About

Please note, I am no longer working freelance. Perhaps Oikos Digital will be back in action some day. But for now, this page explains what I used to do.

Oikos aims to make technology simple for your businesses or organisation, helping you to use the internet, websites, social media and other tools for:

  • communication: telling others about who you are and what you do, and having conversations with your clients and customers
  • collaboration: working together efficiently, sharing resources, and keeping people informed
  • community: bringing people together for social, commercial or charitable endeavours – using online networks to build offline relationships

About me

Hi, my name is Ross and I run Oikos (pronounced “oy-koss”).

I do the technical stuff so that you can focus on your customers, do business efficiently, and fulfill your organisation’s aims.

I’m mostly a WordPress and Laravel web developer, working in the charity and campaigning sector. I have loads of technical skills though and thrive on a challenge, so am likely to take on any technical task you throw at me.

I gave myself a three-part job title: “Creator – Engineer – Advisor”. Let me explain those three things:

Creator: I’m a software engineer at heart with established and growing web development skills. My work is creative – building not just applications or websites, but businesses and communities.

Engineer: I’m experienced in IT operations with a good computer science degree and a background in software engineering. I’m a multi-disciplinary technician who learns quickly and thrives on problem solving.

Advisor: I’ve led teams, managed projects, delivered training courses and spoken at conferences. I’m always on the lookout for ways to work better as a team, and enjoy helping others benefit from technology. Find out more:

  • read about my technical skills
  • see my full CV (this is a bit out of date now)
  • watch my conference talks
  • read more about why I chose my job title
  • visit my personal blog

About Oikos

Oikos’s Name

Oikos is an ancient greek word (οικος) meaning a household or family.

I liked the idea of Oikos being able to provide people a digital “home” and create community. It’s my modern interpretation of an ancient concept.

In Greek culture the oikos was also distinct from the “polis”, which was the city. This expresses that my aim with Oikos is not to grow into a huge business (a “metro-polis”) but to keep small and local. I believe that I can better serve my customers and provide a more personal service that way.

Oikos’s Ethos

Oikos has a spirit of wanting to help, making things simple, and providing good advice, and aims, as much as possible, to work with organisations that provide social good.

Of course, while helping good causes is important, I also need to make a living, so there is a commercial aspect too. But whether working for charities or businesses the aims are the same and understanding the customer’s needs comes before any technical solution.

Oikos’s History

Oikos is the business that I formed in 2010. It has been my full time occupation since February 2011.

Along the way I have teamed up with other people and agencies. In particular I was, for a long time, part of the core team of Hands Up Digital.

Historically I've done a lot of WordPress web development, but I'm now trying to focus on bigger projects with a more back-end focus, building web apps and tools, and providing consultancy on how people and organisations can use innovative, modern digital technology to achieve their goals and solve their problems.

I'm now working pretty much solo and trying to take on these kinds of projects, so if that's what you're looking for then drop me a line.