Bill Thompson (technology writer)
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bill Thompson
| image = Bill Thompson at BBC Television Centre 2012.jpg
| image_size = 250
| alt =
| caption = Bill Thompson at the BBC Television Centre, 2012
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1960|10|06}}
| birth_place = Jarrow, County Durham, United Kingdom
| birth_name = William George Thompson
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = English
| other_names =
| known_for =
| occupation = Technology writer
| module = {{Listen | embed=yes | filename = Bill Thompson speaking.ogg | title = Bill Thompson's voice | type = speech | description = recorded October 2012 }}
| website = https://thebillblog.com
}}
William George Thompson (born 6 October 1960) is an English technology writer, and technologist, best known for his writing in The Guardian newspaper in the 1990s,{{Cite web |title=Bill Thompson - ARU |url=https://www.aru.ac.uk/graduation-and-alumni/honorary-award-holders2/bill-thompson |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=www.aru.ac.uk |language=en}} his weekly column in the Technology section of BBC News Online, and his appearances over twenty years on Digital Planet, a radio show on the BBC World Service. He is Head of Public Value Research in [https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/ BBC Research & Development] {{Cite web |title=Page author |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/author/?id=author-people-bill-thompson |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en}}and the editor of the [https://w4mp.org/ Working for an MP] website.
Biography
Born in Jarrow, County Durham, Thompson grew up in Corby, Northamptonshire. He graduated from St Catharine's College, Cambridge in philosophy and with the Diploma in Computer Science in 1984 and worked at Acorn Computers.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11821504 |title=The birth of a UK tech giant |work=BBC News |date=23 November 2010 |access-date=2016-05-10}}
He was a correspondent for the technology programme The Big Byte on BBC Radio. He began to write for The Guardian in 1990, and in 1994 went to work there (having previously worked at Pipex, the United Kingdom's first commercial Internet service provider) as head of new media, setting up the paper's website, which he argued should not be paywalled.{{cite book |last1=Rusbridger |first1=Alan |title=Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now |date=6 September 2018 |publisher=Canongate Books |isbn=978-1-78689-095-5 |pages=80– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EtFODwAAQBAJ&dq=%22bill+thompson%22+rusbridger&pg=PT80 |language=en}} He left the Guardian in 1996, but continued to be a contributor to both that and newspapers and magazines including The Times, .net, and Internet Magazine.{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@billt/my-life-as-a-new-media-dog-c4cb0b2b9726#.5r5urykto|title=Disinterred: my life as a new media dog|date=15 March 2016|work=Medium}}
In November 2009 he took on a role as head of partnership development for Archive Development projects at the BBC, working with Tony Ageh (formerly of The Guardian), the then Controller of Archive Development at the BBC.{{cite news |last=Bunz |first=Mercedes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/pda/2009/nov/02/bbc-archive-bill-thompson |title=Pair behind first Guardian website back together for BBC Archive |work=The Guardian |date=2 November 2009 |accessdate=2010-11-28 |location=London}} Since then he has worked as Partnership Lead for the BBC Make It Digital initiative before moving to R&D in 2017.
He acted as contributor and expert on Digital Planet from its launch as Go Digital in August 2001 to its final broadcast in March 2023. After the end of Digital Planet, in April 2023, Mitchell and Thompson returned with a new technology podcast, The Gareth and BillCast.{{Cite web |title=The Gareth and BillCast |url=http://garethandbillcast.com/ |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=garethandbillcast.com |language=en}} He was an honorary senior visiting fellow at City University London's Journalism Department{{cite web |title=Bill Thompson |url=http://www.city.ac.uk/arts/academic-staff-profiles/bill-thompson |accessdate=2012-03-09 |publisher=City University London}} and wrote for BBC WebWise.
Thompson was a trustee of the Britten Sinfonia,{{cite web |url=http://www.brittensinfonia.com/about-us/meet-the-trustees/ |title=Meet the Trustees |publisher=Britten Sinfonia |accessdate=4 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904222034/http://www.brittensinfonia.com/about-us/meet-the-trustees/ |archivedate=4 September 2014}} and formerly a board member of the Writers' Centre Norwich.{{cite web |url=http://www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk/AboutUs/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140904191433/http://www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk/AboutUs/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 September 2014 |title=About Us |publisher=Writers' Centre Norwich |accessdate=4 September 2014}} In 2010, he was nominated for the Prudential Arts and Business Board Member of the year award.{{cite web |url=http://www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk/whybillthompsonisnominatedforartsandbusinessboardmemberoftheyear.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914204907/http://www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk/whybillthompsonisnominatedforartsandbusinessboardmemberoftheyear.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 September 2010 |title=Why Bill Thompson is nominated for the Prudential A&B Board Member of the Year |last=Carr |first=Katy |date=9 September 2010 |publisher=Writers' Centre Norwich |accessdate=4 September 2014}} In October 2016, Anglia Ruskin University awarded Thompson an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree.{{cite web |url=http://www.anglia.ac.uk/graduation-and-alumni/honorary-award-holders2/bill-thompson |title=Bill Thompson |publisher=Anglia Ruskin University |accessdate=3 October 2016}}
He is a member of the main advisory board of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton{{cite web |title=Bill Thompson |url=https://www.southampton.ac.uk/wsi/about/Committees/bios/bill-thompson.page |publisher=University of Southampton |access-date=22 February 2021}} and a trustee of the Web Science Trust.{{Cite web |title=Our Team |url=https://webscience.org/our-team/#wst-trustees |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=Web Science Trust |language=en-GB}}
He has two children.{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4032615.stm |title=Musical future for phones |date=2004-11-22 |access-date=2017-10-04 |language=en-GB}}
Bibliography
Thompson has also written books for children:
- {{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Bill |title=Your Own Website |year=1999 |publisher=Hodder Headline |isbn=978-0340736500}}
- {{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Bill |title=Your Own Chat Room |year=2000 |publisher=Hodder Headline |isbn=978-0340784822}}
- {{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Bill |title=Homework Busters |year=2000 |publisher=Belitha Press |isbn=978-1903174142}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Bill Thompson (technology writer)|Bill Thompson}}
{{wikiquote|Bill Thompson}}
- [http://www.thebillblog.com/ Bill Thompson's blog]
- [http://www.andfinally.com/ Bill Thompson's personal website]
- {{Journalisted}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:British non-fiction writers
Category:British technology writers
Category:Writers from Tyne and Wear