Work NBT006: Partnerships In late February I mentioned I was looking for a CEO. I knew that my Next Big Thing couldn't be attempted on my own, and would need a business brain who could present well and whom I could trust. I'm delighted to say that I'
Podcasting I used to be on the radio A long time ago I used to present a weekly show on the now defunct Rhubarb Radio, with my chum - and the goodest of eggs - Michael Grimes. It was a show called the Sunday Social, and I had a blast doing it. A few weeks after I left
Work I’m looking for a CEO As things progress with Meegloo and my Next Big Thing, I think it's time I started thinking about bringing a CEO on board. I'm probably an OK Chief Technical Officer - I definitely have the ideas, as my last 2-day project can attest - but while
Work What is Meegloo anyway? I realise that there are still plenty of people to whom I've mentioned Meegloo (on Twitter or Facebook and in the so-called real world) that don't know what it is. That's hardly a crime; I don't know if I've ever
Work NBT005: Secrecy I like talking. This is not news to anyone who knows me. I like to talk about myself, what I'm up to, funny things that happened to me on the way to the other thing… I also love talking about other people, and listening. I'm not
Work NBT004: The name I did a little digging around on trademarks today. Only about 15 minutes or so, but it was enough to make me think it was worth changing the spelling of my Next Big Thing's name. I still don't fully understand - and don't much
Work NBT003: Business plan This week saw me embark on a whole new journey, one which has reigned my passion for what I do. In the past, profit and loss forecasts have always been a surefire way to snuff out the delicate flame of hope that I could build something exciting and unconventional. My
Work NBT002: Prototype I was at an event on Tuesday which got me thinking that it was perhaps not too early to build a very rudimentary prototype for my Next Big Thing. So I spent an hour or so trying to find a half-decent name, just so I could start a new Django
Work NBT001: Research The first big thing I need to do to make my Next Big Thing happen is to research what already exists. I know my product idea is useful and who would pay for it. What I don't know yet is anything about the market itself: * Who are the
Work NBT000: Welcome My company is called Flaming Tarball. A tarball is like a Zip file, most commonly used to distribute software, so one that's on fire has got to be awesome, right? My first project is Meegloo, an app for citizen journalists and social reporters. It's a pet
Work Moxy’s hatching an egg A note from future Mark (11/08/2018) Moxy is the name I went by, from late 2009 til early 2012. A few days ago I eluded to some big news, for me anyway. and I'm finally in a position to share it, so here I go, sharing
Archive I’ve been coding half my life I've had a few things I've wanted to talk about this week, but haven't found the time, busy as I've been with work, a slightly befuddling social life and of course my big project, But something dawned on me earlier in the
Work TweetPaste RIP A note from future Mark (11/08/2018) Moxy is the name I went by, from late 2009 til early 2012. TweetPaste is a tool that predated Twitter's oEmbed support (the ability to embed a tweet into a blog post without taking a screenshot). TweetPaste was one of,
Archive The House with the Red Door I yawn and shake myself awake. I'm vaguely aware of a white room; maybe it's clinical. A man's voice says something in another language, which I later decide is German. I climb out of my bunk bed. Then I wake up, again. This was,
Archive The results are in A little over 2 weeks ago, I took part in Django Dash, a 48-hour contest for Django developers. I built Transphorm, a site to help people make and track changes in their life. The results are in, and… drumroll please… I didn't win 😉 I did however, come joint
Archive I’ve entered Django Dash At midnight on Saturday 14th of August, I'll embark on a 48 hour solo hackathon to produce an app for this year's Django Dash competition. I'm really excited. I'd heard about it in one or two places, and thought it was something
Archive A night in the Vaults Walk about 100 yards from the bottom of Newhall Place in the Jewellery Quarter, down a set of steps and through a stone-clad passageway, and if you're lucky you'll hear the enticing sounds of piano and sax drifting from the tiny bar room. On Thursday, the
Archive Loco in Orlando Last year, I took up an offer to fly to Florida for a couple of weeks. It's now nearly a week since our flight was cancelled, and I'm going just a little stir crazy. Had it not been for the WiFi which we're illegally
Archive Mum and Dad Most of us end up owing our parents something, at one point or another in our lifetimes. This may be money, time, words, patience. For me, the biggest debt I owe my parents is gratitude. I do my best to show it, but like "sorry", "thank you&
Archive Crossing the gulf Hi, I'm Mark, and I'm a PC. I have been since I was bought an RM Nimbus 286, an IBM-compatible lightening-slow PC so old and forgotten it doesn't even have its own Wikipedia page. As Apple had already been churning out personal computers ten
Archive What am I for? I've had a couple of chats recently, both online and face-to-face in which I'd discussed my place within certain circles. I'd suggested that there existed some sort of cabal or clique that I was unable to penetrate, and tonight have realised that this is
