Passionate about technology, media and chocolate eclairs, I've worked in web and print for over twenty years and now run a digital media consultancy in Scotland.
I am a multimedia journalist and web content consultant.
My first job in newspapers was setting up a monthly freesheet in the Isle of Skye, at the beginning of the desktop publishing revolution, when newspapers were moving out of Fleet Street and into Canary Wharf. I had a passion for the same technology, and implemented it on a much smaller scale for new publishing ventures. I bought the domain name Canary Dwarf in 2000 with the intent of setting up a systems integration consultancy.
The publication was sold to The Oban Times Group in 1986, but they kept me on as a consultant, before being offered a full-time position in 1988 when they moved from phototypesetting to a PC-based publishing system. I was responsible for training journalists and typesetters, and advised on system expansion.
With the system running successfully across their potfolio of newspapers and magazines, I moved north to become a sub editor at Scottish Provincial Press in Inverness. Working across titles such as the Highland News, Inverness Courier, Northern Scot, Northern Times and Ross-shire Journal, I was promoted to chief sub editor for the Highland News. During my time at the award-winning weekly, sales bucked the trend of its stablemates, and I played an instrumental role in a facelift redesign and was group technical consultant on the installation of a group-wide multimedia publishing system.
My interest in web technologies led me to launch a web consultancy under the name Canary Dwarf, which I ran part-time while at the Highland News.
I joined the Scottish Provincial Press’s web department in 2002 and introduced editor-controlled sites for the twelve weeklies in the group and an aggregating portal for the Highlands and Moray. I became group web editor in 2003.
In 2008, I felt the time was right to focus on digital media and left to develop Canary Dwarf, which specialises broadly in web content management. Creatively, I am able to provide support for businesses in all sectors on the management of their content through their website, social media and print media. As a journalist and photographer, I have been published in the Guardian, Daily Record, Press and Journal, Scotsman, Land Rover Monthly and a range of leisure marine publications incuding Classic Boat, Practical Boat Owner and Motor Boats and Yachting.
Technically I am now working extensively with web publishing platforms for content management and ecommerce. With skills in ASP, PHP and CSS, I am providing customised solutions for businesses who need a solid content management system that is easy-to-learn and customise.
I live in Forres, Moray, with my wife and three children.
