Giles Turnbull, freelance writer

# Contacts

Phone: 		+44 (0)7939 127917 
Email: 		giles@gilest.org 
Post: 		16 Springfield, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, BA15 1BB, UK


# Career summary

## 2000-present: freelance writer, Mac specialist

- Mac news blogger for Cult of Mac (cultofmac.com)
- Columnist for Press Association 
- Contributing writer, The Morning News (themorningnews.org)
- Contributions for The Guardian, MacUser, The Daily Telegraph, 
Wired UK, BBC Online, Macworld, tuaw.com and others
- Various copywriting and consulting contracts for private clients,
such as Gallomanor, thesite.org, Redwood Publishing, Dopplr.com,
Nokia, and others.

Recent published work is linked from: http://del.icio.us/gilest/work

## 1997-2000: New Media Correspondent, then Technology Editor, Press
Association.

- Covered the rise and fall of the dotcom bubble in the UK, making
excellent contacts in the UK new media industry along the way.
- Part of the team producing the innovative online news service, PA
NewsCentre (later renamed Ananova.com).
- Some commissioning experience
- Devised new columns on technology, videogames & the internet

## 1993-1996: General news reporter, Cambridge Evening News.

- News beats (courts, crime, politics, events) and occasional stand-ins on
the business desk. Regular articles on TV, popular culture, comedy and
architecture.

# Specialist interests

Mac OS X: What's new in the world of Mac? Why should people care about it?

Alternatives: what low-cost, free or open source applications are available
for people who cannot afford, or do not wish to use, mainstream software

Online culture: the people behind the computers; the software they use, the things they know

Advanced digital culture for ordinary people: how can cutting-edge web
applications (such as RSS, wiki, or weblogs) be put to use by ordinary
internet users with little knowledge or experience of the technologies and
histories behind them?


# Skills in a nutshell

- Excellent communicator, electronically and face-to-face 
- Clear, concise, friendly writing style 
- Fast, efficient producer of copy 
- Computer-friendly; I speak Windows, Mac and Unix 
- Superb understanding of internet culture, history and etiquette
- Excellent contacts within Mac software industry and internet development
community


# Education

1993: NCTJ Post-graduate Journalism Course, Harlow College

1992: Graduate degree, grade 2.2, Geography and Sociology, Anglia
Polytechnic University, Cambridge, UK


# Other information

- Contributor to several books (see gilest.org/work/books.html)
- Shortlisted finalist, The Guardian Best British Weblog Awards 2002 
- Shortlisted finalist, BT London and Home Counties Press Awards, 1994 
- Married with one child 
- Full, clean UK driving licence
- Keen photographer and singer in my spare time

It has been said that I have a 'track record of being an honest and
curious reporter of online life,' - see gilest.org/work/testimonials.html


# References

From recent employers and clients; available on request.


Last updated: February 2009