Next week I officially go full time at ground(ctrl). I have actually been working on ground(ctrl) projects exclusively for the past few months, and it has been unofficially declared a few times that I actually am officially a full time ground(ctrl) developer. Next week, however, it becomes significantly more official as I and two of my BKWLD co-workers move into the ground(ctrl) building with the rest of the folks.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the situation (my closest friends included), I started working for BKWLD (pronounced buck wild, spelled Bukwild, abbreviated BKWLD) in the second half of 2006, after being laid off as the result of the wine company I worked for being purchased by a much larger company. BKLWD is an interactive agency that builds websites, web applications, and multimedia marketing campaigns for a wide range of clients, including Nike, Sony/BMG, Lexus, and a whole slew of recording artists.

During my time at BKWLD, I have worked on projects for the Beach Boys, Nat King Cole, Papa Roach, Backstreet Boys, Third Eye Blind, Gavin Rossdale, New Kids on the Block, The Rocket Summer, Van Morrison, The Game, Justice Records, Suretone Records, and slew of other recording and record industry clients. Some of my favorite projects, however, were simple web applications used by a handful of people. Applications that no one will ever see besides a few auto or clothing marketing firms.

As soon as I started at BKWLD, there was talk of building a high quality, web based fan club/street team/ticketing system package for the entertainment industry. Within a few months, what would later be known as ground(ctrl) was staring back at me from my computer screen.

After what seems like a whirlwind of space, time and projects, here we are today with a company that shares the name of the product with over 50,000 users on our 2.0 system.

Leaving the building officially closes the BKWLD chapter of my life, which mostly began out of desire to work on the projects I work on at ground(ctrl). I’ll miss the diversity of projects at BKWLD, but I’m hopeful the pace of work will slow a bit so that I can focus more on the details that often get overlooked due to lots of urgent deadlines.

ground(ctrl) is fun work, with a very high degree of satisfaction, thanks to its community based focus, and high volume of appreciative music fans. While I will miss working directly with Dan, Jeff, Garrett, and Josh on a daily basis, I’ll continue to look forward to coming in to work every single day.