I can now officially say that after nearly 4 years I’m no longer working at Flickr, today was my last day, and I think it’s fair to say I’ll miss it terribly. There’s no other job quite like it. I’ll miss the people, I’ll miss the coding and I’ll miss the blogging. And besides, where else can you get to build rainbow vomiting pandas?
To put a little background around it, we (The Catt Family) are moving back to the UK (up near Manchester fwiw) for various family reasons. Over the last few weeks/months we’ve been poking around various options, none of which are incredibly practical. So in the end, it’s a case of take the money and run :)
Which means we get to finally have a look around San Francisco as tourists and take some much needed time off (while being paid for it, which is nice) before we fly back to the UK in the next few months.
So there’s two obvious things.
1) What am I doing next, employment?
I have no idea, I’m taking a couple of months off and the most pressing thing is to get back to the UK. The whole family thing is currently > work. Once that’s sorted we’ll think about the next adventure.
Of course if you want to employ someone who’s worked at one of the top photo sharing web sites called Flickr in the World, from when it was still tiny small(ish) and just moved to the US from Canada, to the huge beast it is now, yada yada yada maps blah etc. then drop me an email (unless you are ning.com, in which case could you please stop already).
Especially if you’re Google with a desk free in the Manchester office :)
If you need a reference just ask, well anyone really, you probably already know me by at least 1 degree of separation.
2) Will you still be working on Flickr stuff?
Yes, of course … along with more Processing stuff and poking around at a couple of js libraries I’ve not had a chance to play with yet.
But back to Flickr, I’ve often joked that I could probably get more stuff done working with the Flickr API outside of Flickr than inside. Mainly due to the simple removal of the Lawyers-Layer more than anything else ;) But I’ve always been concerned about doing stuff that clashes with the list of things on the Project board.
It’s not really possible to ethically build something in my free time that, well you know … which is why I wound down geobloggers as a geotagging your Flickr photos on a Google Map site …
… but now, I’m once more freeeeeeee (well in two months anyway) to just build whatever I feel like again + processing + new javascript libraries + map tiles :)
But in the meantime, I think I’m going to enjoy putting my feet up, playing with the kids, messing about in San Francisco, getting a few D&D session in and maybe even, you know, having time to blog a bit more.
Onwards!
Photos by Rev Dan Catt, Matt Biddulph and Dee Adams.
It’s very sad to think you won’t be there creating amazing things to throw out there from the bowls of flickr.
On the other hand, now you don’t have the nasty purple lawyers telling you no all the time.
:( Flickr and San Francisco will miss you & all the Catts terribly. I’m going to have to soak up extra time with you whenever possible before you go. (Looking forward to big D&D sessions!)
Thanks for all the great making and friendship and laughs. I’m looking forward very much to what comes next once you’re back on your feet in that green & pleasant land!
Now pardon me while I go check on Landmark Trust locations near Manchester for future vacation planning…
50% condolences, 50% congratulations! I’m excited to see what you come up with in the coming months as you transition back to independent work.
On the one hand: We’ll miss you Dan :o(
On the other: Hurrah! Exciting new life/home/job etc
But mainly, we’ll miss you.
Dan,
Your brilliance will be missed. I have no words except that I’m gonna look forward to all the kickass things you’re gonna come up with soon. I’ll miss what your ideas and work a lot. A whole lot. Thanks.
Thanks for the inside look into flickr. Best of luck in your new endeavors.
Will miss you in the office every day. Easily one of the most brilliant minds I have ever encountered in my career. Enjoy your time off and whatever comes next. Keep riding that unicorn.
Thanks for being my rainbow inspiration Reverend. Safe travels for you and your family. It was indeed an honour and a pleasure. Still an official member of your club my dear. http://www.flickr.com/groups/rdcas/
Jolly good, mate. Thanks for coming (more or less) when I first asked. And at least your kids will end up with proper accents :)
[...] Dan Catt, Ashot Petrosian and Neil Kandalgaonkar were amongst those who tweeted about their exits. Catt for instance is moving back to UK. I am told Cal Henderson, Flickr Architect- a rock star developer also left, though I have not been [...]
Remember when we had mediocre Mexican at that strip mall for lunch the day we met? Good times.
Flickr would not be as weird and wonderful without you. Three cheers for Dan!
<3
Awww, thank you everybody, I’m pretty sure I’ll get to see you all before I head off from SF. And yay Eric I do remember that mediocre Mexican, I also had no idea what I was letting myself in for!
And thanks for the invite over to SF Stewart, it’s been a grand adventure…
… but yes, you’re right, the accents here just wouldn’t have done :)
AWw man, that is a huge bummer, I’m so sorry to hear that you’re leaving. Good luck wherever you go, and if you ever need any artwork that happens to vomit rainbows, drop me a line anytime.
