Welcome
First of all, I’d like to thank you for stopping by and welcome you to Thoughts from up-north, Martin Bekkelund’s English weblog. I also run a Norwegian weblog, which can be located at www.bekkelund.net.
Who is Martin?
My full name is Martin Bekkelund, 28 at the moment, and I’m living a couple of miles west of Oslo, Norway. I work as an ERP-consultant for a software company in Oslo, where I’m also responsible for everything related to www in our software (e.g. e-commerce, portals, etc). I also run a small web-consultant company along with two friends. (Relax, the two jobs are not in conflicts of interests.)
Why the English blog?
I’ve been blogging for several years. Actually, I’ve been blogging quite some time before there was personal publishing platforms available. (At least for my purpose.) I’ve been online with my own homepage since 1995. Since I tend to read several foreign blogs, I find it sad to have no URL to leave in blogs that’s not Norwegian, when commenting on articles.
I’d be the first to admit that I am a techno-freak. I just love gadgets. I also have a heart for www and web standards, so I find this blog a suitable place to write down my personal opinions and discoveries.
So, where’s your heart at, Martin?
As mentioned, I have a big heart for web standards. Well, not just web standards; I like standards in general, especially the open ones. An open standard is a natural choice instead of a proprietary, closed standard, since it makes you vendor independent.
In addition to standards, I also believe in web usability and accessibility. The www was invented to make information available. Let’s keep it that way, by using web standards the right way.
KISS! I just love everything that’s simple. Simple means fast. Fast means effective. And, In the long run effectiveness is to the very best for both users and customers.
From a personal view, I like free software, or open source software, but from a commercial point of view free or open is not necessarily in the interest of professional customers or vendors. To put it simple, my salary is depending on my employer’s income, which again is depending on paying customers. Don’t misunderstand me, software can still be open source, and one can still make money on open source. (Yes, you’ve got it correct, I’m not a communist.)
I believe that I’m able to learn from everyone. Disregarding age, gender, experience or the color of the skin, I believe that there is always something to learn from an other human being, if you’re humble enough and willing to learn.
I like to share information. As long as any information I’m holding is not confidential, I think of information sharing as an important thing in the process of learning. In my world accessibility and information sharing is a perfect match.
If you’re still reading, I hope that you’ll continue reading my blog in the future. Feel free to leave a comment just to say hi, or to drop off your own URL.
