William George Thompson (born 6 October 1960) is an English

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

, best known for his weekly column in the Technology section of

BBC News Online BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the ...

and his appearances on '' Digital Planet'', a radio show on the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

. He is also an honorary senior visiting fellow at

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

's Journalism Department and writes for

BBC WebWise BBC WebWise is both the BBC's archived guide to the internet for computer novices as well as some videos. Created in 1998, it consisted and on the archive, consists of a series of articles and videos. It also incorporates elements of another ...

Biography

Born in

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the ...

, County Durham, Thompson grew up in

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. He graduated from

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Cam ...

in philosophy and with a diploma in computing in 1984 and worked at

Acorn Computers Acorn Computers Ltd. was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the United Kingdom, UK, including the Acorn Electron and the Acorn Archi ...

. He was a correspondent for the technology programme'' The Big Byte'' on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

. He began to write for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' in 1990, and in 1994 went to work there (having previously worked at

Pipex Pipex was the United Kingdom's first commercial Internet service provider (ISP). It was formed in 1990 and helped to develop the ISP market in the UK. In 1992 it began operating a 64k transatlantic leased line and built a connection to the UK gov ...

, the United Kingdom's first commercial

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privatel ...

) as head of new media, setting up the paper's website, which he argued should not be

paywall A paywall is a method of restricting access to content, with a purchase or a paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their websites as a way to increase revenue after years of ...

ed. He left in 1996 to work as a freelance writer and consultant. In November 2009 he took on a role as head of partnership development for Archive Development projects at the BBC, working with

Tony Ageh Tony Ageh OBE, (born 1959) is the New York Public Library's Chief Digital OfficerJemima Kis"BBC digital expert Tony Ageh poached by New York Public Library" ''The Guardian'', 6 April 2016 having previously been Controller of Archive Development at ...

(formerly of ''

''), the then Controller of Archive Development at the BBC. Thompson is a trustee of the

Britten Sinfonia Britten Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra ensemble based in Cambridge, UK. It was created in 1992, following an initiative from Eastern Arts and a number of key figures including Nicholas Cleobury, who recognised the need for an orchestra in th ...

, and a board member of the Writers' Centre Norwich. In 2010, he was nominated for the Prudential Arts and Business Board Member of the year award. In October 2016,

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...

awarded Thompson an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree. He is chair of Centre for Doctoral Training advisory board and a member of the main advisory board of the Web Science Institute at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

. He has two children.

Bibliography

Thompson has also written books for children: * * *

References

External links

Autobiographical article
(last updated September 2005) *
Bill Thompson's blog

Bill Thompson's personal website

Bill Thompson on BBC Make IT Digital at TNMOC
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Bill 1960 births Living people Alumni of the University of Cambridge British non-fiction writers British technology writers English atheists People from Corby People from Jarrow Writers from Tyne and Wear BBC people English male writers British technology journalists Male non-fiction writers