The first post in a new blog is always filled with mine fields, what do you put in it, should it reflect where you've been, or where your going?! I guess I should start with a disclaimer, most of this site as of 15:04 does not work! This site compared to the previous one is a total rewrite! I have abandoned the crapness of asp and access databases and moved into this century so this site is now written in php using mySQL for the database! Because of this I have also had to rewrite the entire content management system for the website but thats for another entry as I will want to go into far too much detail for this entry!
I never thought I would miss having a blog to write on but since I decided to retire the old website I have forced myself to not add anything new to it so I can concentrate on this version. For those of you who have just found this website, I'm Pete, originally from Peterborough, UK but currently studying for a degree in digital art and technology. I spent the whole of last year working for a company called bluestone creative who do most of their work trading as e4education. Whilst there I started the year off as a content monkey, getting the school websites live by adding content to the website that the school would provide whilst acting as the primary contact after the design process for both new and existing clients providing support via phone and email. Looking back on this time at the company now I believe it was invaluable experience to get to know how the company worked and to develop my personal skills by talking to the clients on a daily basis. Quickly I progressed into the development team where I was given the time to develop the skills I have a keen interest in, these being flash, javascript and RIA's (rich internet applications) in general. Over time I will add some of the projects I worked on during my time with the company to the work section of this site. A couple I am most proud of is the video wall for the Thomas Deacon Academy which they liked to much it is now a large part of the home page of the website. It pulls in all the videos that they have uploaded to a particular folder and then displays all the thumbnails for the videos, and if one is selected it is streamed off the server. Another major project I worked on was a podcast player which is now integrated into every website the company builds as standard. It is totally themable allowing the designers to create bespoke skins for each school or select a pre designed from a list.
I hope to further my knowledge of these areas in my final year of university trying to find an angle in every project to improve my skills in these areas. I hope to also post some tutorials on the site or hints and tips which i hope will help someone save some time!