23/06/2008

allmediascotland.com is about to change, in terms of design, functionality and style of editorial. That may lead to some disruption of normal services over the next few weeks, not least because there are holidays to be had. It does mean also the prospect of new voices, from a galaxy of bloggers. So, welcome, our first blogger: NICK CLAYTON. You’ll see his biog below. Feel free to become an AMS blogger yourself, by emailing us, here.

If you don't know me, I'm an Englishman living in Ibiza penning a blog for the Scottish media. You know it makes sense. Well, perhaps it does in a strange sort of way.

For the last few years, my quest has been to find ways of earning a living as a writer without the need to be based anywhere in particular. Tech journalist, Steve Gold, always says he can work anywhere he can get a dial tone, which is  another away of putting it. Almost.

‘Working’ and ‘making a living’ as a writer, however, are not the same. I can certainly head into the nearest internet cafe and churn out blogs and other copy all day. If it goes well, I could earn as much as the teenager serving coffee and sandwiches to me at my keyboard.

In these days of social networking services, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, I should be able to find jobs in much the same way as I did in Edinburgh. After all, as a freelance journalist specialising in techie stuff, I generally don't need more than a phone, email and Google. But it's not that easy.

I mentioned that I'm English, but I moved to Scotland not long after the opening of Hadrian's Wall. And, still, almost all my work comes directly from contacts I made while living in Edinburgh. But I still keep looking for ways to use online social networking to develop contacts, find work and keep in touch. I'll let you know in this blog how those attempts are progressing.

At the same time I'm constantly looking for ways to earn a living from developments in technology. You can read about my latest cunning plan at www.ghost-blogger.net. I apologise in advance for the limited amount of copy there at the moment. My blogging tends to be related to the paid work I've got on at the time. (That doesn't mean, necessarily, I blog more when I'm not working. It can equally be a form of displacement activity when I should be finishing a dull job.)

Anyway, the idea of Ghost Blogger is to provide a service for CEOs and so on who want to use a blog to communicate with customers, staff and the public, but lack the time or literacy skills for the task. Of course, this is self-promotion. That's the main reason I'm writing this blog, in the hope somebody will offer me work. (Having just written the website words for a restaurant here in Ibiza, "will work for food" isn't entirely a joke.)

So, if you ever need the services of a former technology and, briefly, personal finance editor of The Scotsman, you'll find me in the AMS contacts book.

Equally, four years in Ibiza have made me something of an expert on this wild and wonderful island.

And if you want to follow me and enjoy a life overseas, my book, The Guardian Guide to Working Abroad, should be available from bookshops or via my somewhat scrappy website www.adeskinthesun.com.

That should be the last of the plugs. My future blogs will look at how I'm using the latest online services, technology and gadgets to maintain my life in the sun. I hope you'll find it useful too, even if it just helps you find the odd tool that makes work away from the office a little easier.

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Nick Clayton believes that, in the digital age, writers should be able to work anywhere they can get a dial tone. To prove the point, he lives in Ibiza with his wife, dog, swimming pool, several computers and a broadband connection. Only the last two are strictly necessary for his productivity.

His book, 'The Guardian Guide to Working Abroad', was published recently. Nick continues to write a weekly gadget column for The Scotsman where he was technology editor during the first internet boom. His other work is generally less conspicuous, but better paid, producing white papers, press releases and other copy for a variety of mainly techie outlets.

And occasionally, he gets to give his middle-aged perspective on Ibiza's nightlife, glamour and entertainment, notably for Pacha Magazine.

* Send your Scottish media news and gossip, in the strictest confidence, to  info@allmediascotland.com