About Martin Belam and currybetdotnet

I'm Martin Belam, and currybetdotnet is my personal blog.

I'm an Internet Consultant, Information Architect and writer based in London. Since February 2009 I've been Information Architect in the Guardian's web development team, working on the guardian.co.uk website.

On this site I mostly write about information architecture, journalism, and digital media. The themes I cover include newspaper website design, site search management, talks and presentations I've given, and IA and UX events I've attended or organised. I'm very interested in the future of news and journalism in a digital era, media policy and regulation in the sector, and in the emergence of local and hyperlocal news services. As well as blog posts about new media best practice, media and web events I've been to and the 'old' media relationship with 'new' media, you can read about my work at The Guardian and at the BBC.

Besides my role at The Guardian, I act as one of the contributing editors for FUMSI, commissioning articles and writing editorial for the 'Share' practice area in the magazine aimed at information professionals.

In 2008 I returned to the UK after living in Crete for the best part of three years. I arrived there after leaving my London hometown in December 2005, and travelling around Europe for three months. I've got a decade of experience working and consulting on products and services for global brands and institutions like Sony, Vodafone, the Science Museum and the BBC. I've also consulted for a range of smaller companies like Lakeland, Chinwag, Rattle Research and Moo, and for organisations like the UK Film Council and NESTA.

View my CV

I worked for 6 months with Sony NetServices in Austria in 2006 and 2007, as a usability consultant on Sony's pan-European digital music products. Prior to that I worked at the BBC as a Senior Development Producer. I initially joined the BBC in 2000, and worked for a long time on their online search service.

I've written several articles for the Press Gazette, and I've also done a couple of stints guest-blogging for the BBC. Firstly as part of their reboot:bbc.co.uk homepage redesign competition in 2006, and then as part of a series celebrating the tenth anniversary of the BBC website on the BBC Internet Blog. I am now a regular contributor to the Inside Guardian blog, and you can find a list of my articles on my guardian.co.uk profile page.

In the 1990s I worked for a long time at Reckless Records, in both Islington and Soho. There I built a website for them, and picked up lots of juicy expensive vinyl and CD rarities which I mostly sold on eBay to help finance our move to Greece.

I studied History at Leeds University, where my special areas of interests were Russia from 1850 onwards, and The Crusades. Whilst studying for my A-Levels I worked part-time in the much-missed Note For Note record shop on Hoe Street, in Walthamstow. Before all of that, as a child, I was mostly into Doctor Who, Lego, & my trusty 48k ZX Spectrum.

So not too far removed from my interests as an adult really.

Contact details

You can contact me at martin.belam@currybet.net or follow me on Twitter.

Blogging principles

I strive to be accurate. I promptly correct any inaccuracy or error with a visible edit and update. I attribute and link to sources on the web wherever possible. Links on this blog are 'dofollow'. I encourage debate and welcome comments, but will not publish comments that appear to have been left solely to obtain a link from my blog for SEO purposes. All comments are pre-moderated. My direct contact details are displayed on every page of the site. I use a range of third party services which may collect anonymous data about your usage of the site. Further details can be found on my privacy statement page. I do not receive payment or services for any reviews or editorial on currybetdotnet. The views expressed are my own, and do not reflect the views of any current or former clients or employers.

Why currybet?

My identity for message-boards and online communities has been currybet for years (see me on Twitter, Flickr, del.icio.us, Last FM, StumbleUpon and so on and so on).

It derives from an annual competition a group of my friends ran for a decade. At the start of the football season we would each draw a random group of teams from the English Divisions. On F.A. Cup Final day we would go on a very unsophisticated pub crawl in Walthamstow, London, and the person whose teams had accumulated the least points over the course of the season had to wear fancy-dress. Anyone who finished less than halfway up the table had to pay for the late night curry of the winners - hence the name "The Currybet".

The first website I made, back in 1999 was to publish the latest statistics and an online version of the fanzine that used to accompany the competition. Sadly Fortunately the site no longer exists.

Obligatory final disclaimer

Probably the most important single thing to stress about currybetdotnet though, is that it is very much a personal site, and the views expressed don't represent or reflect the opinions of Guardian News and Media Limited, or any of my previous employers or clients.