Robin Brown

This is the personal blog of journalist and editor Robin Brown.

I write about cars and the automotive industry, I run several blogs with varying degrees of input. They’re also of varying degrees of quality, tone and intent.

I don’t run any of them for profit, and therefore will likely show very little interest in your press release, unless you’re offering cash or freebies.

As part of my job I’m obliged to show an interest in SEO, various forms of marketing and Web 2.0, so my blogs are generally aimed at trying to increase my skills in those areas.

My knowledge of programming languages is pretty hopeless but, like my German (language that is – I don’t own any Germans), I can generally work out what something means – even if I can’t write or speak it.

There are a dozen different ways of contacting me on the web. My Retaggr card (at the bottom) offers the most options in one place, or there’s a link to an email address at the bottom of the page.

Things Robin works on

• I currently edit MotorTorque.com. I have big plans for it and have done for over two years. This blog has nothing to do with MotorTorque or my employers. Head to the MT Blog for interesting car stuff.

• My primary blog is Liverpool Culture Blog It’s my first and most serious attempt to blog on something authoritatively. It kinda follows on from Black+White, an ents and culture mag I edited earlier in the decade.

• Recently I’ve taken the Culture Blog and Black+White to their logical conclusion and joined forces with a couple of like-minded people to form Seven Streets – a website about Liverpool’s people, places, culture and history.

• AdTurds is a side project with David Quinn (he came up with the name), which I enjoy writing immensely. Some people hit the gym, others the bottle. I vent spleen about adverts.

• Creature Features was born primarily of a desire to find out about WordPress.com blogs, and to see if my Photoshop powers were still functioning. Whether they are is up for debate, but creating the Mike Cat image kept me amused for weeks. Anyone can create a Creature Feature and submit it.

• Quis est Porcus? is a blog on cricket, and Sefton Park Cricket Club specifically. The title is bastardised Latin that stems from the genuine bafflement of one of the club’s members when confronted with salted pork.

Small episodes like this make cricket endlessly fascinating for me, and inspired the blog. Several Sefton members are professional writers, so the aim is for several people to contribute to it.

• Robin Brown tumbles. My stuff on Tumblr, mainly consisting of good stuff I found around the web. I like the concept of Tumblr a lot. I’ve largely taken it in the direction of stuff I find around the web that interests me.

What’s this one about then?

Basically I wanted the domain name robinbrown.co.uk, so anything that doesn’t fit on any of the other blogs goes on here. When I eventually work out how to map the domain to the blog I’ll write on the web, media and technology, like everyone else does.

Things Robin has done

I was brought up in Hartlepool, a fact that horrifies most people though I think of it fondly. The monkey thing is a myth as far as I can work out, though unlike Peter Mandelson I don’t get shirty if someone brings up this Hartlepudlian urban myth.

I ended up in Liverpool in the late 90′s, just in time to catch the last of the 80′s hangover. The city has changed a lot since then but the people haven’t.

I studied Philosophy & Politics at Liverpool University. It bored me fairly rigid so I spent most of time editing student newspapers – Liverpool Gazette and Liverpool Student Newspaper.

I spent most of the intervening years since working in a variety of marketing and editorial jobs; some spells of freelance, mainly in gaming; photographing nude calendars; starting up businesses; and learning internet stuff.

Things Robin is good at

I consider writing to be my stock-in-trade and can turn around a lot of work very quickly, something learned through striving to hit tight deadlines in student newspaper days and racing through as much work as possible when freelancing.

Media and the web, cars and the automotive industry, gaming, TV and film, Liverpool and sports would be my main topics of authority though I like to think I can turn my hand to most things. I once worked on a medical devices magazine.

Working online over the last couple of years I’ve become extremely adept at writing for the web, from an SEO point of view and simple readability.

I’ve worked as a sub on several publications, though subs seem to be a dying breed these days.

From my days of laying out newspapers and magazines I can turn my hand to page-setting and some limited graphic design. I’m pretty good on Quark XPress and InDesign and know my way around Photoshop to a decent level too.

I know some rudimentary coding and databases stuff and can generally makes things look the way I want them to.

I reckon I know more about SEO than most, and more widely I’ve developed skills in online marketing and social media marketing. I’ve worked in marketing, generally producing press and publicity materials, on more than one occasion.

I used to do some work as a photographer and, though I’m yet to fully get to grips with the rigours of digital photography, I’m no mug. I briefly did some work for NME but my favourite job was the aforementioned calendar.

Things Robin does

Cars

I think whatever you write about must inspire you beyond your job. I find the social and economic history of the automotive industry fascinating, I like driving cars and I enjoy admiring classics. Since I first fell in love with cars in the 80′s this tends to mean Ford Capris and Porsche 944s.

I expect one day I’ll buy one of these cars, which will almost certainly turn out to be a catastrophic decision.

I own a Ford Puma, the purchase of which turned out to be a catastrophic decision.

Cricket

I play cricket at Sefton Park Cricket Club, which is essentially a second home during the summer. I used to be an all-rounder but my as my bowling has improved my batting has disintegrated. My best figures are 5-3-5-5, which I’m inordinately proud of.

My hope is that by divulging this I will be offered a job by a newspaper editor simply on the basis of being able to play, as happened to a young John Pilger.

Culture

My magazine, called Black+White, focussed on Liverpool culture and nightlife. Supposedly you write about what you know, so Liverpool culture is what Liverpool Culture Blog is about.

In the intervening years I’d drifted out of Liverpool’s social scene a bit, so finding stuff to write about is more of a struggle that I would have wanted.

However, I do find Liverpool an endlessly fascinating place, and it arguably has more culture than it can handle. Good news for me.

Photography

I used to be quite a good photographer, albeit in a fairly narrow frame of reference. I’ve neglected this part of my life so I’m still playing catch-up in the digital age. I use a Canon EOS 400D, which I still haven’t really got to grips with.

Some of my better stuff goes on Flickr.

Cooking

Most people I know think I’m some sort of a genius chef. In fact I’m a barely-competent cook who knows a few good recipes. I’m still working out how best to use tamarind.

Films and TV

I get very annoyed when people sneer at television as an art form. I don’t find a lot of modern stuff that I enjoy, but am increasingly buying up 70s and 80s British serials. I’d probably write a blog on the subject, but Charlie Brooker is so good at it there doesn’t seem much point.

I do intend to watch The Wire at some point. However, if you feel the need to tell me about how great it is, please don’t.

Sci-Fi

I like to think of myself as a pretty discerning sci-fi fan. This means I like Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, some Star Trek series and most British C20th literary sci-fi. I’m also a big horror film buff.

I’m eternally frustrated by the missed opportunities of the new Doctor Who, though when it gets it right it’s still the best thing on TV.

I have met three Doctor Whos.

Gaming

I wrote about video games for a few years, not the worst job I’ve ever had. Silent Hill is my favourite game ever.

Where’s Robin?

Aside from the blogs above you can find me at a number of places on the web, primarily:

• Twitter – I’m robinbrown78 at several places around the web, most obviously here.

• LinkedIn – Still don’t get the feeling I’ve got the hang of this

• Netvibes – Loads of feeds in the same place and a very good RSS reader.

• ReTaggr – Great all-in-one business card-type tool.

• Dipity – Dipity is cool, but I don’t know how useful it is at the moment.

• Delicious – I don’t know why people would want to see my bookmarks, but what the hell?

What does Robin look like?

Often like this:

And occasionally like this:

Contact Robin

Use the Retaggr card, leave a comment here or hit this link for an email address:

Robin’s email