Portfolio

Internet

Ben Barden – You’re reading it now. The blog that’s frequently relaunched, and dates back to 2005. Archives from previous versions of the site are currently offline, but are being gradually revived on some of the other blogs listed below. Current focus is: a cynical look at the web. It could change when you next read this.

Blogging

Weekly Blogging – Recently relaunched and redesigned, Weekly Blogging is where I write all about blogging, with one new post every Monday, and a discussion post every Friday.

101 tips for improving your blog – A free e-book published at Top Ten Blog Tips. Totally original, this e-book is full of tips that are specific, honest and real. Several of them go against the “advice” you’ll find on other blogs about blogging. Read this and learn some proper tips that actually work.

Top Ten Blog Tips – Blogging tips, provided as lists of 10 tips per post. Launched in 2008, it’s one of my longest running blogs. It’s still a young blog, but is wiser than most of the others. Due to its age and format, this blog is less frequently updated than the others, but it gets a decent amount of search engine traffic.

The Blog Cop – Policing the blogosphere, one post at a time. Highly critical, but ultimately beneficial if you want to know what you shouldn’t do with your blog.

Web development

How to code Javascript – A work in progress, this is where I’ll be putting all the Javascript tips that I think could be of use to others.

How to code SQL – A growing collection of SQL tips, tricks and tutorials. Have a look, you might find something you like.

Business

Zen Working – Now on its second version, at the time of writing it has very little in the way of content. These days, I seem to be better at writing about things you shouldn’t do, than things you should.

Creative projects

Writing by Ben Barden – I’ve been writing verse for most of my life, but didn’t write a lot of it until 2001. I don’t claim to be particularly good at it. Over the years it has been a creative outlet for me. Writing verse allows me to share stories without being too specific, or to think out loud about the things I can’t figure out. Reading back through some of the entries in each collection, it’s like a trip down memory lane. There’s even a brand new collection where I’ve started writing my first entries since 2007. On launch day, the site had 173 posts. That’s quite a back catalogue. Hopefully a few of them will grab your attention.

Music by Ben Barden – Unofficially, my music is currently on hiatus, but you can listen to some of my back catalogue here.

Development projects

CMF Ads – Low cost, high value advertising. Officially launched in January 2009, CMF Ads has grown from humble beginnings to become one of the “big three” advertising options for many bloggers, alongside Entrecard and Adgitize. This is quite an achievement, and one I’m very happy with.

Archived

Injader – An open source CMS with promise, but 5 years of history and some pretty ancient code. Would’ve needed a serious overhaul to bring it back to life. Ultimately I made the tough decision to close it in June 2010.