Has it really been a month since I last blogged?
This month has gone by so fast, it feels like I only launched Tickets a couple days ago. Let’s see if I can nicely summarize what’s been going on in the world of Andrew.
Tickets
So Tickets has now been online for just over a month, it’s got 62 users, nearly 1289 tickets and google has index about 1430 pages of it. Code-wise, I’ve added custom backgrounds to it as well as optimizing the interface in a number of places.
Here are some early stats figures:
- Total pageviews: 13,690
- Unique Visits: 1,199
- Return Visitors: 379
I’ve been posting loads of quick bits of info to it, like pictures, comments and links, mainly using it as a tumblelog but it also mixes in with everyone else’s on the Recent Tickets page, there is a nice amount of discussion going on throughout the site.
I’ve also removed the invite system, so now you can just signup and get posting right away, completely free and easily: Ticketapp.com/signup
Greenvoice
Loads of stuff has been going on at Greenvoice.com this past month, which is the main reason for the lack of blog posts here, it’s addictive working for such a cool company. The team I’m with really know there stuff and they respect me for what I know too (completely the opposite to my previous job), so much so that I received a pay rise last week!
The kind of work I have been doing there has shifted slightly, moving from out and out design (since we have the main design already) and more towards improving the interface, making it easier to use and removing barriers to entry like combining the login and signup page: Greenvoice.com/signup
I’ve also been out and about with Greenvoice and my camera; we had a promo tent at the Big Green Gathering in Chedder (I did the design for the 2 giant banners), you can check out the photos in the BGG flickr set.
We also went to document the protests over a proposed third runway for Heathrow Airport at the Climate Change Camp 2007, there were almost as many riot police as protesters and a number of times they clashed resulting in much running and shouting, I was on hand with my trust D40 to snap the action and I got some really cool shorts. By the end of the day I was considering becoming a paparazzi photographer just because it’s so fun!
You can se all 300 photos from the protest in this flickr set
We have a couple new things coming in the next week or so that are pretty special:
- Facebook App - As much as I am personally against Facebook apps (lets not get into that whole debate) we have been building one on the side and it’s nearing completion.
- User Submitted News - Think Digg for Environmental news (ala hugg.com) but inside of Greenvoice, I’ve done all of the coding on this feature myself and I can’t wait to show it off.
Other stuff
I forgot to mention that I had my Graduation from Uni (BEng Robotics and Automated Systems) with a Second, it was an interesting day, wearing my cap and gown although pretty boring to sit through 300 students walking across a stage individually. I managed to get members of my family to come who had not seen each other in 15 years and they spoke and got along ok too!
You can see all the photos I took there in my flickr set: flickr.com/photos/nez/sets/72157600966614295
I’ve been flat hunting for the past couple of weeks, mainly via Gumtree. I’m looking to get a studio or 1 bed flat in the Notting Hill area. It’s not cheap by any means but being that much closer to the center of London means I’m not loosing 3 hours a day traveling as well as being about to go out in the evenings and not have to leave at 11pm to catch the last train (and I am NOT getting the night bus!).
The main thing I have found so far is that landlords can’t help but lie in their advert! Everything single place I have been to see had some kind of lie in the advert. I understand that they want to make their place seem more attractive, but when the place is a dump it doesnt matter how much you lie, if it’s crap and I’m still not going to take it, stop wasting my time!
Got some new shoes too after my old ones got wrecked at the BGG, usually this wouldnt be big news but buying shoes for me does not happen very often so I tend to make a lot of noise about it!
And I’ve been drooling over the new iMacs, once I have got a flat I can see my snapping one up to use as a media center kind of thing.. right now I don’t have the space for it else I would have bought one on the day of release.
I’m thinking of doing a little tweaking of the Teabass design over the bank holiday weekend, taking what I have learnt from Greenvoice and rolling it in. I’d love to convert it to Rails but I’m not ready to try and ensure all of the permalinks don’t die just yet so I’ll stick with wordpress.
