flexible meal planning system

Following on from my post about stealing ideas, here’s the first instalment from my Coursera design project. I’ll share this work as I go along and then I’ll open source the project properly once the course is over (in seven weeks). Design problem definition: I am developing a simple and flexible meal planning system that generates a… Continue reading A simple and flexible meal planning system