Many moons when I was a struggling newly graduated student, I found myself having to make a decision about the direction which my life would take. My usual thinking up to that point had been more along the lines of which Pot Noodle “meal” I would like to have that particular evening.
The decision was, do I allow my life to be dictated by fate and incidents beyond my control, or do I start to push it in the direction I want it to take? Now although I was living in a room not much larger than an airing cupboard, I did actually have a fairly good city job. That city was London and so everything was horrendously expensive. And though the job market was competitive, it was not as globally open as it is now.
At that time which I won’t explicitly identify, the internet was just beginning to gain traction. If not as a platform on which to do business, it was certainly somewhere to be seen. So I decided to set up a portfolio of my work in tech. Though of course, me being the type of person I am that portfolio had to be a little different.
Yes it featured a database driven back-end, a minimalist colour scheme featuring impressively chosen graphics and some active components. The front end was a combination of HTML, JavaScript and ColdFusion. So from a technical perspective, all the necessary boxes were ticked. Even then I knew that in order for that presence to develop a following, it had to be either relevant, entertaining and/or current. Well, two out of three isn’t bad.
So the subject of the portfolio was something which back then at least, was unique.
I took it upon myself to interview some of the most famous celebrities of the age. That included such luminaries as Oprah Winfrey, Eminem and George W Bush. Please don’t ask me how I achieved this mighty feat from my studio flat in East London. Determination can make you do amazing things!
The thing is, whilst the portfolio was successful in getting me the attention I needed to get to where I wanted to go, it also still exists. Fortunately for me, there is nothing horrendously embarrassing on it, nobody wants to sue me and life goes on.
That isn’t always the way things work on the interweb. Sometimes what is out there can be coarse, damaging or worse.
So in line with the previous post on cyber security, make sure you apply the twin guardians of caution and common sense, in all that you do online. Infamy can be hugely destructive.
Cake however, is always good.
