Out with the old and in with the new. See what 2022 had in store for us.
Wayne
Bring on 2023...Firstly: To sprout or not to sprout?
It depends on the chef! I’ll eat most things but I’ve never really liked sprouts. If they go straight from pan to plate it’s a no from me, but if they’re covered in bacon bits and honey, pile them on
Do you have plans over the Christmas period?
Time to relax. Firstly I’ll be spending a few days in Holmfirth with the family, where we’ll do plenty of walking, eating and drinking.
World Championship Darts and Premier League football will be the order of the day(s) between Christmas and New Year, when I’ll pile on an extra layer of warmth.
I’ll also be spending a few days in the Lake District with my wife for some R&R.
Describe 2022 in three words
Shift in mentality.
What was your personal highlight of 2022?
Not one in particular, but plenty of good experiences with my favourite people…
Seeing Foals at Usher Hall in Edinburgh with my wife was a particular highlight. It was the first of seeing Foals three times in about eight weeks. Millennium Square in Leeds on a red hot Friday evening being the best of the bunch, and sandwiched in the middle was the biggest crowd of them all; Glastonbury. Speaking of which, walking down from the campervan field and seeing the sheer vastness of Glastonbury Festival for the first time was a sight to behold.
Matt’s stag do at Finsbury Park in London – the sun shining through the trees onto the crowd while the DJ played an unknown track that’s still in my head four months later – was a memorable moment.
I’ll end this with a special mention for my dog Busby, who we lost suddenly in October. He turned 10 in March and my in-laws threw a party for him. There were dogs everywhere, it was chaos, and he loved it!
What was your work highlight of 2022?
Genuinely having a team that are all on the same page, working together better than ever before and seeing our output improve further.
We’ve produced some really visual websites, advanced web applications, and our marketing KPIs are hitting.
I’ll always demand more, but when I look back at our output this year, there’s plenty to be proud of.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
I mentioned a shift in mentality above and that relates to how I see the business evolving in the next 12 months. We’re in our eighth year now, and I’ve always been cautious with my mindset but that’s now moved away from ‘startup’ and towards championing ourselves as an established full-service agency.
Twilo’s end product is up there with the best and that has resulted in recommendations being our main channel of new business. We’ll continue to lean on that but with an added focus on outreach in the new year.
What big changes do you think we’ll see in the business in 2023?
The plan is to expand our presence in the South where we have a growing number of clients. We’ll see Twilo become more established in our target areas ahead of opening our second office. Whether that happens in 2023 or 2024 depends on market conditions, but it’s something we are working towards.
Additionally, we’re going to be a lot more vocal about who we are and what we do. I’ve never been one to blow smoke and our brand has suffered somewhat as a result. But now we have the right people in place to champion the business as it deserves, so expect to hear more from us!
Finally, leave us with an image that describes your 2022
Matt
Going into 2023 a married man…
Firstly: To sprout or not to sprout?
To sprout of course! Plenty of butter, don’t overcook, delicious.
Do you have plans over the Christmas period?
I’m looking forward to spending the first Christmas with my wife in Leeds, at my sister-in-law’s. We’re then travelling up to Northumberland on Boxing Day to visit my family.
Describe 2022 in three words
Exp – ens – ive
What was your personal highlight of 2022?
This is an easy one for me, I got married in September so that’s obviously the highlight, along with an incredible honeymoon in Antigua.
What was your work highlight of 2022?
Learning new skills and development techniques together and working collaboratively as a team on large application builds.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
Glastonbury festival and hopefully a trip to Iran to meet more of my wife’s family.
What big changes do you think we’ll see in web development in 2023?
As AI language models become more advanced the use of AI helpers whilst coding will become more commonplace, and embracing this new technology will allow developers to create products faster.
Finally, leave us with an image that describes your 2022
Jake
Step Into Christmas...Firstly: To sprout or not to sprout?
All day! Fried up with some pancetta or boiled to a mush, sprouts are a winner. They get extra points for the gastrointestinal entertainment they provide down the line.
Do you have plans over the Christmas period?
Yes, I’ll be inevitably heading to the shops tomorrow to buy the gifts that I’ve forgotten. Onto Christmas Eve, I’ll most likely head to the pub but only have three or four.
Have more than three or four.
Try to wrap presents after my more than three or four, then give up and opt for gift bags. Lifesaver.
On the big day itself, I’ll be going to my parents’ to overindulge on food, drink and the aforementioned poopy sprouts. Boxing Day tends to be a bit busier, a trip to the father-in-law’s for more food then back to my parents’ for a Boxing Day party on. I’ll also find the time to watch some football and racing (maybe).
The rest of the week is that glorious time of year where you’re lost in a haze of cheese, chocolate and alcohol. You have no idea what day it is, nor what time it is. In fact, there’s only two things I’m generally certain on:
- Mary Poppins will be on TV at some point.
- It’s always a good idea to dress the dog up!
Describe 2022 in three words
Try keep perspective.
What was your personal highlight of 2022?
