Expertise, Not Evangelism

The Spoon Collection is no more.

The new title of this blog - the real title, the title I had in my mind from the start, is Expertise Not Evangelism.

Expertise is good; skills and knowledge founded on enthusiasm and experience, and balanced with some pragmatism. I don't like the kind of shining-eyed evangelism that ignores other people's personal circumstances and attempts to force beliefs on them regardless of how inappropriate those beliefs might be.  Evangelism too often disregards those people that don't subscribe to the whole package. No thank you. There will be no preaching here.

I'm not trying to be worthy either; I'm not campaigning or crusading for my cause. I'm not militant about it, I'm simply sharing my passions. Of course, I do hope that you might catch some of my enthusiasm and maybe share some of my joys, perhaps even do something similar that works for you. But that's down to you.

Expertise not evangelism. Passion without preaching. Oh, I've got alliteration.

Expertise not Evangelism

This blog is a reflection of my philosophy. I'm writing about subjects I'm passionate about, that I have experience and - yes! - expertise in. These articles - this blog - is an expression of that passion, a sharing of that knowledge.

But that's as far as it goes. I'm not going to spend any time plaguing you to cycle and be environmental and consider the user experiences of your work (although, you know, you really could). Ultimately, and always, those choices are down to you. I've made my decisions, and this blog is the product of them. If you get something out of it, then you might consider what you find here free advice.

The best thing about advice, of course, is that you don't have to take it. You can adapt it to your personal circumstance, take the bits that work for you,  ignore it wholesale.

I really hope you'll find something of value here.

A New Name for the Spoon Collection

On February 1st, this blog will have a new name.

The Spoon Collection was only ever intended to be a temporary name, a working title. When I started this blog, I knew that I wanted to write, that I had to write. I was urgent, burning with ideas and passion.  I had to start now.  Stopping to think of a sensible title would have killed some of the enthusiasm and momentum - and so in the spur of the moment, flushed with the excitement of creation, I picked something random, distinctive, temporary: The Spoon Collection.

I do have a small collection of spoons, acquired over a number of years, so it was an apt, personal touch, suited to a personal project.  Now, however, it's time to give this blog a title that's more appropriate to the content and my personal principles.

The writing won't change, the core topics won't change.  And I will continue to collect spoons.

The new name? Well, you'll have to wait until February 1st...

Coming Soon on this Blog

Well, it's been a month, and we're still here. Right on schedule, right where we said we'd be.

Coming up in the next month: more of the same; at least three articles a week on the Big Three. Book reviews; free web design consultancy; mathematics.

And a re-design. Nothing earth-shattering ('cos, you know, the earth is where I keep my stuff), but definitely something a bit slicker, a bit less out-of-the-box-Blogger.

Oh, and a change of name. For the blog, not me.

Watch this space. It'll be fun.

A Manifesto of Sorts

It's been called a Dammit List.

It's even been called a Brief Guide to World Domination.

Neither of those titles quite work for me (although I'm closer in spirit to the Dammit List, I think), and I've not yet come up with a suitably funky (or bombastic!) title, so I'm going to go with a manifesto, a statement of principles, a declaration of intent.

It's my ethos, what I'm all about. What you can expect from me; what I expect from myself; what you'll find in this here blog.

My employment has been in software development. I've spent the last decade designing and writing software, starting in the traditional (and now vanishing) role of analyst-programmer; working as technical consultant and architect; and then leading a team of people doing those roles. More recently I've been working in the red-hot area of usability and user experience (and isn't everyone an expert). So I've got some things to say on that topic, and some of them are backed up with actual experience and expertise. I'll be sharing them here.

On a more personal level, I've recently started to call myself a pragmatic environmentalist. I say "recently" not because I've only lately come to that way of being, but because I've only just discovered the phrase. For me, it perfectly describes that process of making a reasoned choice. I'm convinced that it's better to do something than to dither about doing the right thing, and so do nothing, victim to that horrible choice paralysis that comes from trying to balance too many options. So there'll be some of that on this blog too; practical examples of how I've balanced my environmental ethos with my first-world lifestyle. Without copping out.

I also like cycling. I'm a commuter and day rider rather than a club cyclist. In fact, I've never been a member of a cycling club, but I do a fair few miles on two wheels. I like being out in the open, travelling at a pace that allows me to appreciate the scenery and the changing seasons. You can expect some thoughts (words and pictures, perhaps) on that topic too.

And maybe even something about spoons.

All of the above will be delivered weekly, no less. Weekly. There, I've said it. A public commitment. It's happening.