Written by: Paul Johnson
Hey folks, I’m Paul. I joined the D-Team back in August of 2021 with a focus on the core CMS. We were all working hard to put the finishing touches on Umbraco 9, so my post is coming a little later than usual.
I was first introduced to Umbraco with version 4 back in 2011 while working for one of our Gold Partner agencies in the UK. The experience was great, occasionally rougher around the edges compared to some of the pricier alternatives, but I found myself amazed that a competitive enterprise CMS offering could be released with a permissive, free software license.
I already had the ASP.NET MVC bug so I was eager to jump ship from Web Forms to Umbraco 5. Luckily my seniors were a little more conservative and committed to holding off until its stability was proven. I felt the pain when the project was parked, but learned a lot of lessons about life as a developer from the experience.
Since then, I have been in and out of web development and detoured into mobile and desktop software while trying to keep myself well-rounded. However, I was always happy to be pulled back to Umbraco projects over the years.
It’s been great to watch the evolution over the years, but for me, the move to .NET Core and all of the possibilities it brings, both in terms of speed and cross-platform support, is the most exciting change.
My wife and I recently had our first child and most of our time is spent trying to work out how to be parents and dealing with our new responsibilities.
We have been really lucky and had a lot more sleep than most, but it’s definitely been a big change to our lives.
Along with the little one, we have 3 energetic cats (two Maine Coons and a moggie) to look after, so our home can be a tad hectic.
When I’m not programming, my other passion is snowboarding. Sadly, I fear it may be quite some time before I next get to go.
I tend to prefer alternative sports over the more traditional ones, so I am frequently berated for my lack of football knowledge by those with more of an interest at HQ.
During the pandemic, I have kept myself sane mostly by playing board games and reading, but given my expanding waistline, I think it might be time to get active again.
Thanks for reading!
