Matt Heerema

Leaving AOL

As of October 2nd, if all continues according to plan, I will be leaving Weblogs, Inc. and AOL and moving on to the next chapter in my career. October 16 would have been three years, to the day, of full time employment with one of the most capable, productive, and friendly teams I have ever worked with. Many of them have become close friends and mentors and it is not without heavy heart that I leave. If I could take them with me, I would.

I will be moving on and up to what, for me, is one of the most exciting Web jobs I could imagine: Web manager for Desiring God. This opportunity combines many aspects of my passions, interests, skills, into what I consider my larger life mission. I am honored to join a team that is doing what I feel to be the most important work on the earth.

I will be remaining in Ames, IA and working remotely. This arrangement has been very successful within AOL and hopefully will prove to be equally successful at Desiring God. I will also be continuing my various roles at Stonebrook Church.

Thanks to all of my teammates at AOL for a great three year ride. I’m looking forward to closing out this next month in strong fashion. AOL is doing some exciting things. Keep an eye on them. I’d urge you to keep an eye on Desiring God as well.

Onward and upward.

I realize that this move is in many ways a personal and theological statement capable of starting a flame war in comments. I have no interest in that discussion in such a forum. If you want to grab a dark beer in a pub some evening to discuss in person, you know where to find me. :-)

Reader Poll About my recent “Interesting Links” addition

I started posting a daily roundup of “interesting links” i find around the Web. I’m wondering if these are useful, interesting, or annoying.

I’m also wondering about doing a unique post per link, with a little more commentary, rather than a daily roundup.

Does anyone have an opinion or care?

Jimmy Fallon taking over for Conan

This isn’t exactly news, but I wanted to post it. Jimmy Fallon is hilarious. I’m pretty stoked that he’s taking over for Conan who is taking over for Leno. This might just draw my attention away from Letterman… TiVo? Nah… I don’t watch that much TV.

I really, really, really, enjoyed him geeking out with Felicia Day, but even sweeter is that Engadget got to do an impromptu live video with him. Priceless.

update: I had originally, mistakenly, said that Fallon was taking over for Leno… was in a hurry with about 10 other things going on simultaneously… see, there it is again, I’m not God :-).

Welcome, Katharyn Joy

My wife and I are delighted to announce the birth of our second daughter: Katharyn Joy (Kate) Heerema!

Born yesterday (October 12) at 3:45pm.

Vital stats:

• 9lbs 13oz
• 22 inches long
• head circumference: 15 inches (I’ve been told by several women that this is an important stat… ;-) )

They say she’s a large baby but she seems perfect to me. Happy and Healthy. Mom is doing well also.

We’ll have copious amounts of pics available on flickr for those who are interested.

Katharyn is derived from the greek “katharos” meaning “pure”. The “yn” spelling comes from my dramatic flair ;-). We’re calling her Kate. I’m pretty sure I will be calling her Katie within days, which Nancy isn’t a fan of because that’s the name of her parents’ cat. I say “bah”. Katie is a cute name.

Once again I am proud father. I now have two beautiful daughters. Elena and Kate. They are going to be quite the pair.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog Redesign

Brilliant, amazing, the best yet. Mark did a stellar job on the TUAW redesign. My two designers keep one-upping each other in brilliance ever since they were hired on a little over a year ago. It’s full speed ahead. Can’t wait to keep informing you of our upcoming re-launches.

More info on the redesign and a ton of feedback already at the redesign post on TUAW.