Imagine journalism in ten years' time: notes from my talk
blogpost 08 Mar 2013
A few months ago I was approached by John Mair of the University of Northampton who'd attended my class at the Guardian's Digital Journalism masterclass. He asked me if I'd be up for speaking at a mini-conference for journalism students titled "Imagine journalism in ten years'... keep reading
Parisian vignettes
blogpost 10 Feb 2013
Here are some things I saw in Paris on a recent trip. I really enjoyed the weekend and found it a beautiful and fascinating place, and these are some of the moments which stood out to me as different or unexpected. Positive or negative, they'll... keep reading
What will the future make of us?
blogpost 06 Jan 2013
In moments of downtime I think about that Paul Graham post about frighteningly ambitious startup ideas; specifically the part about generating ideas: One of my tricks for generating startup ideas is to imagine the ways in which we'll seem backward to future generations. And I'm pretty... keep reading
Diversity in tech: still an issue in 2013?
blogpost 03 Jan 2013
Note: My last blogpost was about my 2013 resolution: avoiding negativity, cynicism and spite. This entry might come across as negative criticism but my rationale here is to highlight what I think is an injustice, and look toward positive improvements that could fix this problem.... keep reading
A resolution: breaking a very British curse
blogpost 28 Dec 2012
I'm not usually the type for new year's resolutions: generally my attitude for self-improvement (when I can be bothered) is to just get on with it rather than wait around for arbitrary periods. At the end of 2011, though, I decided to make my first... keep reading
Responsive design at the Guardian: an introduction
The Guardian 17 Oct 2012
The rise of "responsive design", as the technique was coined by Ethan Marcotte in his now-classic A List Apart article... keep reading
A £2-a-month levy on broadband could be the worst idea for journalism ever
blogpost 24 Sep 2012
Yesterday evening the Guardian (full disclosure: my employer) published an article by the eminent investigative journalist David Leigh, titled "A £2-a-month levy on broadband could save our newspapers". Leigh, a veteran report who worked (amongst other things) on the Wikileaks data and the Jonathan Aitken... keep reading
Menshn v2: reviewed
blogpost 17 Sep 2012
The dust has now settled on Menshn's recent relaunch, so therefore I'm revisiting the site after my initial write-up about it, written back in July. The headline feature of this new design is a mobile version, so along with my original criticisms, I'll also cover... keep reading
The internet: the world's first true meritocracy
blogpost 20 Aug 2012
Sometimes it makes me sad that I'll never be the King of England. It's not that I harbour secret desires to dress in ermine, or really feel like my morning routine needs a butler awaiting me with a pre-foamed toothbrush. It's more simple: the fact that... keep reading
Discovery Week Diary: Day Two
The Guardian 17 Jul 2012
Today is the third full day of our Discovery Week project, so without further ado, here's a summary of the... keep reading
Discovery Week Diary: Day One
The Guardian 15 Jul 2012
As Monday mornings go, starting work today to the background of multiple sugary snacks, inspirational leadership speeches and gatherings of... keep reading
Talking on Topic: I try Menshn so you don't have to
blogpost 12 Jul 2012
Menshn is a bold idea. Aiming to replace Twitter is no small thing (I say "replace" because the site doesn't augment existing use of Twitter but offers a new service entirely) and it's a brave move to do. It perhaps goes without saying that the... keep reading
The internet isn't killing journalism - journalists are.
blogpost 24 Jun 2012
Earlier this week I read a good article in More Intelligent Life titled "Can the Guardian survive?". As a Guardian employee I'm fairly interested in its extended longevity and I read the piece with interest. A single paragraph stood out to me above all of others,... keep reading
Victims of our own design: digital consumption is killing creativity
blogpost 18 Jun 2012
Note: this blog entry is taken from the third issue of my print zine, "I'm a Pretender". If you'd like to see the original article in print, along with dozens of other pieces of my writing, you can order the zine for free online here, or... keep reading
Applying for a web developer role: CV dos and don'ts
blogpost 15 Jun 2012
(Editor's note: this piece represents my personal opinions and not those of my employer. Now let's begin) In my day job I frequently look over CVs and applications to join my team as a front-end web developer. Of the batch that we receive each time... keep reading