Finding the work/life/web balance…

I’ve written in the past about internet schizophrenia resulting from signing up to too many sites.

But recently I’ve suffered the same problem from committing to too many projects, and a compulsion to be online, contactable, and working on all of them.

Recently I’ve worked on:
The relaunch of motorcyclenews.com.
The relaunch of disposablemedia.co.uk.
Becoming Editor of the Dipsosable Media PDF magazine (Issue 6 out now!)
Freelance writing for Strategy Informer.
Freelance writing for Gamestyle.
Freelance writing for Eurogamer.
Blogging here.
Blogging at BadgerGravling
Blogging at Updated Sayings

*phew*….I think that’s the lot. Oh, and there are plenty of things going on in my personal life, including one of the biggest and most stressful things people can ever experience (It involves putting things into cardboard boxes, then unpacking them again somewhere else)

So I’ve had to take some time to evaluate which of these gives the most pleasure, the most reward, and the most benefits to either myself or my career. It’s something I don’t do enough, because I want to get involved everywhere and do everything.

Step one is to file emails as soon as they arrive, and be honest to myself about which ones I’m never going to use/reply to.

Step two is to clear out bookmarks and particularly RSS feeds for sites I never read or use. I’m paranoid that one day someone will be discover the secret of wealth, happiness and eternal life and I’ll miss it, but if it’s truly an important story, it’ll end up on one of my other RSS feeds anyway.

So, anyone got any tech tips for step three in making me less stressed, and more organised?

Second Life killer for Sony’s PS3?

Could this be the virtual world that really takes off?

Sony has revealed details of ‘Playstation Home’ the virtual world for the PS3. It’s got all the usual virtual world hang-outs, apartments to show off your possessions, private chats, and simple online games such as bowling and pool. And you can invite any resident to join in Playstation Network capable games at any time.

Is this the kind of game which will draw in console owners? Generally they’re seen as addicted for first-person shooters and racing games, and anything more around lifestyles and strategy is seen as the PC domain.

Then again, the success of The Sims, Second Life, and even the likes of Nintendogs means there’s money there somewhere…surely.

I can’t wait for the PR agency to start spinning this one…

Great use of Myspace by US cops

Wanted posters are obviously so old-fashioned, so US cops have taken the plunge and given a 60-year-old bank robber his own Myspace page!

It’s got pictures, details of his exploits and a number to call should you recognise him. And the profile already has around 915 friends listed, which is probably more people than you’d get noticing a poster in a police station.

My highlight, though, is the choice of Citizens on Patrol from Police Academy for the master criminal’s profile!

http://www.myspace.com/bankrobber2007

Don’t forget your foundations: Basics of a site

Whether you’re aiming to build a site for the absolute minimum budget, or investing millions, there are rules which apply equally.
Some seem so obvious that you’d be amazed how many times I’ve seen them ignored, even on the biggest projects. I’ve even managed it myself, bursting my ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude somewhat!

The most important aspect of building a website for me is the opening stage. It’s the point where you define your mission, and you pick the Content Management System (CMS) and a host.

You need a clear, simple, defined mission statement.

You need a CMS system that you are comfortable with. And that has some type of reliable support network for coding questions at 3am.

You need a reliable hosting service.

Without these three things, you’ll always be fighting an uphill battle, no matter how big and impressive your site may be. If you’re on a budget, you can still shop around, with the likes of Joomla, Drupal and WordPress giving you free or open source methods of building a site. They all have advantages and disadvantages, and the best way to discover the right system for you , is to actually trial the thing. Only you know the methods you are most comfortable with.

Not only is it free, but it’s a darn sight easier to decide on a CMS before you fill a site with content, rather than changing six months later…