31 Jan 2010
Today marks the 15th anniversary of setting up my own business. How time flies, it seems like only yesterday (or perhaps the day before) that I applied for Enterprise Allowance to create a job for myself.
I’ve decided against holding a glitzy, celeb-laden party, but it’s a milestone worth mentioning, if only to give me a kick up the arse to achieve more in the next 15 years.
26 Jan 2010
Recently, thesixtyone launched a redesigned site, and the reaction has been interesting, showing some of the pitfalls of running a community site.


I’ve seen several favourable reactions praising the look and overall bravery. The old site has a pretty conventional layout, so they’ve clearly tried to go for something more distinctive to try to stand out in the crowd of music discovery services.
On the other hand, many previously-devoted users hate the redesign. Really, really hate it. They’re complaining on Twitter, on Facebook, on blogs, on Ning, in music and on dedicated sites. The word ‘shitstorm’ comes to mind.
Now, as a designer or site owner you have to bear in mind that some people will always resist change, and some are loudly misguided, so a bit of shaking things up is inevitable and beneficial. But when a web site becomes a community you need to be so much more careful in your approach, considering things like:
- A sense of community is delicate; you have to carry most users along with you to preserve it.
- You don’t own that sense of community, you’re just providing the venue.
- Give adequate warning of changes; some people simply don’t like surprises.
- When you add a feature, make sure it’s one that you want to stick around, because…
- When you remove a feature, even those who never used it will kick and scream.
- Be firm in resisting pressure from vocal minorities, but reassure them that you’re listening.
- Ensure the user interface works well for both dedicated regular users and new arrivals.
- Try to change gradually, keeping some branding/design/interface elements, so that there’s a sense of evolution and continuity.
I think thesixtyone probably screwed up on a couple of those points, but I’m sure they’ll address the obvious user interface problems and we’ll see what impact the controversy has on the site in the long run.
25 Jan 2010
ZenMagick has proven useful for restyling Zen Cart with far less wailing and gnashing of teeth, and DerManoMann/Martin is always very helpful with clarifying things and fixing bugs. So to give something back I spent a little time creating a logo for the project, to hopefully improve its presentation and encourage others to use it and contribute towards code/documentation/design.

I’ve also produced a simple web page template to act as a starting point for revamping the web site. It does not feature a woman pushing a tiny trolley containing a globe.
20 Jan 2010
Having played Modern Warfare: Reflex (seemingly no official/authoritative pages out there to link to?!) and been impressed with what Treyarch’s squeezed out of the underpowered Wii, I was surprised by some of the reviews. Several grumble about aiming at things with the Wiimote, claiming it’s ‘jumpy’ or awkward and wishing they could use a stick, which I think is more indicative of what they’re used to than of any problem with the game (it actually works well and is an intuitive/accessible way to play an FPS).
Anyway, we have to accept that dual-analogue-stick controllers are what avid gamers expect and prefer, and so I’m seeking funding from the Ministry of Defence for a new gun. FPS-loving youngsters heading into the armed forces will be able to strap it to their bodies and use a game controller to aim precisely instead of having to awkwardly wave the gun around to point at things.
