On Smoking

I've just published the first of a new weekly column I'll be writing for PostDesk. This week I talk about smoking. I think it's really interesting.

And lots of people think I'm an idiot.

http://postdesk.com/blog/whats-wrong-with-smoking

On Commercialising a Community at .net magazine

I've just had an article published in .net magazine, and I'd absolutely love it if you could read it. It's an opinion piece on why you should take advantage of communities and make a shedload of cash.

Teenage developer Jamie Rumbelow is all for open source but argues that creating a side business surrounding a community can actually help it grow and flourish.

Read it over on .net.

My Blogging Process

As you’ve no doubt noticed, I’ve been blogging a lot more recently. I’ve been making a conscious effort to write much more, not only in an effort to enhance my education but also as an outlet for my creativity and energy. Anyone who knows me will know I’ve got a lot of both.

I’ve been experimenting with different tools to help me blog better. After a few weeks of trialling, I think I’ve hit upon the sweet spot.

My current blogging process looks like this:

1. Write the post in WriteRoom. WriteRoom is a brilliantly simple text editor that lets me block everything out and get shit done. I’m using Markdown to write the posts; I love being able to unobtrusively format my posts in a fully textual environment.
2. At this point, I’ll either head straight to my blog and post it on there - I host with Squarespace, and they support Markdown directly - or I will open up TextMate and use the fantastic Markdown bundle to convert my post to HTML in a single button press. It’s Control + Shift + H, if anyone’s interested.
3. Use MarsEdit to preview and make any final modifications to the post before adding tags and hitting submit. MarsEdit supports all kinds of blogs and protocols, so you’ll probably be able to use it with your blogging platform.

The process above means that I can write peacefully, without distractions and in a decent environment, before being able to tweak and edit in a different tool and publish straight to my blog. And here are the tools that make it happen:

• WriteRoom. It’s a writer’s paradise.
• Markdown. Improving the world’s text formatting, one character at a time.
• TextMate. The best, nay, only code editor anyone should use ever.
• markdown.tmbundle. Brilliant Markdown support for TextMate.
• MarsEdit. Brilliant blogging tool with multiple blogging platform support and clever preview generation.
• Squarespace. A powerful and beautiful web publishing platform.

What does your blogging process look like?

Get off my lawn, business cards

I have had the intolerable joy of writing a response post to Thomas Myer's GOML about people who don't use business cards. If you've not seen Get Off My Lawn before, its content comprises of a bunch of old and grumpy curmudgeons complaining about the world. It's hilarious. I decided to post a response to myerman's submission, entitled "People who use business cards".

Check it out at Get Off My Lawn.