Cheers!
your family and kids seem entirely awesome and it is good you’ll have some time to spend getting them all set up in the UK.
i do hope you make some fun things in your spare time and share them with everybody. i still remember playing with the geobloggers site for the first time years ago and being blown away by it and watching geotagging evolve and grow over the years has been fun. i’m still holding out hope that one day i’ll get that indoor/outdoor flag. ; ]
anyway, thank you especially for geotagging and geotagging on flickr. not many people are true pioneers and you most certainly are one. also thank you for being so generous and patient when communicating in the various flickr forums. you were always really good at that too and brought a fun tone to so many discussions.
Awww, so sorry to hear you’re leaving flickr : (
… but the UK will be just that little bit cooler from the new influx of Cattses!!
Good luck to all of you for your big move.
I was shocked to hear that you are leaving, but I am also glad you are taking this all in a stride. Good luck on your next adventure. I will definitely miss reading your posts on the Dev Blog.
sir – happy to hear you’ll be back in blighty, good luck with the move and enjoy the remaining time in the magical city of burrito and coffee. look forward to seeing a bit more of you soon!
Very sorry that you’re leaving Flickr, but at least you’re returning to the proper side of the Atlantic. But most of all, I’m looking forward to seeing what you do next. Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be exceedingly cool…
All the best!
Oh noes!
One of my favorite things about Flickr is all your cool mapping and geotagging stuff.
Hope you can get the family stuff sorted soon, and free your mind and time for more cool things to do with pictures and maps and the web.
Good Luck Rev Dan! Best wishes in your future endeavors and all that you do. Will watch with interest on what you do next. Especially things that may relate to photos and geolocation!
Psst, Dan, wanna come play in Commons API map stuff? :)
Welcome back to Blighty. Let me know if you are interested in freelance stuff
Good luck Dan! As someone who has just left Manchester to come down to London I’m sure that I’ll be heading back there eventually. How long has it been since you’ve lived there? It’s changed a helluva lot in the past 5-10 years!
Hi Kev,
I’ve never lived in Manchester although I worked there for a couple of years about 5 years ago. It’s really nearer Shrewsbury we’ll be (probably) be moving to, but Manchester is …
a) Easy to get to from there.
b) Pssst … don’t say anything, but I think there’s more chance that Americans know about Manchester then Shrewsbury, so it’s best not to cause confuse and only stick with the big cities :)
Although I may end up doing the London thing *anyway* who knows?! :)
Best of luck to you Sir Dan and your family. one thing is very certain, You will never go hungry! Cheers. I’ll give you a shout out when I visit London next year! I think a donut might be in order! =o)
Paul..
Hey, flickr started it all…thanks for giving us the world of flickr – you, Cal, Stewart and other flickrers..!
I remember being excited about Geobloggers when I first saw it. I remember being so excited by Flickr that I paid to join! You joined Flickr – great! Yahoo bought Flickr – well you can’t have everything.
But now you can try to integrate Flickr with Google Maps and still have an easy conscience. I look forward to great things.
And welcome back to the UK!
[...] today was my last day, and I think it’s fair to say I’ll miss it terribly," says Catt on his blog. "There’s no other job quite like it. I’ll miss the people, I’ll [...]
It is kinda sad to know it took a round of departures and layoffs to snap me out of my “no time for flickr at the moment” phase… but just dropping in to say sorry & congrats! I look forward to what the future might bring for someone as talented as you! Your staff presence in the groups and discussions will be missed for sure.
Still planning to stick around SF long enough to hit the GNEetup? Hopefully with more time to hang out! :-)
Oh heck yeah I’m here for the GNE meetup, I’m not racing away *that* soon :)
[...] On my last day at Flickr I can now officially say that after nearly 4 years I’m no longer working at Flickr, today was my last day, and I [...] [...]
good luck dan :)
[...] I think it’s fair to say I’ll miss it terribly,” engineer Reverend Dan Catt wrote on his blog. “We (The Catt Family) are moving back to the UK (up near Manchester fwiw) for various family [...]
[...] is also leaving and says on his blog that he’ll be moving back to [...]
Dude, your beard is bad-assed.
[...] today was my last day, and I think it’s fair to say I’ll miss it terribly," says Catt on his blog. "There’s no other job quite like it. I’ll miss the people, I’ll [...]
sir – happy to hear you’ll be back in blighty, good luck with the move and enjoy the remaining time in the magical city of burrito and coffee. look forward to seeing a bit more of you soon!
[...] Dan Catt who up until recently worked at Flickr said: I’ve often joked that I could probably get more stuff done working with the Flickr [...]