Plans for 2009

Inspired by Elliot Jay Stocks post “Goals, Old and New”, I thought i’d jot down a few goals* for 2009. In no particular order:-

• Launch a web app – the original reason for starting Olivewood. We already have a working prototype (a web based trading/ procurement/communication hub – successfully in service for a distributor over a year), it just needs some refactoring to make it suitable to be released to additional clients with slightly different needs.
• Relaunch Too Old To Skate – it’s a personal project, and it’s important for me to be working on at least one non-paying project, to remind me that i’m not just in this for the money. I’m already part of the way there with a sweetcron based mashup. I intend to launch it, unfinished or not in January.
• Attend at least one web conference – last year was just too manic, and combined with bad timing I only managed WDC this year. On my possible list are FOWA dublin, bamboo juice in cornwall, plone conf in budapest, Europython in Birmingham and the list goes on.
• Attend at least one barcamp. BathCamp this year was great.
• Fix on a php framework and use it on a “from-scratch” commercial project, and get really, really good with it. Cake is the current fave, though will likely be using Zend Framework too on a magento based project.
• Get to grips with plone 3 skinning – I want to consider myself a plone skinning expert again.
• Get further than “hello world” with Django – ideally at least one commercial project. I’m not beating myself up too much over this, I thrive on examples, so i’m letting other people do all the early adopter stuff 😉
• Better customer service – by managing my workload to avoid juggling projects, saying NO occasionally, and generally working in a more controlled and predictable manner.
• Put up a proper portfolio on this site, maybe even a redesign – working on this website is always last on the list, it’s still using the default wordpress theme from way back.
• Use and understand some technologies that i’ve been ignoring – JSON, WSGI, Zope 3
• Do more on-site freelancing for agencies. I seem to thrive in that environment. Maybe it’s my agency background, or maybe it’s because I get to focus on the task in hand rather than the whole “business” side of being a freelancer. There’s also the whole co-worker thing.
• Keep trading and survive the credit crunch recession (Touch wood) i’m already booked up for the first few months of 2009 – lets hope the work keeps coming!

* web/ career related – i’ll save the more personal goals for drunken new years eve conversations with friends!