Dave

Hacking domains

Domain hacking is defined by Wikipedia as:

an unconventional domain name that combines domain levels, especially the top-level domain (TLD), to spell out the full “name” or title of the domain, making a kind of pun.

What does that mean? Well, it means taking the elements of a domain name (that is, the thing you type into your browser’s address bar) so that it spells out a word, or something similar.

For example, Delicious used to be found at del.icio.us – with the last element (known as the ‘top-level’) of the domain (.us, for the United States) forming part of the name of the site. Sadly, it’s plain old delicious.com now.

I recently registered a domain from the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands – which ends in .gs. The domain is vebrig.gs – can you see where I am headed with this? 😉

I’ve created an email address on my domain which is simple ‘d’ – so in full it looks like d@vebrig.gs which kinda spells out my name. I know this is very sad, but I like it!

By adding a sub-domain to vebrig.gs of da I can get the web address da.vebrig.gs which again is quite a neat hack. Not doing anything with the site right now though!

So, the main point of this post, other than making it clear to everyone what a total dork I am, is to let everyone know that the best email address to get me on now is d@vebrig.gs. My old one still forwards onto me, though, so don’t worry too much.

Now all I have to do is update all my social networks with the new address…

Digital Enabler

Since announcing that I am venturing into the world of self-employment, quite a few people have asked me the perfectly reasonable question of what it is that I am actually going to do. After much umming and ahing, I think I might be getting close to actually defining what it is that I can bring to a party.

It’s funny, that because this space is so new, and developing all the time, people are identifying new roles and niches all the time: we have buzz directors, social reporters, digital generalists… and plenty more besides, I am sure.

I’m plumping for ‘Digital Enabler’. The role as I see it is helping people figure out what it is that they want to do with the web, then equipping them with the skills and the tools they need to make a success of it.

Here’s an example: a policy team are planning a new project, and would like to get some public involvement in an innovative way. Rather than just jumping in at the deep end and starting a blog, or creating a Facebook page, they get Dave in to help. I guide them through what they want to do, using fun stuff like the social media game, so that the right platforms can be identified, as well as what resources might be required to do it. I then help set up any systems, whether blogs or wikis or whatever, and coach the people who will be using them on how it works, and what the best ways to interact with people are.

So it’s about making sure the right tools are picked for the right tasks, and that everyone knows what they are doing.

I’d be interested to know how useful people think this is as a role to be played, and whether ‘digital enabler’ is the best description of it!

Holidays

A week without any posts here? I must have been on holiday. We spent a week on the Suffolk coast, not far from Southwold (no, I didn’t bump into Gordon), and had a wonderful time. I know the area well, having lived there as a child and holidayed on many occasions since with my parents, though this was my first lengthy return since my late teens. I was surprised just how much I remembered, but also how much I didn’t.

We stayed at Priory Farm in Darsham, in the converted Granary. It’s a great spot, really close to Dunwich and Southwold on one side, but also Framlingham and Aldebrugh on the other. The Granary was really comfy and nicely presented, so I’d recommend it to anyone wanting to stay in the area. Here’s how it looks:

We had plenty of trips to the seaside, largely as a result of the incredibly good weather we enjoyed. We went to Dunwich:

Southwold:

Walberswick:

and Aldeburgh:

We also spent half a day at Snape Maltings, which is a real cultural treasure-trove, with a musical venue, plenty of galleries and some really cool sculptures:

I also had the chance to get plenty of reading in. I took Charles Leadbeater’s We-Think along with me, and managed to get a good two-thirds of the way through. The latest London Review of Books also contained some fascinating stuff, including a long review of a biography of Raymond Williams, the leftist cultural academic, critic and author. I managed to find the book in the wonderful Aldebrugh Bookshop, and have been dipping in and out of it since, but my real find in the same shop was a copy of Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald, which I have been hankering after for a while.

All the better that I bought it in Aldeburgh – the book is based around a series of walks the author undertook around the Suffolk coast.

The other joy of visiting east Suffolk is the beer, specifically that from the Adnams Brewery in Southwold. My usual tipple at this time of year is the lighter Regatta, but the new and very cold Spindrift was a real pleasure on the very hot days. Favourite pubs include the Sole Bay Inn at Southwold:

And also The Ship at Dunwich, where this picture of Adnams standard (but delicious!) bitter was taken:

All in all, we had a fabulous time and were really sad to leave. Will be paying extra attention to the lottery numbers tonight, just in case…

More photos at Flickr, in case you want them…

Load more posts!