By day, I’m a geek that works with clever online technology. I’ve been working with open source and social tools since 2002, and have been playing around with technology and the internet for years prior to that – I think I had my first email account back in 1992.
Professionally, I translate between the user and business requirements of the client, and the technology needed behind the scenes to realise those goals. It means I do a bit of everything – consult with clients to design systems and processes; build bits of systems; and try to make things happen by managing the projects. Over the years I’ve worked in all kinds of places – support and operations for a retail group; network design and consultancy for a telco; consultancy with a startup; project management for a multinational law firm, and social tools consultancy for Headshift. If there’s a common thread to all of that, it’s trying to make the workplace a bit less toxic by doing (what I think are) clever things with interesting tools.
By night, I take pictures and play around with interesting technology. When it’s up to me, I use Macs.
For what they’re worth, I’ve got a few letters after my name – I’ve got an MBA from Leeds University Business School and I’m a certified Prince-2 practitioner. The letters are less impressive than they sound, to be honest, because it’s experience that counts. One day I’ll be an ARPS, but that’s another story. My “official” profile is on LinkedIn over here, and you can find me on Twitter in this direction.
This blog has been around in one shape or another since 2003 – it started as a personal blog while I did my MBA, then morphed into a showcase for some projects while I was involved in a startup. After that it became a collecting ground for bits and pieces while I tried (somewhat unsuccessfully, it has to be said) to persuade lawyers that there was more to life than email; and now it’s back to something which is a personal combination of the things that interest and/or annoy me. It is, and always has been, a work in progress, so apologies in advance for the broken bits. Unless you’re using Internet Explorer 6 – in which case it’s your own fault.
You won’t find too much in the way of what-I-had-for-breakfast-and-who-I-had-breakfast-with detail here, because that’s not entirely fair on my fellow breakfastees – if my family want to tell the world about their cereal preferences, that’s up to them rather than me. But then if I was really worried about you stalking me, I wouldn’t have a blog, would I?
