after almost two years with carsonified, i’m announcing today that i’m moving to pastures new.

i’m more proud than words can say to have been part of a team that has gone from a few web apps, workshops and 2 large conferences a year – to numerous workshops, conferences, expos and web apps. i know the effort that goes into each of the events that carsonified lays on and i know that the team will continue to go from strength to strength. i thought it might be quite fun to recap…

during my time, i’ve…

• been involved with 7 events
• managed 4 events (including the mammoth expo)
• met thousands of amazing contacts and friends
• broken or lost 3 iphones (yes i’m skint now)
• stickered up 1092 oranges – for the vitamin stand!
• sent 1297 tweets
• blogged more than i care to remember
• been mistaken for a tequila girl at a cold fusion event only once
• signed one laptop (that was weird!)
• become a pro at updating the site, yes <div>’s are now my friend rather than my foe
• attended 2 SXSW festivals
• …and suffered many hangovers

reason for leaving

i know that many people will think that i’m mad for leaving such a forward thinking company, positioned in my opinion, in one of the best industries in the world.

i’ve been offered a 6 month contract with the oscar winning aardman animations (makers of wallace and grommit, heck yeah!) looking after their online communities and driving the strategies for their online presence. it’s an opportunity i feel that i have to take – i’m passionate about bringing content to the masses and community work is where my heart is, so i’m excited to apply this to another industry (whilst still being a web chick of course).

in the long term, i’d love to have my own consultancy some day – helping people connect with their users/communities and i think that this is vital experience in helping me along the way – plus, come on… it’s wallace and grommit! the first project that i am working on will be reaching out to animators, so if you have any work that you’d like to showcase, remember to keep me in mind…

my last day with carsonified is 5th June and then i’ll be out in the wilderness, yikers!

so what now?

i love you guys. i love the web. i love everyone who spends 5 minutes reading my silly blog about things that really don’t matter. i love the way everyone gets more and more amazed (and often baffled) by my random videos. i know that’s cheesy but it’s true. the friendships and connections that i have made over the last couple of years are genuine, i really care about you guys and i hope that they continue and everyone stays in touch.

the web is the best industry in the world. a revolution is taking place. connections are happening between people in the world that couldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the sites and technologies that you guys are working on, i’m so honored to be part of it. man i love the web

mel xox

p.s. i think i’d be quite good at oscar acceptance speeches don’t you think

p.p.s you can stay in touch by…

twitter:        www.twitter.com/melkirk
email:         melkirk1 at gmail dot com
facebook:   mel kirk (bristol)
seesmic:     www.seesmic.com/melkirk
aim:            melkirk2006

i’m basically all over the web!!!