1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Quite a few things, actually. Belly dancing, for one. I also employed my first full-time staff member. And participated in a podcast. Ooh, and I got published! And started playing drums. And started getting media invitations to events. And went to Bloemfontein for the first time. And saw my Spanish football heroes in the flesh. Gosh, turns out it was quite a year.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t recall making any, which is odd, because I’m sure I usually do. And then I keep exactly zero of them. So perhaps I’ve inadvertently stumbled on the secret to achievement. I will set some goals this year, however. Nice easy ones that I can reach in the first week or two. “Lose 50 grams”, “Learn one new word”, “Send an email”, “Cuddle the cats”, that sort of thing.

3. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
At a house party in Oranjezicht, eating pizza and drinking French wine. I think it’s going to be absolutely lovely. And it may well be the first time Paul and I have actually had plans for NYE more than a week in advance. Either they’ve invited us there so that they can throw us in the pool and point and laugh, or we’ve actually… *gasp*… finally managed to scrub the L off our collective forehead.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. Thank goodness. I’m honestly not sure what that would have done to me.

5. What countries did you visit?
Bloemfontein is a country, right? Other than that, none… sadly. I have very bad travelbugalitis right now.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
The ability to set boundaries. And tuna steaks every weekend. And a trip to Paris. No, seriously.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
17 June. The day I saw Fernando Torres and Iker Casillas playing on a field right in front of me, for the first time.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Hearing the words “Well done!” from someone that I like and respect immensely, in response to a job that I truly enjoyed doing.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Allowing myself to get too busy to remember birthdays and stay in contact with friends and family.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Let me count the ways: My thyroid function dipped again earlier in the year, the dysplasia and arthritis in my hip made me cry frequently, I had laryngitis twice, and I ended the year with tendonitis in my foot. My body is an awesome fighting machine. Unfortunately it mostly fights with ME.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Tickets for the Spain/South Africa Confederations Cup game in Bloemfontein. I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like that in my life. 2010 will have to work hard to top it.

12. Where did most of your money go?
Into my business.

13. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Snow Patrol – Hands Open.

14. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Spending time with my parents. Writing for pleasure. Reading. Belly dancing.

15. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Surfing the web. Tidying the house. Getting frustrated. Coaxing William down from the roof.

16. What was your favourite TV programme?
Black Books. I think they wrote it just for me. It’s ridiculously funny. And also just ridiculous.

17. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nah. I’m not a hater. There are several people who’ve been removed from my Christmas card list this year, though. (It’s just a metaphorical Christmas card list, so don’t worry if you didn’t get a Christmas card from me – it doesn’t mean you’re off the list. Doesn’t mean you’re on it either, of course. You’ll never know. Mwa ha ha ha ha.)

18. What was the best book you read?
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It takes a lot for a contemporary book to make it into my Top 10, because I’m usually all about the Anna Kareninas, the Jane Eyres and the Pride and Prejudices. The Shadow of the Wind cracked the nod, though.

19. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I found a plectrum I thought I’d lost. Oh, I see, not like that. Um… Snow Patrol, oddly enough. I know, it’s nothing earth-shattering or sophisticated, but it’s beautiful and makes me feel happy/melancholy/more like me.

20. What was your favourite film of this year?
District 9. Truly. It was fresh and unconventional, and didn’t try to preach to me. In other words, it was the opposite of Avatar.

21. What did you do on your birthday?
I worked, which is very unusual for me – I always insist on taking off on my birthday. But this year I couldn’t. I did have the bestest birthday party ever with fellow July-1976-baby Elan, though, which involved crazy outfits, 80s music, lots of dancing, tequila, and Saul’s burgers at 3.30am.

22. What kept you sane?
My cats. It’s true. They’re cuddly and fluffy, and there’s (almost) nothing that cuddliness and fluffiness can’t fix.

23. Who did you miss?
My brother (I don’t suppose I’ll ever stop missing him), and my sister-in-law, niece and nephew (who all live in Sydney). I also found myself missing my grandparents more often than ever before, even though they all died more than 10 years ago.

