If The Lord (or Nicholas Cage) Ran The Internet
Alright, folks…I’ve been look forward to this interview for a long time. Here’s why: when I started WiP, I designed the layout and color scheme, etc., etc., and then went in search of someone who could give it a brain. Meaning, power under the hood. Meaning, I need to be able to launch missiles from NORAD and I’m sort of not kidding. I went through about four Mindless Monkeys before I found the best of the best…and have been ruined ever since. Because I didn’t just find an expert, I found a god. Or a messiah. Or something like that (it will make sense in a minute).
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Ash Goodman…
1. Let’s get right off to a fascinating start. Where were you born?
London, England born… Virginia, USA raised.
2. Fascinating. And you live where now? (this isn’t usually a question I’d make a point of asking, folks, but get a load of this one)…
Manila, Philippines… Huh? Oh! You want the back story… ok. About umpteen years ago (I didn’t really track time when I was younger), somewhere around 21 or 22 I got this hankering to travel so I bought a one way ticket to England, worked there and in Europe for a while, got bored, took off to Asia about 13 or 14 years ago, and just kind of never left… Then after a while I met a girl (in the Philippines), got married, had kids and had to get all respectable and grown up and that’s what you see before you today. Me, as grown up as I know how to be….
3. Okay, and there’s just no way around this one (and we’re all thinking it anyway): anyone ever tell you you bear a striking resemblance to Nicholas Cage?
Short Answer: Yep. Long Answer: It’s funny you should mention that. My cousin and I used to do this thing and it went something like this… The Girl: “Has anyone ever told you that you look like…” Me (Cutting her off acting very upset and angry): [Enter favorite explicative here]!!! If one more person tells me I look like my younger brother I am going to lose it!” Girl: ”You mean Nich…” ME (cutting her off again): “Yes, yes [explicative]!!! Nicholas is my *LITTLE* brother. And I don’t look like him. He looks like me!!!” Of course after a few minutes I admitted it wasn’t true, but it made for a great ice-breaker!
4. What about a striking resemblance to Jesus? (don’t even pretend you didn’t know I’d go there). Dude! Way to rock the hair and the beard. So…a bit about your real life and work: what is it you do that lets you get away with reminding us the Grateful Dead are alive and kicking :)
It’s funny you should mention that…. just kidding! But yeah, I do get the Jesus thing as well. I work from home which means I get to pretty much look however I want, Living on tropical islands in Southeast Asia means most days it’s t-shirt, sandals and shorts. What do I do? I empower people by giving them the tools they actually need to manage their online presence effortlessly. Put another way: I build awesome websites that are as cool as my hair and a heckuva lot easier to manage.
5. Jesus pretty much loved everyone. Okay, he definitely loved everyone. But let’s be honest…you’re not Jesus. Anyone on your nerves who you’d like to send into the eternal fires of damnation? (I mean, in love of course)
Barney. I am convinced that purple dinosaur is secretly an alien with plans to take over the world. (Can’t argue with any of this.)
6. Seems like you’re having a pretty good day what with your new-found deity and all. Now that you’ve gotten eternal judgement checked off, how about a little Me Time? You get to change anything about yourself. So, what’s it going to be? Smaller thighs or a bigger brain? Go.
If this is a keeping it within the realm of possibility kind of change I would say more patience, better health. If it’s a ‘what kind of superpower would you want’? Wolverines healing factor, I mean how cool is that!
7. What was your favorite book as a teenage know-it-all?
Now that’s a tough one! I have always been a voracious reader since age 4. (Yes I am a geek, the long hair is just a disguise). When I was growing up my mother worked in a library so after school I would sit there and read everyday until she finished work. In my teens I was groovin hard on the scifi (ok, ok, I am still groovin hard on the sci fi) and was reading the Dune Series by Frank Herbert and the Well World Series by Jack Chalker. But my favorite would have to be HHGTTG. (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the best 5 part trilogy ever written)
8. What is your favorite book now?
My favorite book for 2010: Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey. One of the funnest and funniest reads I have had in a while.
9. Time to tell our readers what it is you REALLY do. Waltzing in Perdition does what it does with a lot of power under the hood. Power you programmed from the ground up. Here’s where you plug shamelessly. The mic is on, Ash, so let’s hear it: tell us about your job.
[Cue lights, Sound] [Cue music from 2001: A Space Odyssey] [Cue cool announcer voice]
Imagine if your website actually did what you needed it to do. Imagine what you could achieve if only there were no limitations. Now stop imagining because it’s even better than that.