Earlier in the year me and my wife finally went on our honeymoon to Hawaii, spending a few days in Vegas and LA on either side.
A true once in a lifetime trip, from surfing on Waikiki beach to an excursion into the back and beyond of Kuai, to see the less explored bits of the island. An exceptional place with exceptional people.
What was your work highlight of 2022?
Nothing overt really but a sense of calm and control as things began to click into place. A feeling that, despite wider issues going on in the world, we’re well placed – with the right people – to meet challenges.
Go Twilo!
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
I’m particularly looking forward to Tottenham having a resurgence and clinching the title on the final day. At Elland Road. A result that will send Leeds down.
From a work perspective, I’m looking forward to growing alongside Twilo as we support businesses through, what may prove to be, challenging times.
What big changes do you think we’ll see in digital marketing in 2023?
The obvious answer is AI, it’s coming on leaps and bounds and throughout the whole industry, tasks that were once firmly in the realm of people are being left to machines.
However, I’m somewhat of a traditionalist and I believe we’ll always need that human element. Now more than ever. The whole economy is set to struggle and we’ll see an evolution of marketing, I hesitate to say a survival of the fittest – but it’s certainly headed that way.
Finally, leave us with an image that describes your 2022
Stephen
A great year to start at Twilo...Firstly: To sprout or not to sprout?
Damn right! A Christmas dinner wouldn’t be the same without them!
Do you have plans over the Christmas period?
Hmm, apart from visiting family across the lands – nothing exciting. We’ll probably be settling down and watching a bunch of movies and playing games!
Describe 2022 in three words
Best year ever.
What was your personal highlight of 2022?
For me, it was starting my new career at Twilo as I’ve got to know a bunch of incredible people and learn new things!
What was your work highlight of 2022?
Probably Photoshopping Jake with coffees. Then watching Jake take orders for all our coffees following his finishing bottom of the World Cup sweepstake.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
I don’t even know what I’m doing next week, never mind 2023! Probably looking forward to my brother’s wedding!
What big changes do you think we’ll see in digital design in 2023?
I’ve seen a lot of outcry about AI being used more in art and people asking for it to be banned or stopped as it’s taking from artwork that is created by people. So maybe restrictions on AI?
Finally, leave us with an image that describes your 2022
Andrew
Big projects. Big year...Firstly: To sprout or not to sprout?
Absolutely no sprouts!
Do you have plans over the Christmas period?
Lots of food! My brother will be coming home from the army for Christmas weekend where we will be having Christmas dinner with our extended family. We’ll also be travelling to visit friends and family for Boxing Day which will involve tabletop games, plenty of drinks and nonsense chatter.
Describe 2022 in three words
Chaotic. Exciting. Infuriating.
What was your personal highlight of 2022?
I got my own VR setup with full body tracking which is something that I have wanted for years. This was as awesome as I was hoping for.
What was your work highlight of 2022?
This has to be working on some big Laravel projects and getting much better at it. Laravel is a very satisfying and powerful framework to develop with.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
I can’t wait for Company of Heroes 3 to finally release in February. If you don’t know, this is the third sequel to Relic’s WW2 real time strategy game that is going to be based in two campaign settings of Italy and North Africa. Being a big fan of both the first and second games, I am happy with the community involvement within the development and greatly look forward to giving it a go.
What big changes do you think we’ll see in web development in 2023?
With the big changes and controversy around Twitter, I think this opens lots of opportunities for competition. This could potentially lead to innovative alternatives to Twitter that might bring exciting new features but still provide the same style of platform that Twitter does.
Finally, leave us with an image that describes your 2022
Jordan
Going to try to stay on my bike in 2023…
Firstly: To sprout or not to sprout?
Of course you’ve got to sprout, arguably the highlight of the dinner.
Do you have plans over the Christmas period?
Christmas Eve calls for matching pyjamas, hot chocolate and a Christmas Film (we’re thinking about watching Die Hard because I’ve never seen it). Moving onto Christmas Day I think it will most probably be an 8am get up to see if Father Christmas has been and then start the food binge off with a meaty bacon sandwich. Around 11am I’m going to be travelling back down to Manchester to see my Mum, Dad, Brother and other family members. I believe we have somewhere booked for food. I have no clue where, I’m just going to follow the leader!
Other than the main day I believe there will be plenty of booze and food consumed and I’ll have to get some new jeans to try and fit into in the new year.
Describe 2022 in three words
Expensive. Painful. Positive.
What was your personal highlight of 2022?
Getting a motorbike (let’s ignore the fact I got knocked off twice) and leaving the construction industry.
What was your work highlight of 2022?
Building my first few WordPress sites and my first Vue.JS Application.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
Improving my knowledge on WordPress and hopefully building more Vue.js Applications
What big changes do you think we’ll see in web development in 2023?
I believe in 2023 there will be another big leap into Web3.0, I know, I know, people think making life VR isn’t going to happen but Web3.0 doesn’t just cover the metaverse it also includes all the AI assistants that we use on a daily basis.
Finally, leave us with an image that describes your 2022
