First off, happy New Year!

New Look
It’s a New Year, so I figured might as well go with a new look. Hope you like it, please leave a comment if you’re having any display issues.

New Blog
I’ve also started a new photoblog called “Found in Focus” with all my personal favorite photos that I’ve taken – please stop by and check it out. I’m aiming to make a daily (weekdays) update on this blog with, weather & life permitting, a new photo taken that day – but I’ve got a good backlog to ensure something gets up everyday regardless.

2006 – A Look Back
If I had to distill 2006 into one theme it would have to be a year of “learning” – from both personal and business perspectives.

From a business point of view we moved from an industry I knew well and into entirely new territory. The translation & localization space is an interesting one – I’d have to liken it to an onion. There’s so many layers in terms of technologies, approaches & politics that it makes for an interesting space to learn and navigate.

Even in terms of day-to-day business experience I learned more this year then I have in a long, long, time. The shift from services to product, licensing models & theories and of course the venture capital/funding dance all go thrown into one big melting pot of a year.

On the personal front I discovered Barcamp, DemoCamp & the other *Camps that have spawned over the past 18 months or so. The people, presentations and experiences I’ve met, seen and, well experienced, since the first DemoCamp I attended have opened my eyes to a lot of things in the Web & Technology space that I just wasn’t seeing before. It’s also personally made me a better networker, motivated me to keep this blog up to date and given me the opportunity to make some great (and I hope lasting) friendships.

Organizing BarCampEarth (Toronto) was another great experience that let me work with a great group of people and also feel like I was able to contribute to the TorCamp community in some form.

I also had the opportunity to attend Dave Gray’s “Visual Thinking School” when he was here in Toronto. I blogged about it here after the event. Hard to really convey but it’s had a huge effect on how I approach things now in a lot of aspects. It’s also a big reason I’ve started my Photoblog, Dave was very big on carrying a camera with you to capture “life” & “stuff” – something I’ve started doing and the blog is a great way to share it.

Lastly 2006 was a great year for travel – we started the year on a family cruise in the Caribbean, made it to Disney World in the summer, won tickets to England in the fall and with work I had the chance to get to New York & Montreal for the first time, and also see Chicago again.

2007 – Looking Forward
Both Erin (my wife) and I are looking forward to 2007 immensely – we both have a feeling that this year is going to be nothing short of great. The theme in our household this year is “Abundance” – something I hope all of you get to experience this year in one form or another as well.

Thanks again for reading!