I started teaching myself HTML back in 1996 after my friend, Dave, showed me this cool new thing called the Internet on his computer in his basement. Simple as what it was then, what I saw blew my mind.
Within a year, I realized that while HTML was a cool foundation, but it fell far short of real world needs. I looked at Javascript, but it was a muddled mess in the late 1990’s. It was then that I focused on learning Perl, XML, and SQL, and began building tools to automate web-site building. I started small, but eventually found myself iteratively building a robust Content Management System, I eventually called Pagebuilder/DB Admin (PBDBA) that powered many sites ( including, eventually, the London Free Press and Calgary SUN).
By 1998, I had a pretty robust little web development business, called Elginbiz.com, going as I put myself back through University for a B.A. in Media and Information studies. I thought pursuing my entrepreneurial little enterprise would be my future until I read a posting for an “HTML Editor” for a online portal start-up, called FYI London, being run as an experiment by the larger media company (Canoe.ca). I almost didn’t apply. After all, I was a web developer, not a lowly HTML editor. I am glad I did fax that resume in minutes before the deadline. To my surprise, my future boss was approved to hire an HTML editor, but she secretly had plans for something much bigger than building static HTMl content. I got a call back a few minutes later, and within days, I was hired. Being part of that start up and that small team was one of the best, and sometimes hardest, thing I ever did.
Over almost 20 years, I transitioned from web development (yes, I became a “web developer” within the company) to product development to product management within the largest newspaper chain in Canada. It has been a fascinating journey to have been part of the digital evolution the newspaper industry has been going through. Now I am excited to be transitioning to my next adventure.
My original goal, when I started this blog back in 2011-2013, was to talk about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the various web-sites I plan to establish , and trends within the newspaper industry. I was looking to document my inner geek. In a vast new world of social media, user generated content, citizen journalism, virtual worlds, multiple channels, and endless audiences, a blog seemed like a logical step, but writing about that sort of subject did not fuel my creative juices.
Over the last few years, I decided that the real purpose of this blog should be dedicated to writing about anything I wanted. I converted this blog into something more personal. The 2020-2021 pandemic gave me the time to think about the things about which I want to write. Really this blog is for me to muse, mutter, and talk about my family, but I am happy that you found your way to my little space on the Internet. I’ll try to post as often I can.
If you like what you read, please share it. If you want to send me a message, use the contact form below: