Suw Charman-Anderson

Infobox Writer
name = Suw Charman-Anderson

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imagesize = 200px
pseudonym =
birthdate = birth date and age|1971|04|15
birthplace = Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation = Journalist, Writer, Consultant
spouse = Kevin Anderson (2008-present)
nationality = UK
website = http://suw.org.uk/

Susan Margaret Charman-Anderson (born 15 April 1971), known as Suw Charman-Anderson, is the former Executive Director of the Open Rights Group, a campaign group based in London. She is also a journalist, social software consultant, blogger and public speaker [ [http://www.iwr.co.uk/information-world-review/features/2168447/jack-trades-master-org Jack of all trades, master of the ORG] , Information World Review, 2006-11-13] . On 15 February 2008 she married Kevin Anderson.

Early career

Charman's journalism career began whilst studying at Cardiff University, working on both student newspaper "Gair Rhydd" and Geology department newsletter "Jollyologist" [ [http://suw.org.uk/about-me/career-summary/ Career Summary] , suw.org.uk, March 2007] . After graduating with a BSc in Geology, Charman's career headed toward writing and research. Early jobs involved assisting editorial for the Current Biology publishing house, whilst spending her spare time producing a fanzine for the then popular band "Radiohead". This led to two years at the music magazine "Melody Maker", working freelance, contributing features for the Music-Geek section, "The Works", on topics as diverse as A&R, gear and the inner legal workings of the industry. It was this work that led her to pen features for trade magazines such as "Total Production" and "Pro Sound News".

By the end of 1998, Charman found herself caught up in the Dot-com bubble, building websites for local businesses, focusing on content production, design and construction of the sites. This quickly led to a 9 month project within "PriceWaterhouseCoopers", working in an in-house studio, contributing to an internal e-business awareness project entitled "Enlighten". She then moved to work with "Hutchinson 3G" within the Internal Communications and E-learning Teams, working on improving help and information within the business.

Welsh projects

Charman's work with Wales continues today. By April 1998 she had learnt Welsh, prompting her to start "Clwb Malu Cachu" three years later, in April 2001. In August 2002 she founded "Y Ffynhonnell Ltd", her "Get Fluent" business providing Welsh learning materials to subscribers via email. This continued to good success till the end of 2003, where, with development funding difficult to secure, she returned to professional writing.

Her love for Welsh projects continues in her free time, with "Clwb Malu Cachu" an active presence on the Welsh language scene.

Social media

Charman has her own personal weblog, "Chocolate and Vodka", started in June 2002. This name grew from her love of both vices, however topics quickly surpassed these, with commentary on the Blogosphere, social issues and politics growing her audience. Since then, she added a professional blog under the Corante label in July 2004, named "Strange Attractor". She still edits and posts to both, the latter with her husband Kevin.

Her success as a blogger led her to a Social Software consulting business, including producing the BlogOn Conference in New York City, in 2005. She has worked for companies such as MSN, BUPA, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Socialtext, Jackie Cooper PR, De Montfort University and the BBC News Interactive service, performing a variety of tasks from training to consulting. She often talks about blogging for business [ [http://www.suw.org.uk/files/MSN%20Blogging%20Report.pdf MSN Blogging Report] , suw.org.uk, November 2005] .

Her work can be found in print, in the [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0820481246 Uses of Blogs] book, published in June 2006 and as a section in the "Blog Marketing" book by Jeremy Wright [ [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0072262516?v=search-inside&keywords=suw&go=Go%21# Blog Marketing] , amazon.com, 2007-08-20] .

Activism

Her work online has led her to explore the issues surrounding rights and responsibilities online, which she has frequently written about. Most notably, she penned an article for "The Guardian" in 2004 exploring the truth behind file sharing and the music industry [ [http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,1265840,00.html Listen to the flip side] , "The Guardian", 2004-07-22] . She also has written for [http://linuxuser.co.uk/ Linux User and Developer] discussing digital rights [ [http://suw.org.uk/linux-user/ Linux-User columns] , suw.org.uk, Summer 2006] .

In 2005, she co-founded the Open Rights Group [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4225938.stm UK Digital Rights Group sets up] , "BBC News Online", 2005-09-09] , leading the project as Executive Director within its infancy. As a founder of ORG, she has commented on a wide variety of issues dealing with ownership and new media [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5041684.stm MPs in digital downloads warning] , "BBC News Online", June, 2006] [ [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/09/clarke_under_fire/ Phone Co's and rights activists round on Clark] , "The Register", 9-9-2005] .

References

External links

* [http://www.openrightsgroup.org/ Open Rights Group]
* [http://suw.org.uk/ Professional website]
* [http://chocolateandvodka.com/ Blog "Chocolate and Vodka"]
* [http://strange.corante.com/ Blog "Strange Attractor"]