I have a number of domains and have recently started using Twitter. In addition I have a Facebook presence and network through Linkedin. With Linkedin I am part of a group as part of my membership of the Chartered Society of Designers. All of this would of course totally fail the Grandpa Test, to be honest my son thinks it is a load of tosh. However I have recently been Skyped by my father so he may be more receptive. The simple truth is that many people think it is all twaddle and quite simply don’t get it at all.

Last Friday I sat trying to explain Twitter to a customer who’s website we are currently developing and to be fair it is a hard thing to explain. The irony is that it was she who had first suggested Twitter for her website and I only joined the community to learn more.

Yesterday I Googled my name (I Google therefore I am?), my Twitter details came up third in the rankings. I am a convert.

Further searches brought my Linkedin status, references to my Twitter activity and this blog in the top six. I have only recently re-visted Linkedin and this self-hosted blog has been up for less than a month. Not bad, not bad at all.

About six months ago I couldn’t find myself through a reverse search on Google at all, I just didn’t appear either through my own name or as Design Credo. Of course there was a simple reason to this, my Design Credo website was set up quite some time ago and things change. Around the time we developed the site I took a break from design and moved into education, the site wasn’t attended to although it has remained hosted throughout. When we set the site up we didn’t really attend to making the site search engine friendly and anyway conditions were very different then.

So, any ideas what started here in 1998?

Any Ideas?

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Group Working

Cappuccino, another thing that wouldn’t pass the Grandpa test; tea certainly, coffee if you were a bit racy, but cappuccino no way. There are three good cappuccinos to he had in Exeter, Lutzy’s (Portuguese not Italian), Espresso. The Boston Tea Party and the latter is where I am, surrounded by people, a surprising number of whom are working, many on WiFi enabled laptops.

Across the way is a man who I spoke with the other day when we shared a table, he had a number of books about adult learning and psychology and said that he enjoyed working amongst people.

Many years ago when people first started talking about the ‘computer revolution’ there was a suggestion that everyone would work from home and would not need to leave the house. Well, that hasn’t quite happened but, for those of us who can work in such a way, can I suggest that whilst this has it’s benefits frequently it sucks. People need people, not all he time but people need people.
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A big thanks to Exe Valley Dataset. Even in this day of  digital speed I still get impressed. Christmas is always a time for prevarication for me, some may say my life is. I designed my company Christmas card weeks ago but was uncertain whether to get the print done.

Anyway a quick hit of the InDesign PDF button and the job was ready and sent via email at 12.39.

At 15.25 I received a further email to say that the print was ready, and you know it is rather good. A simple enough job, but with a large solid festive red that did alarm the printer. Even coverage though, nice 350gsm board, looks pukka.

All this isn’t rocket science of course but, sometimes I like to enjoy the ‘wow’ moment of it all working. This is probably another one for the ‘What Would Grandpa Make of This?’ test, I don’t know.

Now the difficult bit, signing and sending…

The Grandpa Test is one that is often of use, what would Grandpa make of it?. I remember my parents’ frustration having given my grandparents a Moulinex mixer that sat for ever in its cover. So as we sit typing into our macs I wonder what Grandpa would have said, two World Wars and all.

A pleasant chat with the local Community Fake Police Support Officer Lady (stern but fair), this evening. My son has been digging a BMX track out of the banking in the car park of the local village hall. He stands accused of removing mud from the hall and taking it in a wheelbarrow down the lane to the local cricket pitch, where there is another BMX creation. He was struggling to hide his disdain for the suggestion that he would be so stupid as to transport wheelbarrow loads of mud 400 meters or so for the fun of it. Ah, the fun of the small village.

Granny (a short, one legged Scot) made great steamed dumplings though. I am not aware that they got any better or worse for the lack of intervention of the Moulinex. Scraping the mixing bowl, peeling the muslin, like a big haggis but fun.