Website Design, Development, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and all things web, with ticktockdesign.com

My first half marathon ...

Right - this is it ... my first post in a long long time ... and it's to ask for money.

I'm running a half marathon next month in aid of the Afghan Connection - a charity building schools and cricket pitches in Afghanistan.

I've put up a Just Giving page which has more details ... check it out and please donate:

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Today's Guardian ... brilliance

Today's Guardian is an exceptional example of what can happen when big media companies open up to the outside world.

The Guardian opened up it's Content API allowing people to "Select and collect content from the Guardian for reuse. Get access to over 1M articles going back over 10 years in addition to today's content, the Guardian's tagging information architecture, picture galleries, podcasts and video ". Wow.

So, Phil Gyford went to work and created this immensely readable online version of the current day's newspaper. It's brilliant.

Take a look at Today's Guardian and read about the process / thoughts behind it all.

Superb.

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The ExpressionEngine and CodeIgniter Conference (EECI2010) - roundup

So, the The ExpressionEngine and CodeIgniter Conference (EECI2010) happened at the beginning of the month ... I don't go to many conferences, and I didn't go to this one either but I wish I had been able to - if only to see Simon Collison give this presentation on subconscious design.

Simon set up and ran Erskine Design which is one of my 'hero' agencies. He recently left though - but he still has a lovely website and is clearly still doing great work.

A collection of articles from EECI2010 can be found on the EE blog here.

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Our minds need to go on a diet ... Alain de Botton

A lovely short piece from Alain de Botton on how our capacity to concentrate on anything at all has diminished dramatically.

One of the more embarrassing and self-indulgent challenges of our time is the task of relearning how to concentrate. The past decade has seen an unparalleled assault on our capacity to fix our minds steadily on anything.

I've become so conscious of this as I continue to read around the subject of web design in particular. Every new development is pitched to give you the impression that it's vital we all turn our attention to it now. NOW. It's tiring.

(via)

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