I am a business writer and editor with considerable private and by-lined experience. I started The Messagery in 2023 to help organisations optimise their strategic messages. I also run report-writing workshops for business professionals.
Following an IT career, I started editing and writing by re-launching Personal Computer World in 1979. I specialise in researching and writing complex topics in a way that business people can understand. I am unusual in that, for many years I had three parallel careers, in writing, software publishing and training. I am always interested in new opportunities to help others to communicate their ideas more effectively.
After a traditional IT progression from programmer to IT manager (1966-1975), I was taught to teach and became a management skills trainer for ICL (absorbed by Fujitsu in the 1990s). After a couple of years, I returned to the field as a project manager, still with ICL. Soon after my third project went live in 1979, I helped relaunch a struggling Personal Computer World magazine, quickly becoming editor.
Here are 'my' issues of PCW. Click in a cover image to be taken to a flipbooks of the original issue, courtesy of the Internet Archive (or 'Wayback Machine' as it is often called).
In 1981, while continuing with writing and editorial consultancy roles, I co-founded Caxton Software - best known for publishing the Cardbox database, the Touch 'n' Go typing tutor, and the BrainStorm 'ideas processor' (which I designed and programmed using Intel's 8080 assembly language). Mike Liardet and Marck Pearlstone transformed it into successive marketable products. I and many people I know, still use it. Daily, in many cases. We sold all rights to BrainStorm to BC4, LLC in October 2008. Astonishingly, as of March 2022, it had barely changed the website it inherited at the time.
In 1988, Martin Banks and I started Press Here Media Skills Training, which nicely complemented my writing, editing and software activities. We ran our last course together in 2014 and I continued solo or in partnership with a VP of a global PR and Marketing agency, Alison O'Leary. She's now moved on to providing professional life coaching.
In 2018, I stepped back from journalism to concentrate primarily on corporate writing, editing and training.
I've trained well over 3000 delegates (client list), written for over 40 publications and have edited a number of magazines. I was a finalist in The Times/HP UK Technology Press Awards six years running and was declared winner in each of the last three years. I was then banned from entering again and was elevated to the judging panel.
These days, my technical abilities are mainly applied to creating and maintaining websites, very much at the 'hobby' level. I either hand-craft them with HTML/CSS (this one and The Messagery) or use WordPress (as a volunteer for two charitable organisations).
I live near three underground lines, the M40, the M25 and the M4, providing huge flexibility to where I can meet clients or interviewees.
I tend to use Zoom, Teams and Skype but am happy with any video conferencing app that works on a Windows 10 PC.
★ Alison O'Leary grills me on business writing & press handling (YouTube)
★ How to handle the media - an interactive memory jogger
★ George Orwell Why I write
★ Felix Dennis Journalism or Churnalism? (pdf)
★ Archives of IT Stories from IT and telecomms pioneers