[Cue confetti]
I take WordPress from where it is to where it should be. When I am done working on your site everything you have ever wished you could do with your website and a few things you didn’t even know you could wishfor are all built in. Point and click baby, its all just point and click. While other developers make pretty designs, I make beautiful websites that function as well as I believe that managing your website should not require you learn even one line of code. And I don’t think a user should have to accept limitations on what they can or can’t do with their website. So over the last 2 years I have developed a framework for WordPressthat makes it… well… effortless really. And I hope more fun and empowering as well. Its built with the user in mind. Rule 1 is always, how can I make this easier to use. Everything, and I do mean everything is built in. SEO, search robot control, ad management, fine grained navigation controls, social networking, analytics, and a slew of other awesome features to extensive to list here. Your website should be the control center for your online presence and I ensure that it is.
Put simpler: My WordPress framework is what other WordPress themes want to be when they grow up. In schoolyard language: My WordPress kicks your WordPress ___! Bold statements? Perhaps. So I’ll just say this: Todd, I think your on version 1.5 of my framework. Go ahead and tell the nice folks what it’s like.
I want to marry him.
And version 2.0 comes out next month. It’s even better, easier to use, more powerful and just plain stuffed chock full of awesomeness ;)
(And have his children.)
10. And now it’s my turn: you know how uptight I can be about my design and blog, so you know I don’t trust just anyone (stop laughing, Ash, it’s rude). But I’m feeling magnanimous today and want to share your expertise with the world. How does someone find out more.
Well they can email me direct at ash@thinkinginvain.com or visit the business website at and email me through the site. Either way I’ll arrange a no-obligation guided tour of the custom backend so they can see what they have been missing.
11. What do you love about your work in general?
It’s a philosophical thing really. I believe in the founding principles of the internet, the democratization of communication and self expression. These are fundamental rights, not privileges. It’s what computing and the internet is all about. Every day I get to help make that process easier for people. My work both empowers and frees and I think that makes me a pretty lucky guy!
12. What do you…not love…about your work in general?
Well, I hate it when I come across poorly written code, but what really, really bugs me? Internet Explorer. I mean, come on!
13. Okay you just took an elevator 50 stories up. Only you and Steve Jobs. Naturally there wasn’t much to do finding yourself in the presence of the Fourth Person of the Trinity, besides falling prostrate and burning incense. BUT—it’s you and Bill Gates on the way back down and you’ve been given Temporary Deity Status. It’s high time he had a few Upper Management Spankies, so let him have it. Go.
Internet Explorer. I mean come on! Internet Explorer adds 20% more time to a project because of its poor standards support. Code that works perfect in every other browser breaks in Internet Explorer. And if support for earlier version like version 6 are important it can add as much as 30-40% to the project timeline and limit your options. Have you ever seen that film with Adam Sandler? I think it was called Little Nickie or something, you know the one where he is the Devil’s good son. Remember what they did to a certain German with the Pineapple? Substitute Billy Gates.
14. Alight, enough of that. Omniscience gets pretty knotty. Let’s step off the elevator and get under the hood a bit. Favorite meal in the whole wide world?
Well thats a 2 part answer, cause my favorite I can’t eat anymore. Used to be Italian food. Pizza, pasta etc. But extreme gluten sensitivity put that to rest. And Twinkies, I think I miss Twinkies the most. Now my favorite is Steak (ok, to be fair, Steak has always been right up there) But its very, very hard to find good steak over here. *sigh.
15. Children? (not to eat, I mean do you have children?)
Yes I have 2, both boys, both wild and precocious as children should be. The eldest is 6 and has already been hacking his toys for over a year now. Whenever I want to know where my screwdrivers have gone I just look for him. I’ll find him taking his trains and other toys apart and reassembling them his way, swapping parts making changes etc. My youngest is nearly 2 and a half, has no fear whatsoever, no concept of limits and believes anything his brother can do so can he. Which explains why my white hair count has gone up over the last year…
16. What did you want to be when you were 12?
A Grownup. No really, I never was one of those who knew what he wanted to be, I more of the “why do I have to be any one thing” kind of guy. My big goal in life was being old enough to make my own rules. Once I got there I had pretty much achieved the *BIG* ambition and after that I figured it was just a matter of keeping yourself open to what life tosses at you. And that’s kind of been my life story really. I took chances and opportunities as they have presented themselves and have had a great time along the way.
