I use digital publishing skills to share stories and ideas as widely and efficiently as possible.I’m experienced in digital content management, including creation and distribution of ebooks, audiobooks and book metadata. I’ve also worked as an SEO and Digital Marketing Consultant.
I have a keen interest in the intersection of digital technology with culture. I’m both a book geek and a computer geek! I started off programming in BASIC on my dad’s Amstrad PCW 9512. I’ve dabbled in coding and other computer related geekery ever since then, from dual-booting Linux and Windows to rooting my Android and building my own websites. This current site is a custom-built WordPress theme I created, and I’m working my way through the Rails Tutorial as part of my quest to continually upgrade my digital skills.
Back in the summer, Brad East made the case that some Christians over-egg the idea of “engaging with pop culture”, while Matthew Lee Anderson advises anyone who will listen to “ditch Netflix”. It’s definitely possible to overindulge in the passive consumption of entertainment, so I share their concerns to a degree. But there are also […]
Binge, noun, “a period of excessive or uncontrolled indulgence”. Last night I finished watching season 3 of hit Netflix show Stranger Things. It was lots of fun – scares, humour and plenty of endearingly nerdy characters. There are some pacing issues but it’s a stylish adventure, with heartfelt themes of friendship and empathy overcoming darkness. […]
Okay, blogging might not be quite jumping in an X-Wing, but having your own digital presence is one small way of joining the rebel alliance against the domination of Facebook, Google and the like.. It’s strange to think almost 15 years since I started blogging, back when I was beginning my studies as a student […]
I love Claire Fayers’ wonderful children’s books, The Accidental Pirates series. They are told with wit and warmth, combining exciting adventure with a wry look at the power of stories. So I was really excited to have opportunity to take on redesigning her website as a freelance project. Claire was using WordPress to power her […]
I’m pleased that BookMachine chose an article I pitched to them as their winning blog idea for April! I explore some SEO do’s and don’ts for publishers, and how far from being a dark art, good SEO is a natural extension of how a good publisher thinks anyway. Read “Dos and don’ts for using SEO […]
A few weeks ago I visited the English L’Abri Fellowship, where one of the staff, Andy Patton, was giving the weekly Friday night lecture on the subject of How Technology Behaves. (Hopefully it will be available to listen to online on the L’Abri Ideas Library sometime soon.) It was wide-ranging, fascinating and provocative, but one […]
Over the last few days, I’ve been playing the opening of Mass Effect Andromeda on PC. I’ve read lots of discussions of animations, graphics and gameplay, but not much detailed analysis of the story. So let’s have at it!
One evening a couple of weeks ago, I headed into London to attend Kingdom Code, a meet-up for Christians in digital. I’d been aware of the group mainly via Twitter, and one of my colleagues from Scripture Union on the Guardians of Ancora project team suggested I go along. I’m glad I did, because it […]
An interesting debate over the value of book apps has bubbled up, sparked by comments from Nicolette Jones at the Bookseller Children’s Conference. She was critical of book apps, suggesting that interactivity got in the way of the story, and that reading a book with a child is a hug, whereas an app is leaving […]
Image: stock.xchng There’s a lot of interest at the moment in Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs), such as those offered by Coursera and Khan Academy – for example, this article from a US perspective about How to Save College, or this Times Higher Education article about Edinburgh University getting 300,000 students on its Coursera courses. On the […]
