about

I am a consultant, educator and journalist focusing on the Internet and all aspects of digital technology.

I have advised schools, SMEs and not-for-profit organisations on how to exploit the collaborative and publishing opportunities offered by the Internet, and have written for numerous publications (including The Guardian and Macworld) on topics ranging from personal publishing, online communities, and other web 2.0 phenomena. And I occasionally write code.


Current assignments include writing a blog for ZDNet called The Social Web, and editor of last100.com (a blog co-published with Richard MacManus of Read/WriteWeb).

I'm also the writer and director of the documentary, In Search of the Valley: a personal journey into the psyche of Silicon Valley.

In 2002 I was made a fellow of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (nesta.org.uk), and from 2004 - 2005 I served on the board of governors for the University of East London.

The Social Web (my ZDNet blog)

Latest Flock Beta delivers Digg, Pownce and AOL Mail support
Having launched in late 2005 amidst a tsunami of web 2.0 hype, it was always going to be difficult for social web browser Flock to keep up with expectations. But after getting through what seemed like an unhealthy period of stagnation, update by update the software is really starting to deliver. And with the rise of social networking and micro-blogging services such as Twitter, the company's newfound execution couldn't be more timely.

Official: Google’s ‘Friend Connect’ brings social networking to the Long Tail
In case you didn't think Google wanted to be a big player on the Social Web -- Orkut, Google Talk and shared items in Google Reader aside -- the search giant revealed an ambitious new strategy today: 'Friend Connect' is a platform designed to help the 'long tail' of sites that don't currently offer social networking features to become more social.

Facebook makes its own ‘data portability’ move, Google to follow?
Not to be outdone by MySpace's "Data Availability" initiative, Facebook announced on Friday its own data portability strategy dubbed "Facebook Connect". Described as "the next iteration of Facebook Platform" the new feature will allow users to "connect" their Facebook identity, friends and privacy to participating sites -- implying that Facebook will expand its current public APIs to enable more of Facebook's data to have a life outside of Facebook. It's not clear, however, if participating sites will need to have formal agreements with Facebook or simply comply with Connect's terms of service.

MySpace partners with Yahoo, Twitter and eBay in “data portability” initiative
Having previously talked the talked when it comes to data portability, MySpace beginning to walk the walk: announcing its own 'data portability' initiative, supported by partners Yahoo, Twitter and eBay.

How much are your friends worth?
News Corp. revealed yesterday that its new media subsidiary Fox Interactive Media (FIM) has missed this year's revenue target of $1bn by 10 per cent. FIM's portfolio is dominated by MySpace, which accounts for the majority of its revenues, bringing into question once again the ability to monetize the huge page views generated by leading social networking sites and User-Generated Content in general.