Under construction

I was taught never, ever, to use the words “under construction” on a website. Also, I ‘ve always believed that those words are almost never, ever, true. And indeed, they’re not technically true now, either.

Having said that, I think I ought to give up my half-hearted attempt to keep this blog current. Because I now write several columns a week for which I get paid, blogging in the sense that I used to write here is not on my agenda. I’ll let others compete with how I make a living by doing it for free.

I’m busier than ever — much busier than I expected to be when I left Johannesburg for the safer, quieter, cheaper and more beautiful environs of Knysna. However, I’m giving a lot of thought to how I can better use this site to tie my various activities together. It needs a major rebuild, both in functionality and design, after years first of loyal service, and then benign neglect.

Until I get around to all that, here is where I hang out:

The Daily Maverick — my flagship column can be found under “opinionistas” down the right-hand side every Tuesday (usually). It covers everything under the sun, though that is not a formal restriction. One column recently racked up 400 comments totalling 65,000 words in just one week, which is among the reasons this blog is losing the battle for my attention. Also, it’s a superb site, populated with some really brilliant writers. It’s as good to read as it is to write for.

ITWeb — my area of specialisation, if I can still be said to have one, is technology and telecommunications. It’s what I studied, and what I wrote about when I first, accidentally, became a journalist. My interest in IT, and my long association with ITWeb continues. Most Thursdays I have a column there.

Brainstorm magazine — I’ve been writing for ITWeb’s premier monthly title, Brainstorm, since its launch ten years ago. I still do, and still have great fun doing it. Besides my back-page column, there’s the White Noise page, which is where I get to take the mickey out of everything and everyone in the field.

CAR Magazine — I’m very excited to be writing a column for what has always been one of my favourite print titles. I hardly ever read anything in print nowadays, but I’ve always made an exception for CAR. It is a great honour to be writing for them now too.

Twitter — having publicly left Facebook years ago because of the noise and clutter (and because Microsoft bought a stake in it), my favourite social networking hangout is Twitter. You’ll find me there daily, as @IvoVegter, arguing about economics, media, politics, environmentalism, history and Manchester United.