Archive for General

Twestival

// March 29th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Charity, General, Twitter, Web 2.0

Oh my… Twestival has been and gone again… this time around it was Twestival Global, and we were raising money for Concern Worldwide.

What’s Twestival? Well, straight from the Twestival site, its something like this:

On Thursday 25 March 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together offline to rally around the important cause of Education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness. Twestival™ (or Twitter Festival) uses social media for social good. All of the local events are organized 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to projects.

In Glasgow, I was the lead organiser, for my sins. We had less time than usual to organise it – 4 weeks to be precise. In that time, we had to find a venue, a headline sponsor, some bands, a compere, a photographer and some raffle and auction items. Oh, and we had to get it all for free. I’m delighted to say that we did, in fact, manage it. We even had time to produce a video beforehand:

We set a target of £2500. I thought that was a VERY adventurous target, considering the timeframe. It turns out I was WAY off. At last count, we raised around £6500! To say I’m astounded is an absolutely understatement. It was such a huge achievement, and I know that Concern can do a whole load with that cash.

Our headline sponsor, iomart Group went nuts on Twestival this year. Not only were they sponsors of the Glasgow Twestival, they also sponsored the London Twestival, and provided a cocktail bar and smoothie bar in Glasgow and London respectively. That wasn’t all though. Phil from iomart attended both events. He kicked off in London, and made a 400 mile trip with a road cone – Glasgow’s unofficial mascot, picking up autographs along the way! Phil Collins did Live Aid, Phil Worms did Twestival. So what’s next? Some sleep. A lot of it:

A huge thanks to everyone who helped pull this event together and make it what it was. The next one will be in August/September, and I’ll be there. Will you?

Hello 2010

// January 29th, 2010 // No Comments » // General, Twitter, Web 2.0

Crikey, has it been three months since my last post? It’s been a very busy few months.. new job, new stage in my life, and new… well, I can’t think of a third ‘new’. (more…)

Congratulations!

// July 5th, 2009 // No Comments » // General

So, my little sister got engaged last night. She’s been hinting at Robert, her now fiance, for a while now, and its finally paid off!

It seems, however, that everyone knew but me. That’s not strictly true, but it certainly felt like that last night. Yesterday was also her birthday, and a group of her friends and I were summoned by Robert to be at a restaurant for a surprise party. When I say ‘surprise’, I really just mean it as a figure of speech – again, there was some amount of hinting during the weeks in the run-up to this meal.

Anyway, I digress. We had a lovely meal, and when the meal and birthday cake were dispensed with, Robert stood up and started to make a speech. I thought it was odd that he would be making a speech at my sister’s birthday meal, and then it clicked. It wasn’t long before the ring box came out, and he’d dropped to one knee. She naturally said yes, there was much applause and serving of champagne, followed by a few people asking me if I knew this would be happening. I did not. It turns out though, that a few of her friends did.

Why not me? Well, family wasn’t to know. My mum didn’t know, but this was also true of my dad. Oops. He doesn’t look that bothered, but I think he might have liked to have been asked beforehand. It turns out Robert’s dad knew though, so I guess I’m feeling bad for my dad at this stage.

It wasn’t quite like this video though..

AudioBoo, PhoneBoo and iPadio

// July 1st, 2009 // 2 Comments » // General, Web 2.0

OK, so I know I’m coming to the party a little late, but you’ve got to give me credit for showing up at all, right? No? Whatever.

Anyway, AudioBoo is the latest Web2.0 craze, and to be honest, its one I can totally get on board with. It is audio-based, after all. The only complaint I have had with AudioBoo in the past is that it’s an iPhone-only app, and it has been since launch. However, the nice guys at AudioBoo are planning to launch an API on 11 July to enable others to build cool stuff. Some of that cool stuff, I’m hoping, will be applications for the Symbian S60 OS. Creating apps based on this API will allow me to use AudioBoo properly, and in higher quality.

Now, I know that I said it was an iPhone-only app, and that’s true, but as part of the internal testing of the API, an AudioBoo developer created PhoneBoo – a version of AudioBoo which allows you to call a UK-based number and create your Boo that way. This is how I plan to use AudioBoo until the Symbian-based apps start appearing. Roll on 11 July!

Anyway, just for giggles, here’s my very first Boo:

UPDATE:

The iPadio folks have been Twittering me since I posted about AudioBoo, and have convinced me to give it a try. I’ve given it a go, and so far, it’s much the same as AudioBoo. However, they are working on an MP3 upload service which will post audio to Twitter in much the same way as TwitPic posts images. It just goes to show what a chance email can do, eh?

Unlike AudioBoo though, iPadio is creating apps for mobile handsets other than the iPhone. They have indicated to me that there will be something much better coming for Nokia handsets, but due to a Non-Disclosure Agreement with Nokia they couldn’t go into anything substantial with me at this time. I’ve asked to be a beta tester for the service, and they’ve agreed, so if I can talk about it, I’ll post it here.

Just for laughs, here’s my iPadio phlog:

Oink!

// June 18th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // General

So it appears that everyone around me is coming down with Swine Flu. My sister, last night, was one of the latest to become a confirmed case, and my mum was swabbed last night by a nurse – we’re now waiting for the results of that test.

I’ve been lucky – so far. I’m not displaying any symptoms, and I don’t really intend to put myself in harm’s way. I’m currently working from home because I’ve become the office leper (you see, I’m not ill, but they don’t want to take the chance), so I’m holed up in my bedroom with my laptop, TV and Xbox. I could do with a small fridge and a microwave – then I’d be truly self-sufficient. I’m pretty much ready for a nuclear holocaust – my room has become my own personal nuclear bunker – now, where did I put my shortwave radio? (more…)

I Have A Sore Foot

// June 14th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // General, Summer

Yes. Yes I do.

It all started when Mrs. Stewart said “let’s go to the West End Festival”. At this point, I thought that was a good idea. We’ll walk along to Byres Road, have a nice brunch at AdLib, and then head along to Kelvingrove Park for the Mardi Gras parade.

So, we set off at 12:30 and enjoyed said brunch. I had the All-American Breakfast minus the tomato and mushrooms, if you’re interested. I also got baked beans as a substitute for that less-desirable veg. All-in-all though, Ad Lib is a very nice place to brunch. Particularly on a nice day like today. (more…)

Welcome!

// June 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // General

Well, hello and welcome! Welcome to my blog!

This is and idea I’ve toyed with for a while now, but two things have been stopping me: the lack of a home for the blog and the the will to do it. I’ve managed to muster up the will now, and thanks to those nice people over at 1-2-3 Reg, I managed to score myself a .info domain for the measly sum of 88 pence.

Yes. 88. Pence.

So here I am, this is me. I’m not really sure what form this blog will take, and I’m hoping it’ll just ‘come together’ over time. It may be that I end up posting a series of links/photos/videos I like, but equally, I may produce award-winning literary works (although that’s unlikely). (more…)