I’ve spent the past three days doing something I’ve wanted to do for a while - disconnecting from the electronic world and working with my hands. I’ve been rebuilding my study at home and apart from the amusing revelation that my study is now turning itself slowly into one just like my father’s (bookcases on every wall) it’s been a fairly painless process. It’s been wonderful to switch off some parts but switch on other parts of my brain. I’ve been reflecting a lot on 2008 which was a fairly major year for me: it was the year I went freelance and founded Jaggeree. 

Last year had a mantra to it for me which I think is equally applicable to 2009: “I don’t know where this is going but…”. When I first left Mind Candy, seeking a better work-life balance and the chance to explore both new ways of working and shifting into a slightly different direction, “I don’t know where this is going but…” seemed to be how I’d start lots of conversations. I basically has an open mind and no preconceptions about what it was I was going to do. I had an open mind, but not an empty one as I had many ideas about what areas I was interested in working in. I’ll cover off my thoughts on what 2009 might be like and about work-life balance elsewhere but this is where my open mindedness took me.

I’m doing some interesting things now with MySpace and a pretty major UK publisher I can’t really name here. I’m also kept busy with consultancy work for people like Techlightenment, NixonMcInnes, NAM and a former employer of mine, the Science Navigation Group. We’ve developed a big game which we played at the Hide and Seek Festival and at the Thames Festival. Becky and I have even started working on a service to make tradeshows more environmentally friendly which we hope to launch in 2009. I’ve also developed a training course on Social Media for 01zero-one which has had one successful outing in 2008 and has three already booked for the first half of 2009. I’ve also become a committee member of the Facebook Developer Garage and am honoured to have become an advisory board member for 01zero-one.

From a long distance it may look as if my “I don’t know where this is going…” mantra has led to an unfocussed collection of work and I’ve just taken everything which has come my way. This is not true at all and there have been many other opportunities which I haven’t taken up as they don’t fit into my overall vision for what I and Jaggeree can and should do. What I hoped I could build along with Becky in Jaggeree is a consultancy which is known for clear, concise and effective thinking and work in the intersection of some/many of the following elements; people, technology, content, information, playfulness and brands. There’s still a way to go and hopefully 2009 will lead to more collaborations which make this vision even more coherent, however I’m sure this vision will be moulded by the landscape of 2009.