17. What did you want to be when you got up this morning (ha ha)?
21. Getting older sucks. I do have an ambition to be a writer though. I reckon I have 2-3 books stuck inside and one of these days I hope to dislodge them and get them on paper.
18. (Sorry, can’t resist this one) Saying you kind of sort of know your way around the internet is like saying the Pope sort of knows his way around the Vatican. Let’s say you get to design the whole thing from the ground up FOR. THE. WHOLE. WORLD Ash-style. Any bright ideas?
I won’t say I have the solutions but I will say there are 3 areas I would look at.
1) Search. Search sucks. Google is great, but still a far cry from where search needs to be.
2) Spam, something has to be done about spam. And not just spam email,spamming blog comments or worse still, blogs that are spam. Fixing this would improve thing #1
3) Free Access. OK, so its not feasible yet to have free blazing fast, high speed access for everyone, but everyone should have at least free basic access to the web. Its a right, not a privilege.
19. Good book in a chair beside the ocean or throw all your stuff on the sand and get in the ocean?
If it’s a good book its no contest, I’m reading.
Ten points if you know the song your parents called Their Song. Hit me.
I have no idea, at all. My mother was fond of Mel Torme, that’s as close as I can get.
20. Speaking of songs, play any instruments?
Yes, guitar. (Don’t tell me that’s a surprise, I mean just look at my hair!) I actually used to give lessons (before I started my travels).
21. Favorite movie?
Oh wow, That’s a hard one. I am gonna cheat and give more than one. Ordinary Decent Criminals, or the Usual Suspects. (Kevin Spacey rocks!) Firefly/Serenity yes, I am a browncoat and if you don’t know what that means: shame on you! Monty Python
22. Check it out! The Hollywood talent agent sitting next to you couldn’t help notice how enthralled you were. They’re remaking the movie and he’s giving you the role of your choice. Who do you play?
OK, so I really do gotta pick just one movie then. Ok Serenity, I play Mal of course.
23. Looks like you’re having a pretty cool day, what with the temporary omniscience, the music, and the starring role in the new movie. And wouldn’t you know it? John Lennon just stepped off the Space-Time Continuum elevator (you left the door open). He’s feeling musical (that crazy John), but doesn’t have a lot of time. Time to kick back and enjoy a song. Which one are we going to hear?
If its a Beatles tune: Eleanor Rigby. If its open mic: get the Led out.
Ash rescued me from a Mindless Monkey WordPress disaster in 2009. So I’m sorry but get in the queue because I’m next in line to marry him and have his children! That’s after his current wife of course :) Anyway on the serious side Ash is IT when it comes to web design AND functionality. Excellent just doesn’t do it justice. After dealing with Ash I wouldn’t have my websites built by anyone else. Why would I? I got everything I needed, wanted and more, including a friend. Excellent service, easy to deal with, always reachable – FABULOUS ever evolving custom wordpress platform…. I’ve just hired him for some SEO and consultancy work. Remember guys, you get what you pay for. Treat Ash like the professional he is and you’ll get WAY more than you paid for. What I want to know is why doesn’t he have a Facebook Fan page yet?
Been using crazy Jesus’s kick ass services for quite a while now. I am a big fan of thesis and I can honestly say that Ash’s theme is well up there along side EXCEPT… a newbie could use it and as far SEO goes I would say it is as good and I have the proof to show for it in my analytics account.
Great interview keep up the good work both of you crazy buggers,
SamuelJ
Beverly, I couldn’t agree more on getting way more than I pay for (Ash, please don’t read this lol). I think I can count on one hand the professionals who truly go above and beyond the job and deliver more than I thought I needed. (And I will arm wrestle you for him).
Samuel, I love the name of your blog and would like to
blamethank you for seeing to it that the first sip of coffee this morning ended up all over my monitor from laughing.@Samuel, love the domain name!
@Bev Yeah, I should think about a facebook fan page
@ Bev, Samuel and Todd: Thanks for the kind words guys! I would say though, I don’t feel as if I over deliver, it’s just that so much of my competition under delivers they make it easy for me to stand out and look good!
@todd I hope the laughter wasn’t from my 1/2 DIY design job :)
@Ash too modest! Love your stuff
Ash totally rocks. He really does go above and beyond… friendly and professional too! Love the interview. Can’t say I’d marry him, but might ask to move next door!
I would like to hire this kid asap so that I can follow in my mentor’s footsteps. seriously – where do I begin?
ash@thinkinginvain.com and tell him I said hi :)
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