An Interview with web development superhero and WebDevConf 2012 speaker Syd Lawrence | Heart Internet Blog – Focusing on all aspects of the web

Ahead of WebDevConf 2012 on October 19th, we spoke to “modern superhero” Syd Lawrence (aka “Kid Syd”) to find out what he will be talking about at the event, working with Blur, and life as a web developer.

Hi Syd, tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

Hey, so I started off coding when I was a kid. My parents both used to work for the big blue, and so we always had a pc at home. I used to play quite a few computer games, and every so often I would get a “why don’t you do something more constructive with your time” statement from my software engineer dad. So what did he do? He bought me a couple of computer game development kits to muck around with, so I was making games and not just playing them.

Then at uni I studied Computer Science. Whilst doing far too many other things, I used to be a club dj, radio producer, student radio station manager and freelance web developer. My degree wasn’t exactly my priority, but doing interesting things was. That’s basically how I started out in the industry; making website for various club nights, and making random sites for myself and friends and friends of the family.

Personally, I like making things. At the radio I used to make jingles and features etc. Then I started making more web based things. Things being the optimum word, a total random mix. After uni I started doing the whole agency thing, worked at one small marketing agency. It wasn’t for me; Left after a month. Then I went back to freelancing. Then 6 months later I got offered a job of a lifetime working at a local design agency, Marmalade on Toast, which was doing some really interesting stuff at the time. So here I entered back into agency land. I stayed at Marmalade for just over 2 years and I decided to see if I could go it alone. I went back to freelancing for various large ad agencies.

Then, me and a friend Tom Gibby (@adverplanner) made the most ridiculous site ever, Instac.at. Instagram pictures tagged with the word cat. That was it, nothing more. It was the first thing I ever made that I can safely say went “viral”.

From that spawned a new company which I still run today, with @adverplanner, We Make Awesome Sh. Working with other really awesome people, Adam @skattyadz, and Paul @nrocy, we started to get some of our own awesome clients. In 2012 alone we have worked with Universal, EMI, Atlantic Records, Intel, Microsoft, and various others including projects for Blur, Swedish House Mafia, Plan B, and Kylie Minogue to name a few.

I love what I do, I like making things. For me, it’s a hobby, not a job. But I am fortunate enough to get paid for my hobby. Not many people can say that. I love it.

You’ve been called a modern superhero by geek.com, how did you get this title and what’s your super power?

Heh, so basically, in summer of 2011, Rob Hawkes, me, Paul King, and a few others decided to “look into” facial recognition. It just so happened to be the time of the riots. Yeah, probably not that wise. But hey, it was an experience. Prior to even touching a line of code, we were getting interview requests from the likes of Channel4, Forbes, BBC, CNN…

Geek.com asked: “Are the people involved in this Google Group a kind of modern superhero?”

If I were a real superhero, my super power would definitely be flying at the speed of light. I could be anywhere at any time. I am currently sat at Heathrow airport at 3am waiting to board a flight in 3 hours, so I might be slightly biased right now.

What would be your superhero name?

My name would be Kid Syd. A few years ago a friend of mine even drew up a comic strip of me as Kid Syd. And I have a few photos of me dressed as Kid Syd, y-fronts included. Ask me nicely, and I might show you, but I must warn you, you might be blinded by the results! I once took part in a charity fun-run dressed as Kid Syd and my tights split while I was doing the warm up routine in front of 100s of people in the centre of Cardiff – let’s just say a few people might have got more than they bargained for!

What are you going to be talking about at WebDevConf 2012?

So I am talking all about why I think it is important for developers to muck around with technology. Playing, not just working, having fun, encouraging people, and telling them how best to do it.

What else are you looking forward to at WebDevConf 2012?

I’m really looking forward to hearing David Burton speak, as I think our philosophies are very much in line and would love to hear his outtake on f*** about.

What inspires you to start a project?

Late nights, and a few beers, if I am honest.

What tips do you have for anyone struggling with creative block or similar challenges?

Step away from the machine, go for a walk. Also, do something different, do something you wouldn’t normally do. During that time, you might work out whatever it was you were trying and failing to work out.

What areas of web development particularly interest you and why?

You know what, I don’t have an answer for this. All areas of development in general interest me. As I said before, I like making things.

What have you been working on recently?

https://blur.co.uk/hydepark2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKb2eP1GKvM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1QqXWoJ5bc

You’ve been a Heart Internet customer now for almost 5 years, what do you like best about our products/service?

Wow, 5 years. That seems like a very long time! I like it, as it makes it really easy for me to setup new sandboxed servers for clients. And I can really easily setup a new site with a domain in a matter of minutes.

What resources would you recommend to someone looking to get started with web development?

For complete beginners: https://htmlandcssbook.com/

 

Thanks Syd!

Syd’s a hacker and developer and has previously been described as a “professional troll”. He is a developer evangelist for Twilio and runs We Make Awesome Sh.

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