Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Great Flash Expectations

When I was in Brighton recently, for a much loved Flash conference, I experienced the joy of having an anti-groupie. What's that? Well, it's a guy who gives you grief for a talk you gave last year.

Emphatically, he told me he's been "working on all this stuff" and expected me to bring him "to the next level...to make those connections" for him. Nearly a full year after I'd given my talk, he felt it necessary to corner me at a party and lecture me on how I failed meeting his expectations.

Generally, I wouldn't advise anyone to lower their expectations. However, isn't it a bit unrealistic to expect so much from a short presentation at a Flash conference?

I'm going to pull a Johnathan Harris now, and say some things you may not like.


  • Don't expect specific answers to questions you haven't even asked, especially at a general Industry conference. Keep your mind open, and see what you can take away from the talk.

  • Open up a conversation, instead of lecturing me on what you see as my failings. Nobody likes being told that they suck, even if it's true.

  • Continue the conversation. We all have demands on our time, so be patient with responses. We're spoiled by the immediacy of email.

  • Stop focusing on me, and explore the ideas instead.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The 25-Line ActionScript Contest

What can you do in 25 lines of code? That's what Keith Peters is asking, and Adobe is listening.

Keith has set up a monthly contest, and Adobe is giving a CS4 Suite to each month's winner. Now that's the Flash community I know and love! When Keith asked me to join his panel of "celebrity judges", I just had to accept. I can't wait to see the entries!

So, as soon as the contest opens, get busy with your fantastic coded creations!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Joining Up

In the midst of all the geeky goodness of FOTB, a big change in my work-life has been formalized. After many years as an independent consultant, I'm giving up some of my independent ways.

I've joined the fantastic team at infrared5. We've been talking for some time, and I signed the contract earlier this week while here in Brighton.