24. Who was the best new person you met?
I met so many wonderful new people this year that picking out one just wouldn’t be fair. Or truthful. Each of them is the best in their own way.

25. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
Have a plan in place for what you would say if you suddenly came face to face with a celebrity (or group of footballers) that you’ve always wanted to meet. Or you will end up feeling silly and disappointed. And silly. And SILLY. Oh the shame, how it burns.

I was privileged to get to meet Matt Mullenweg, the founding developer of WordPress, this weekend, after he spoke at Wordcamp SA.

He made quite an impression on those of us who heard him and interacted with him. The first thing that everyone will tell you is how incredibly humble he is. Seriously seriously humble. He’s a gentle, softly-spoken, well-mannered young man (he’s only 24) – not a hint of ego or arrogance about him.

One of the SA bloggers, who didn’t know what Matt looked like, met him on Friday evening and not realising who he was speaking to, asked, “So, what do you do?” Matt’s answer, without any irony as far as I can tell, was “I’m a blogger.”

So that’s lesson #1 – even if you’ve created what is arguably the best blogging platform in the world, you can still be an amazingly nice guy.

Lesson #2 – when Matt started his talk on Saturday, he said, “It’s so great to be here in San Fran… whoops, I mean Cape Town…” When this was mentioned on someone’s blog later, and the blogger suggested that maybe it was more than just a slip of the tongue, Matt left a comment saying, “Maybe it was…” The implication is that Cape Town is a hotbed of tech activity, like Silicon Valley, with a host of exciting start-ups in operation, and a wealth of tech knowledge and expertise. This makes me incredibly positive, and incredibly pleased to be living in this place at this time. I wouldn’t trade it for anything right now, not even Paris.

Lesson #3 – the economy is changing. And I don’t mean the petrol price and the rising cost of bread and milk. I mean the way we charge for products, and the way we exchange things of value. Matt chooses to provide WordPress free of charge, not because it’s a way to hook potential customers into buying his other products, but because he and millions of other open-source advocates hold the fundamental belief that software, information and art should be free and open-source. Business owners need to pay attention to the way that the economy is shifting – it might affect your business at some point. Just ask Microsoft about that.

Lesson #4 – be selfless and don’t approach everything in life with the attitude of “how can I monetise this?” Matt developed WordPress because he was unsatisfied with the CMS software available at the time. He didn’t start out with the intention of creating an empire. He shared what he was doing, because he figured that others might be able to use it too. The business aspect grew later.

Lesson #5 – take as many photos as you can. Matt’s Twitter username is photomatt, and there’s a really good reason for this. He takes many many many photos (he also has an awesome camera, but that’s another story). Now because Paul and I run a photoblog we take a lot of photos too, but they’re mostly of buildings and landscapes and things. Matt takes photos of everyone, so his blog is an incredible record of the places he’s been, the things he’s done, and most importantly, the people he’s connected with. I’ve resolved to take more photos of people from now on, as a reminder of the connections I’ve made.

Lesson #6 – one of the statements Matt made in his talk is that the Web is a meritocracy. The merits of your ideas will determine your success. If your ideas are good and add value to people’s lives, your legacy will be enduring. This kind of ties in with lesson #4 – go about your life adding value, and not trying to squeeze money out of every single thing. If people like what you’re doing, you’ll find a way to turn it into a lifestyle.

Lesson #7 – don’t discount anyone based on their age, gender, nationality or any other distinguishing traits. We tend to think that guys like Mark Zuckerberg are the exception rather than the rule when it comes to being successful web entrepreneurs. Think again. I can point you to a fair number of bright young things under the age of 25 and a host of them under 30 who are pioneering in the tech arena in South Africa, some even doing big deals with media companies like Vodacom and Naspers. It’s not just the VCR that they learnt to programme at a young age. They are bright, savvy, energetic and committed. For them, life is work and work is life – the two are completely intertwined.

And finally, lesson #8 – use Firefox. The highlight of Matt’s talk (for a room full of geeks) was when he told us that there actually is advertising on wordpress.com (who knew?), BUT you’ll only see these ads IF you’ve never visited wordpress.com before AND you’ve never visited a WordPress blog AND you’re not using Firefox.