The IT Skeptic - blog

Happy 13th Birthday to me

skeptic — Thu, 16 May 2019 03:33:26 +0000

Today (16th May) is the IT Skeptic's 13th Birthday! This blog went live on this day in 2006.
This is blog post 1389.

When I dig back in the archives there is much that is embarrassing, that I'd love to rewrite (or bury).
And much that isn't so relevant any more.
But there are some I'm still pretty pleased with from the deep past.

My changing mind

skeptic — Sun, 27 Jan 2019 07:58:47 +0000

It's lucky for me that I don't get the kind of attention which would lead to people comparing my current posts to my old ones. There is nothing worse than having your own words quoted back to you a decade later. And this blog has been going 12 years, so my views have certainly changed over that time - not drifted slightly, but shifted majorly. Here are some examples:

The IT Skeptic's 12th birthday

skeptic — Wed, 16 May 2018 01:04:03 +0000

It is the 12th anniversary of the beginning of the IT Skeptic persona and blog. Each anniversary I pause to reflect on the blog and on my own life.

The IT Skeptic's tenth birthday post: on Optimism

skeptic — Wed, 18 May 2016 10:32:18 +0000

May 16th was a special day for me: ten years since the first post on this blog.
I've had my ups and downs but I'm still going strong (though some would say I've grown too mellow).
How to mark the day? Instead of some self-indulgent retrospective, I'd like to recognise the occasion by publishing a second edition of "the Worst of the IT Skeptic" book. I'd like to but I wont, because after all these years I still haven't got around to a revision of any of my books. So instead let's talk about optimism.

The IT Skeptic is nine years old today. Thank-you!

skeptic — Fri, 15 May 2015 10:16:15 +0000

...and what fun it has been.

The IT Skeptic's Big Ideas

skeptic — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 23:53:04 +0000

Every year I seem to run with one or more "Big Idea". Often they are not my original idea. Some are. For the others I try to bring a fresh perspective to them.

The design police at Google say they'll push this site down the search rankings

skeptic — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 03:52:37 +0000

This website has been told if I don't redesign it I will be punished by Google's search engine. #mobilegeddon

what makes a successful blog

skeptic — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 02:00:21 +0000

While The IT Skeptic is not a hugely popular site I think it's fair to say it is a successful one. Certainly some people seem to think so: I'm often asked to comment on others' blogs or advise how to go about one.

The first question is why you blog; and hence what defines success for the blogger.

A blog serves any of three purposes:
To communicate/share.
To record ideas.

Thank-you and Merry Christmas from the IT Skeptic

skeptic — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 09:46:08 +0000

In this holiday season I'm sending out special thank-you to all the loyal followers of this blog

The IT Skeptic's RealIT Radio

skeptic — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 05:51:19 +0000

Announcing RealIT Radio, a podcast series from the IT Skeptic.
RealIT Radio applies a cold fire-hose of reality to the overheated IT industry.

The IT Skeptic's happy birthday

skeptic — Fri, 16 May 2014 04:13:25 +0000

The IT Skeptic is still on sabbatical.

Today he is celebrating the 8th birthday of the IT Skeptic blog. First post was 16th May 2006.

The IT Skeptic is hanging out with his good friends Mush and Room, the creations of the ultra-talented Rui Soares. They also appear on Rui's excellent blog ITIL Blues.

Normal program will be resumed as soon as possible

skeptic — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 08:45:42 +0000

The IT Skeptic is taking a rest.

Trolls I have known

skeptic — Sat, 29 Jun 2013 06:04:27 +0000

it occurred to me we haven't seen a troll on the blog for some time. I think this reflects the decreasing prominence of blogs: the trolling goes on elsewhere. The optimists amongst you might interpret it as demonstrating increasingly civilised behaviour on the Internet but somehow I doubt that. Anyway, I thought it might be fun to revisit some of the trolls of the past on the IT Skeptic blog.

What is the IT Skeptic for?

skeptic — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 21:41:26 +0000

Nothing like walking the dog on a rainy night to bring on some introspection. Why do I do this? What is the IT Skeptic's purpose? What do I hope to achieve? Make your own guess, then read on for a list of useful tools for you.

The IT Skeptic on facebook

skeptic — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 22:38:45 +0000

Mountains crumble, continents shift, species evolve, and The IT Skeptic gets a page on facebook. Personally I prefer Google+ but for those of you who use Zuckerbook, The IT Skeptic now has his own page, and I promise to try to keep the page alive on this crumbling ruin of a social network (like, facebook is so noughties). To do that, I need you to interact please, so come friend, like, post, tag, comment, and all those things you do on a social network.

Please Like the IT Skeptic on facebook

The IT Skeptic regular podcast

skeptic — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 09:03:52 +0000

The IT Skeptic is really pleased to announce I am now podcasting regularly, coming to you monthly as one of the three hosts of ITSM Weekly the Podcast, Antipodean Edition.

Hear the The IT Skeptic speak about Standard+Case on an exciting new 24 hour world-wide online conference

skeptic — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 11:51:03 +0000

It takes a lot to get the IT Skeptic excited, but here are two things!! Standard+Case and TFT12.

Standard+Case is going to change the way we deal with support and operations.
TFT12 is a 24-hour world-wide online crowd-sourced ITSM conference.
Both of them are enough to get Skep fizzing, and trust me that doesn't happen often.

If you would like to hear about the latest developments in Standard+Case at TFT12 please vote for this topic, else it won't happen. Yes the presentations are being crowd-selected, so I need your vote please to get Standard+Case onto the agenda!

And if you would like to know what Standard+Case or TFT12 is, click the links! or read on for a brief synopsis...

6 years old and still growing

skeptic — Wed, 16 May 2012 04:07:34 +0000

It's six years since this blog flickered into life. Not bad for a site that was going to be a six month experiment to learn how blogging works. I'm giving away a few books to celebrate.

A new look

skeptic — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:31:09 +0000

The IT Skeptic website has a new look.

We have a bunch of cosmetic detailing to do and a few known bugs:
Old newsletters don't look good or don't work at all
Audio (podcasts) untested at this point
There ~~may be~~are some missing graphic files
The ITIL Wizard is ~~on holiday~~back.

A little Christmas gift for readers

skeptic — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:58:08 +0000

If a post falls in the internet wilderness and nobody reads it, does it make a blog? Of course not. A blog is nothing without you, gentle readers. So at this festive time of year, I'd like to say a special thank-you for following and commenting, and offer a little something in gratitude.