Tama Easton
Encyclopedia
Tamatea Carl Easton known as Tama Easton, is the creator of the New Zealand
sports and recreation internet forum
Vorb.http://www.vorb.org.nz
, Great Britain
, for long enough for him "to pick up enough of an English accent to get singled out when [he] returned to New Zealand".
. Easton attended Clifton Terrace Model School from 1981 to 1986, followed by Wellington High School, from which he graduated in 1991. In 1992 and 1993, he studied at Victoria University
towards degrees in Sociology
and Education
, which he did not finish.
of RAM
. As he was not able to afford the $16.95 needed to buy tapes of games for the computer, he developed his own games. This started his interest in computers and technology. Easton was online in either 1989 or even 1988 at a speed of 2.4 kbit/s long before many others had heard of the internet.
In the book The Art of Videogames, which explores how philosophy of the arts theories developed to address traditional art works can also be applied to videogames, the author acknowledges Easton as an "invaluable source of gaming discussion".
, Dunedin
. A serious hobby developed out of this, and he saw himself flatting with like-minded people. Having a "tendency to break parts of the bike", he took up employment at the Wellington mountain bike shop 'Mud Cycles', where he stayed until 1999.
Web Awards and was receiving 13,000 unique browsers a month.
Easton quit his day job and started working on Vorb full time at the beginning of 2005. By June 2008, Vorb received 74,000 unique browsers a month.
Vorb has been available for mobile phone browsing since August 2005.
Easton announced his retirement from Vorb in August 2009.
Some quotes from the Vorb forum give further insight about the website's reputation, and that the website's reputation is intrinsically interlinked with Easton's reputation:
award in the 'Sports - Cycling' category against other New Zealand websites in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Easton won the inaugural 2007 'Cycling Champion of the Year' category of the Cycle Friendly Awards
organised by Cycling Advocates' Network
.
Vorb has been voted 'Best Sports And Recreation Site' at the NetGuide
People’s Choice Awards 2007, 2008 and 2009.
.
Easton is currently employed by the Tasman District Council
as webmaster.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
sports and recreation internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
Vorb.http://www.vorb.org.nz
Early life
Easton was born in Christchurch on 30 January 1974. Early on in his life, his family moved to SussexSussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, for long enough for him "to pick up enough of an English accent to get singled out when [he] returned to New Zealand".
Education
In 1981 his family came back to New Zealand and settled in WellingtonWellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
. Easton attended Clifton Terrace Model School from 1981 to 1986, followed by Wellington High School, from which he graduated in 1991. In 1992 and 1993, he studied at Victoria University
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
towards degrees in Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, which he did not finish.
Computer exposure
In 1981, Easton got his first computer, a ZX81 with 1 kBKilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
of RAM
Random-access memory
Random access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time. Strictly speaking, modern types of DRAM are therefore not random access, as data is read in...
. As he was not able to afford the $16.95 needed to buy tapes of games for the computer, he developed his own games. This started his interest in computers and technology. Easton was online in either 1989 or even 1988 at a speed of 2.4 kbit/s long before many others had heard of the internet.
In the book The Art of Videogames, which explores how philosophy of the arts theories developed to address traditional art works can also be applied to videogames, the author acknowledges Easton as an "invaluable source of gaming discussion".
Mountain biking
Easton got into mountain biking in 1993 while living in Halfway BushHalfway Bush
Halfway Bush is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, close to the point at which Taieri Road becomes the winding rural Three Mile Hill Road...
, Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. A serious hobby developed out of this, and he saw himself flatting with like-minded people. Having a "tendency to break parts of the bike", he took up employment at the Wellington mountain bike shop 'Mud Cycles', where he stayed until 1999.
History
In July 2000, Easton set up an email list called “Vaguely Organised – Ride Bikes” to better coordinate social rides with friends. In November 2000, he bought the domain name “www.vorb.org.nz” and set-up a small static website hosting some stories and photos of their trips on a dozen pages. It was supposed to be a private site for a circle of friends. Based on feedback and encouragement, Easton transformed the site to a public forum during 2001. In 2004, the site was a finalist in the 2004 NetGuideNetGuide
NetGuide is a monthly New Zealand technology magazine.It was launched in September 1996 by an independent Auckland-based publisher, then owned by Australian Consolidated Press 2003 to 2008 and now is owned by TechDay...
Web Awards and was receiving 13,000 unique browsers a month.
Easton quit his day job and started working on Vorb full time at the beginning of 2005. By June 2008, Vorb received 74,000 unique browsers a month.
Vorb has been available for mobile phone browsing since August 2005.
Easton announced his retirement from Vorb in August 2009.
Reputation
Vorb has an excellent reputation. One commentator, criticising a commercial website built for a government agency, referred to Vorb as the prime example of how to set up an internet forum in a way the target community will embrace it.Some quotes from the Vorb forum give further insight about the website's reputation, and that the website's reputation is intrinsically interlinked with Easton's reputation:
Awards
Easton's website Vorb was ranked number one in the HitwiseHitwise
Experian Hitwise is a global online competitive intelligence service which collects data directly from ISP networks to aid website managers in analysing trends in visitor behavior and to measure website market share. The Hitwise product is a commercial platform whereby customers pay Hitwise a...
award in the 'Sports - Cycling' category against other New Zealand websites in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Easton won the inaugural 2007 'Cycling Champion of the Year' category of the Cycle Friendly Awards
Cycle Friendly Awards
The New Zealand Cycle Friendly Awards were devised by the Cycling Advocates' Network in 2003. The purpose of the awards is to acknowledge and celebrate some of the most notable achievements in the country that are helping to promote cycling and to create a cycle-friendly environment.- History and...
organised by Cycling Advocates' Network
Cycling Advocates' Network
Cycling Advocates' Network is a national cycling advocacy group founded in November 1996 in Wellington, New Zealand. It aims to achieve a better cycling environment for cycling as transport and tourism...
.
Vorb has been voted 'Best Sports And Recreation Site' at the NetGuide
NetGuide
NetGuide is a monthly New Zealand technology magazine.It was launched in September 1996 by an independent Auckland-based publisher, then owned by Australian Consolidated Press 2003 to 2008 and now is owned by TechDay...
People’s Choice Awards 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Personal life
Easton is engaged to Heather Bates. They live with their cat Sprocket in MapuaMapua, New Zealand
Mapua is a small town in the South Island of New Zealand.It is to the west of Nelson on State Highway 60 and on the coastline of Tasman Bay. The 2006 census gave a population of 1878, up 16.1 percent since the 2001 Census.:...
.
Easton is currently employed by the Tasman District Council
Tasman district council
Tasman District Council is the Territorial Local Authority for the Tasman District of New Zealand.-Mayor:The current mayor of Tasman is Richard Kempthorne, who previously served as a Richmond councillor for two terms before being elected Mayor in October 2007.-Councillors:Tasman elects its...
as webmaster.