Scott Fitzgerald
My main gig: I’ve worked in the online space for quite a while now, as a content manager, web producer, site manager, social media manager and other various permutations of words in those role titles.
I’ve put in time as an editor at the Macquarie Dictionary, was the founding editor at Travelmate.com.au and NeeditNow.com, and have run content and social media at GadgetGuy.com.au, ClassicCar.com and ClassicCar.co.uk, and, well, more.
What I moonlight as: I publish my own Australian consumer technology site, TechStyles.com.au – “If it plugs in, lights up, or buzzes a bit, TechStyles could well cover it.” So in terms of what I can write about there, it’s a very wide content net that I have.
TechStyles went live in March 2010, with 800 posts so far, and has had many, many hours of effort, care and love.
I’m also close to publishing a second site that is aimed at a US audience, and am working on another web project with my TV-producer wife. Watch this space… or that space, or behind the e-cabinet over there.
Favourite local haunt: I’ve lived up and down the east coast of Australia over the past year or so, so ‘local’ is a moveable feast. On the Gold Coast, the coffee, beer and cocktails are good at Black Coffee Lyrics in Surfers Paradise, and Vintage Espresso and Elk are favourites in Broadbeach.
In Melbourne, Porgie & Mr Jones in Hawthorn, Percy’s Aeroplane in Kew, and Beer DeLuxe, again in Hawthorn.
Here in Sydney, the excellent Wet Paint Cafe’s Louisiana Stuffed Chicken is ’nom’ defined on the plate, the Woolwich Pier Hotel is an old favourite, and nothing beats an afternoon of a Coopers Sparkling Ale and one of the above-streetside seats at the London Hotel in Balmain.
Apps I can’t live without: Hmmm, ‘live without’ is a bit strong, but I’m a heavy user of the Facebook and Twitter apps, Instagram I like a lot, and Google Maps on occasion removes a lot of short-term stress from my life. Also, the Fitbit app helps me meet my fitness goals – 9 million steps since February 2012 and counting!
Book I recommend: “The Design of Everyday Things”, by Donald Norman, a champion of the ‘user-centered’ approach to design. He’s a cognitive scientist / engineer, and was the User Experience Architect at Apple, before moving on to HP, and a consultation practice with Jakob Nielsen (author of the excellent “Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity”, and “Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed”, two books that were ‘bibles’ in my early days working in web publishing).
Song I’m loving right now: “I’m A Cuckoo”, by Belle & Sebastian. A song I’ve been loving for ten years now, and it’s also been a favourite of my (now) seven-year old son since he was three. It’s from the “Dear Catastrophe Waitress” album, on which the former kings and queens of baroque pop added a little funk and soul to its repertoire. This song is Belle & Sebastian channeling a little Thin Lizzy (there’s a mention in the lyric, and the twin lead guitars is a musical hat tip).
My son and I like to sing it together, dance a little, and in the chorus point to each other and say, “you’re a cuckoo”. It’s the little things in family life than can make you smile inside.
How PR people can work with you: Email is probably best, though as I’m a one-man band, I can’t respond to all the emails, nor publish content on all the products and ideas I receive, so please keep that in mind. If nothing else I do keep most emails I receive for reference, and am pretty diligent about keeping an up-to-date contact database, making note of who is where and working on what brand. I’m not anti-phone call, but depending on what my day gig is at the time, there may be a lag between the call and my reply.
Getting my hands on product is key, whether for review, or at a media event. At the moment I am Sydney-based, and can attend most daytime events, or night-time launches if given a good amount of forward notice, as I’m paying the bills at the moment working most nights.
I have done some work on TechStyles with sponsored content, and am more than happy, hell, I’m dead keen on it, talking to vendors and PR about more of that line of monetising my site(s), or advertising.
I’ve also had some success with running competition promotions on the site, and welcome discussion on running more of these. It’s a great opportunity for both brands and my site to obtain benefit.
I’m eminently contactable for all of this, and more, via TechStyles’ Contact Us page.
Social media: You can catch me at Facebook (TechStyles’ Page), Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+. I’m on Instagram, but as there’s family pictures there I keep the account private. But if you do know me, I’m happy to lift up the Instragram door.
Connect with Scott on Twitter @ScottFitzG