Jon Bounds
Encyclopedia
Jon Bounds is a blog
ger, freelance social media
and multimedia consultant
and humorist
from Birmingham
, England
.
Raised in the City's Perry Barr
district, he attended King Edward VI Grammar School, Aston
, and now lives in the suburb of Moseley
.
After working as a Technical and Commissioning Editor for Friends of Ed, he spent nearly four years working for the BBC
as technical co-ordinator of the Public Space at BBC Birmingham
, and studied Computer Science at the University of Birmingham
. He was Online Editor for the Big Picture project (www.inthebigpicture.co.uk).
He is perhaps best known for creating the cult website "Birmingham: It's Not Shit" (B:iNS)
On 11 November 2008 (starting at 11am), he spent eleven hours on Birmingham's number 11 bus route, the outer circle, documenting his journey online, using Twitter
, Facebook
and a blog, elevenbus.co.uk. The next month, he organised TwitPanto, a pantomime
on Twitter, which featured a cast that included Government Minister Tom Watson MP
and Guardian writer Jemima Kiss. A further TwitPanto, on 18 December 2009, in which Watson - by then a back-bench MP - again had a part, was hosted by Birmingham Hippodrome
and named as an Official Honouree by the Webby Awards
. The event ran again on 20 December 2010.
He has written professionally for a number of publications, including the Birmingham Post and The Guardian
. With his partner Julia Gilbert, he presents a Saturday-morning radio show on Rhubarb Radio
.
He was said to be the "14th Most Influential Person in the West Midlands" in the Birmingham Post
's "Power 50" (a list of people they considered the most influential, in the Birmingham area) in 2008 and was considered for inclusion again in 2009.
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, freelance social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
and multimedia consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
and humorist
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
from Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Raised in the City's Perry Barr
Perry Barr
Perry Barr is an inner-city area in north Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Perry Barr ward and the wards of Handsworth Wood, Lozells and East Handsworth, and Oscott, which elect three councillors to...
district, he attended King Edward VI Grammar School, Aston
King Edward VI Aston
King Edward VI Aston School is a selective, all-boys' grammar school and specialist Sports College. The school, designed by Birmingham architect J.A. Chatwin, opened in 1883 and is still located on its original site, in the Aston area of Birmingham, England....
, and now lives in the suburb of Moseley
Moseley
Moseley is a suburb of Birmingham, England, two miles south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants...
.
After working as a Technical and Commissioning Editor for Friends of Ed, he spent nearly four years working for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as technical co-ordinator of the Public Space at BBC Birmingham
BBC Birmingham
BBC Birmingham is one of the oldest regional arms of the BBC, located in Birmingham, West Midlands. It was the first region outside of London to start broadcasting both the corporation's radio and television transmissions, the latter from the Sutton Coldfield television transmitter...
, and studied Computer Science at the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
. He was Online Editor for the Big Picture project (www.inthebigpicture.co.uk).
He is perhaps best known for creating the cult website "Birmingham: It's Not Shit" (B:iNS)
On 11 November 2008 (starting at 11am), he spent eleven hours on Birmingham's number 11 bus route, the outer circle, documenting his journey online, using Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and a blog, elevenbus.co.uk. The next month, he organised TwitPanto, a pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
on Twitter, which featured a cast that included Government Minister Tom Watson MP
Tom Watson (politician)
Thomas Anthony Watson is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for West Bromwich East since 2001. Watson was a Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office from 2008 to 2009...
and Guardian writer Jemima Kiss. A further TwitPanto, on 18 December 2009, in which Watson - by then a back-bench MP - again had a part, was hosted by Birmingham Hippodrome
Birmingham Hippodrome
The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England.Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including visiting opera and ballet companies, touring West End...
and named as an Official Honouree by the Webby Awards
Webby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
. The event ran again on 20 December 2010.
He has written professionally for a number of publications, including the Birmingham Post and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. With his partner Julia Gilbert, he presents a Saturday-morning radio show on Rhubarb Radio
Rhubarb Radio
Rhubarb Radio is an internet and community radio station in Birmingham, England. It began broadcasting test transmissions in August 2008 from its studio in the Custard Factory...
.
He was said to be the "14th Most Influential Person in the West Midlands" in the Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
The Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...
's "Power 50" (a list of people they considered the most influential, in the Birmingham area) in 2008 and was considered for inclusion again in 2009.