I'm on the BBC website, which makes me think two things.

1) How easy it must be to fill up column inches with blog extracts (even if they are virtual column inches).

2) I really need to change my "About me" page.

Not that I'm ungrateful for the attention mind you...

And for new readers, all the juicy stuff is in the archives.

On Saturday I went to OpenTech 2005, and not only did I get to meet some great people and listen to some very interesting talks, but they also let me try to entertain the crowd by talking about how to keep your job while blogging.

I’ve been to these sorts of talks before, and have felt a bit disappointed when people just talk about things that they have written on their blogs – but I’ve now got some sympathy for them having just done it myself.

The keynote talk by Danny O’Brien about living life in public was very good (and you can download an audio of it), basically you lot (dear readers), know much more about me, than I know about you…

Would you like to change this?  Tell me about yourself in the comments field.

He has also set up a Pledge, that I have signed up for (and I am a stingy git).

If you think that the need for someone in the UK to fight for Digital Rights is worth £5 a month, then I suggest you take a look at the pledge as well.

Ewan Spence was there, and his “Ipod Shuffle shuffle” was another highlight.  I do think that his little Lego banner needs a bit more grey in the hair now.

My talk went as well as I thought it would.  I do get the impression that blogging is “so last year”, which is only spurring me on to get my backside in gear and start podcasting.

Gia gave me one of the nicest introductions going (and she later bought me a beer, and continued to embarrass me by saying nice things).  I then got up, talked about Libel and not calling your boss a git and showed loads of cute pictures of kittens.

Personal evaluation of performance : Could have been a bit better, but could have been a lot worse.

Other talks which I saw, and was interested in were the “What should I read next” launch (which will refer you to books you might like based on previous books you have read and enjoyed), MythTV (although I may have to wait for a Windows version, because Linux gives me a headache), the Big Brother social network (I’m trying to think deep thoughts about how this technology could be used in a health setting), and Backstage BBC, which is frankly stunning in its forward thinkingness

At one point after the last talk (at the bar – naturally), I was surrounded by Stroppycow, Annie Mole, Rachel and Gia and it made me feel like a right stud.

*Cough*

The (nicest ever) picture of me is by Neil Turner (no…I’m not trying to steal the video camera)