Category Archives: Journalism

Published in Viator, 2012. Original article here. The Moscow Metro: The People’s Ballroom In a city as rich in monuments and history as Moscow, you may be surprised to find you have to head underground for what is arguably the best attraction of all. The metropolitan public transport system of the Russian capital is oneContinue reading “The Moscow Metro: The People’s Ballroom”

Published in Viator, 2012. Original article here. On the real hippie trail in San Francisco “Are you looking for a restaurant?” I look around and find a little Chinese man smiling at me. You cannot stand on a San Francisco street looking uncertain for long before someone will offer their assistance (or alternatively, ask forContinue reading “On the real hippie trail in San Francisco”

Megabuyte, October 2012. Original article here (£). The Early View Organised chaos: Keeping the start-up spirit alive Valve, the Washington-based gaming company, has been proudly boss-free since its launch in 1996. Founder Gabe Newell remains in charge, but there is no evidence of this in the company literature, which boasts “no middle management, no bureaucracy,Continue reading “Organised chaos: Keeping the start-up spirit alive”

Megabuyte, September 2012. Original article here (£). The Early View Big Data, Big Bang: Change is the new constant The technological Big Bang, courtesy of the coming-of-age of the internet, shows no sign of abating. For businesses, it’s proving useless to wonder where the merry-go-round of change will stop next because in all likelihood itContinue reading “Big Data, Big Bang: Change is the new constant”

*** The Early View from London *** My series on the UK technology start-up community, written for Megabuyte in 2012-13. This followed on from my series about start-up life and tech trends in Silicon Valley (below). * Real time data: Right here, right now. Interviews with GoSquared and Geckoboard – read * When ‘new media’Continue reading “Letters from the start-up frontier”

Megabuyte, September 2012. Original article here (£). The Early View Let’s fill this town with startups! The experience of raising money for Seedrs, the startup crowdfunding company, was exactly the kind of hard slog that Jeff Lynn’s company wants to provide relief from. “We struggled desperately to raise our first seed capital. We kept joking:Continue reading “Let’s fill this town with startups!”

Published in Whitehot Magazine, 2012. Original article here. Art about the Unseen Hayward Gallery, London ‘Art about the unseen’ asks a lot from us. After all, most of the works are things we cannot see: blank papers, empty pedestals, a charge in the air. So when you first step into the Hayward Gallery, all youContinue reading “Art about the Unseen”

Megabuyte, July 2012. Original article here (£). Letter from the West Coast The view to Britain While the Silicon Valley startup ecosystem is the biggest in the world, this does not mean it is the only place capable of growing good technology companies. The West Coast scene is 4.5 times bigger than London, according toContinue reading “The view to Britain”

Megabuyte, July 2012. Original article here (£). Letter from the West Coast The dark art of content monetisation As the internet is becoming the primary portal for the delivery of the written word, this structural shift is rendering old revenue models in need of some significant new thinking. Newspapers have long accepted the inevitability ofContinue reading “The dark art of content monetisation”

Megabuyte, July 2012. Original article here (£). Letter from the West Coast The mobile internet takes shape HotelTonight is a mobile business with its eye on a future. Specifically, the future where we will all have fast internet available on clever gadgets in our pockets. HotelTonight, which is just this summer launching in London, providesContinue reading “The mobile internet takes shape”