About Me: Personal
I’m in my early 30’s, married (since May 2001) and have a son, have two dogs and live in Jacksonville, FL. Jacksonville is where I’ve lived since I was born, except for a 4 year period while I was away at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Why stay in one place? Frankly, I love the climate and the city… and it’s just home. I have had an itch to live in a big city… specifically I’d like to live in a city like Chicago, Boston, or Seattle… it just has to be near the ocean. I doubt I’d last far inland for very long as the beach is very relaxing and therapeutic. Once a year my family vacations on top of a mountain in western North Carolina for the Independence Day (July 4) holiday weekend and for a week on a beach in South Carolina with no computers, cell phones, or TV… it’s wonderful, relaxing, and very recharging.
I love both pro and college [American] football (while I prefer the NFL a bit more), play fantasy football every season, and have a passion for the strategy & numbers in the game (stats, trends, Vegas' odds, etc).
About Me: Professional
I’ve always been into building things (Lego’s as a kid, software in high school / college / professionally). In 1998, between my junior and senior year at the University of Florida, I got an internship with a small web development shop called RAMWORKS. I learned a ton from the people there… especially Ron F., Greg R., and Danny T.. I mention RAMWORKS specifically because there are two things that I took away from that job that are still the foundations in my professional beliefs, attitude, and generally how I approach problems: (1) anything can be done… it’s just a matter of time and money and (2) I thrive off the implied challenge when it's stated that something can't be done. These two things/attitudes are part of the foundation of how I approach my job. I’ve taken that approach for just about every project… only time I say ‘no’ to the question “can you do [X]?”, it’s usually based on a policy, timeframe, or cost; external influencers that are not part of the core challenge.
Primarily I am a Microsoft developer specializing in the .NET Framework and the Office Server System, specifically Microsoft Content Management Server 2002 and Windows SharePoint Services / SharePoint Portal Server 2003. In April of 2005 & 2006 I was recognized by Microsoft for my community contributions by being awarded Most Valuable Professional for Microsoft Content Management Server. Most of my work these days involves working with the Microsoft SharePoint Products & Technologies. With my background in Microsoft Content Management Server, I have a deep focus on the Web Content Management (WCM) and Enterprise Content Management (ECM) capabilities in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. In addition, I have a strong background in core Windows SharePoint Services v3 development.
In February 2007 I decided to go out on my own and start my own business: Andrew Connell Incorporated. Going out on my own and starting my own business has always been a dream of mine. Finally in early 2007 the time was right to give it a shot so I tendered my resignation and formed my company. My focus will continue to be on the Microsoft SharePoint Products & Technologies, specifically in the areas of consulting, SharePoint related project planning, custom development, and writing. I'm looking forward to the challenges that other small business owners have, as well as the pride in ownership. Plans are for the immediate future to make this a one-man show, but who knows what the future holds going forward!
Writing
I'm an avid technology writer on Microsoft server products. In November 2005, I co-authored my first book with fellow MCMS experts: Advanced Content Management Server Development by Packt Publishing (ISBN #1904811531). In December 2006, I contributed two chapters on Web Part development for the first Windows SharePoint Services v3 development book: Developer's Guide to Windows SharePoint Services v3 by Charles River media (ISBN: #1584505001). In January 2007, I contributed two chapters on Web Content Management in the first official administration book on MOSS: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Administrator's Companion by MS Press (ISBN: #9780735622821). I'm currently working on another MOSS 2007 related book that should be available by the middle of 2007. You can get more information on my writing projects on my writing page.
Presenting & Speaking
I'm also a frequent speaker at various community events in Florida (such as code camps and user groups) where I talk about various technology topics. In addition to the community events, I've also presented at national conferences such as SharePoint Connections in Las Vegas in November 2006 and VSLive! San Francisco in March 2007. You can get more information on my past and future speaking engagements on my speaking page.
I really enjoy working with .NET after living with ASP for 3+ years. Feels more like em>real development. One day, I’d like to get into product development. What types of products? I like building things for businesses… solving business problems, making processes more automated/efficient, or saving a company money… seems that’s always going through my mind… how things ~should~ be.
About this site
The majority of my site is implemented using the SubText blogging engine & a custom skin (design by Heather Solomon). I leverage Flickr for sharing images and Del.icio.us for hosting my link blog. The site is hosted at OrcsWeb. In case you're wondering, I highly recommend everything I'm using to host & manage my site. Eventually I'll take the time to create a link & photo blog on my site to have everything live under "one roof", leverage my site branding, as well as to provide alternate feeds of my information.