2009 was a big year in high tech.
For many of us it was the first time we dabbled in a number of new and exciting web technologies (and the world would never be the same).
What were some of the biggest personal technology changes/advancements in 2009?
What were some things that changed your life? Got any cool stories?
Love to hear ’em.
For me, this year has been a year of slowing down; I haven’t invested as much time as I would have liked into new forms of technology (and development) as I have in the past. This has been a good thing as it’s required me to take a personal look at what I’m really interested in and invest in my existing knowledgebase.
For example, I have been dying to get into Ruby on Rails; I built my first app late last year and haven’t touched it since. What I did, though, was jump a bit deeper into PHP and that’s been very fun.
[Image from Ralph]
Phillip Gibb says
Is blogging a technology?
๐
I have been trying to stay away from getting involved too much with php, but with self hosting my blog – that will now change.
I tried testing out a different video editing application but ran out of time.
Otherwise I have been trying to understand – for want of a better word – SEO, hmmm
But I think 2010 will be the year to get back into web technologies for me
human3rror says
dude, you're rocking it!
Shef says
Good stuff!
human3rror says
swee.
Kyle Reed says
For me it has to be wordpress.
I have had a wordpress account for 2 years but this year was the year that i took it seriously and used it and the .org
It has been a great advancement for me and my blog and to think that it is free is even more awesome (sorry for the bad grammar).
Twitter also takes the cake. Like wordpress, I have had twitter for 2 years but have finally started to really use it and that came in 2009. I have been able to network, make new friends, and even get to go to catalyst because of twitter…thanks again John.
Twitter and WordPress, what can you say.
human3rror says
you've been doing some great stuff this year! very impressed.
Kyle Reed says
your to kind, I learn from the best
human3rror says
this is a big year for you…. ๐
Kyle Reed says
2010?
Yes it is, a lot is riding on this year. we will see.
Need to start the year off by finding a job that will last me longer then a year.
That is the goal for now.
But I look forward to another year when you can do another post like this and we can all see how things have changed and what has happened in a year.
Tom says
This past year, I poured over JavaScript. I don't mean that I learned how to make pretty things happen on a page either.
I mean that I really dug into the language itself and what it has to offer in terms of a true programming language (from closures, to prototypal inheritance, various aspects of functions, and so on.
A couple of years ago, my senior design project was built using Rails but I've not touched it sense. Before going back to it, I really wanna get deep in Ruby.
human3rror says
seriously. let's do it. group hacking session. we'll include @dewde
stephenbateman says
I'd dabbled in HTML as a 13-year-old, but this summer I spent 3 weeks in Mexico pouring over CSS.
The biggest thing I learned is that comments have power, and that responding matters.
Next steps are more PHP, Javascript, particularly getting comfortable with AJAX. Lovin it though.
human3rror says
kill it…!
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Jim says
i found this thing called twitter…anyone else on there?
Josh Wagner says
For me, this past year I've really started to dig into HTML, PHP, and CSS. And I thank WordPress for that. I've become a decent theme designer, I think. Still learning from those much better than I!
For 2010, I've got to get into Javascript, and maybe AJAX. Maybe some more Python code too. If I can get my hands on some Adobe CS items I might dig into Flash, but who knows.
human3rror says
WOW! sweet! great goals, hope you stick to them!
Daniel says
This year I started my own production company, and with that more or less switched to OS X. I'd always used it for editing at work, but all my home stuff was still windows. I'm still divided on which I like more. I miss knowing where everything is, and I still use the terminal more than most apple fans, but I love it most of the time.
The biggest change though is that I've converted all my sites (4-5 sites) to using wordpress as a CMS. I totally balked at the idea when a friend suggested it. It's the best thing I've done in a while. The plugins alone make it worth it. The change has also beefed up my php skills. I'm currently working on a vlog theme that's hopefully going to end up being more like a single-editor video wiki in the end.
Thanks for all your encouragement and ideas John. Thinking back, a lot of my decisions this year have been influenced by you.
human3rror says
Wow!!!!!! That's amazing! Congrats on the new gig and move to WP!!!
John
jskogerboe says
I had no internet presence at all in 2008. 2009 is the year I finally realized that social media isn't just a distraction – it's the way the world communicates now. Things have changed. Information flow has changed. For me, as a Pastor and ministry leader and church "designer," I am swimming into the stream and learning to surf. Started a blog this year. Also used your DBC theme for a personal reference site using WP. Joined Twitter. Embraced my long-dormant Facebook account. 2010 will be a year for me to refine a clear strategy and purposeful utilization of tech. Both personally and for Living Hope Church. Thanks for ALL your help, John! God bless!
human3rror says
WOW. That's awesome! congrats and i'm excited for you in 2010!