Notable & interesting achievements

My name is Matthew Green and I am currently a freelance Internet Consultant and Strategist. My 16 years experience covers a capacious number of associated fields in the Internet industry including management, architecture, training and research and development.

Someone pointed out to me recently that I have been lucky enough to ‘pursue my passion’, namely computers, for the longest time. Here are some of the highlights, arranged more-or-less chronologically, from oldest to newest of my twenty-eight years and some, association with computers and the Internet.

Eighties and early nineties

During 1981, in junior school, I was one of two children selected to be part of a pilot program for the implementation of computers and the Logo programming language at the school. I went on to study Computer Science at high school and university.

My first job was in IT support, looking after desktop installations for people using WordPerfect 5.1, Dbase III and Lotus 123.

In the early 1990′s graphical user computing was burgeoning with the advent of Windows, in particular Windows 3.0 and Windows 3.1. I lectured extensively to hundreds of corporate delegates on all aspects of personal computing from the elementary “what is a computer” and “basic mouse / keyboard skills” to “project management” using Microsoft Project and “advanced spreadsheet calculations” using Microsoft Excel. I also taught the entire gamut of office productivity software over a period of two years.

Subsequently with the arrival of the World Wide Web, in 1994, I taught many disparate groups of people about The Internet, The Web and how to get the most out of it.

Mid to late nineties

The House of SYNERGY (THOS)

In 1994 I co-founded The House of SYNERGY (THOS) with my brother. As a start up organisation I was involved in almost all facets of the business but I primarily conceived and oversaw the implementation of various web site properties (e.g. southafrica.co.za, cards.co.za, valentine.co.za, worldcup.co.za and christmas.co.za). I also secured the registration of a number of high profile domain names.

A few firsts

I was instrumental in being chosen by Silicon Graphics Inc. as one of their first Web development partners. I oversaw the opportunity of becoming one the first companies in South Africa to be connected to the Internet by IBM Global Network Services. I designed, planned and oversaw the implementation and marketing of award winning web sites for large corporate customers such as Postnet, Xerox and Tiger Brands.

Late nineties to early noughties

Caxton / CTP Group

THOS joined the Caxton/CTP Group in 1997. Given the huge spread and penetration of Caxton’s local newspaper business, it seemed logical to try and leverage this reach via various on-line projects. We developed a mainframe to web server application that took all the adverts placed in the newspapers and displayed them on-line. It was an instant money maker for Caxton.

Social networking (before MySpace and Facebook)

Long before MySpace and Facebook (these were founded in 2003 and 2004 respectively) I pioneered the concept of community web site development with a “social networking” (this term wasn’t in wide-spread use at all then) site called “South Africans Worldwide”. This site drew together South Africans from all over the globe through interactive forums, weekly newsletters and South African news. A panel of experts was on hand to answer queries pertaining to import/export, visa requirements and so on. South Africans Worldwide also formed the seed database for The Homecoming Revolution.

Zebra, the black & white search engine

During this time I managed the development and launch of a local search engine called Zebra. It was the first “home grown” (developed locally as opposed to licensing overseas technology) search engine in South Africa. It was co-sponsored by Ariel Technologies, IBM, Sun Microsystems and Informix.

Zebra was the first search engine in South Africa to offer advertisers the opportunity of associating search keywords with adverts. Zebra was also the first search engine in South Africa to offer real-time, instant URL additions to its database. The Sunday Times newspaper voted Zebra “Best search engine of 1998″.

The first Internet users’ survey

I developed the first on-line (and off-line) survey for profiling the South African Internet user. For a number of years this was the yardstick for measuring and understanding the profile of the typical South African Internet user.

Marketing newsletters

I launched and became the editor-in-chief of a publication distributed via e-mail (Around The Web, or ATW for short) that expounded the principles of successful web development. At its peak, the weekly subscriber base grew to over 30,000.

In an effort to promote open standards for Web advertising and marketing, I opted to sponsor the design and development of Media Toolbox (now MarkLives.com) a comprehensive fortnightly e-mail newsletter for South Africa’s Internet advertisers, marketers and publishers.

Sponsorship of the AAA School of Advertising

I organised a sponsorship campaign of the AAA School of Advertising where web design students from the school worked in teams of three to design a site for the school. My company, THOS, was also part of the “Satellite school” system whereby students periodically received live briefs from us for existing and new clients.

As part of the sponsorship programme I organised and facilitated the training of two under-graduate students on an internship programme. The goal of the training was to teach principles of effective web development, design and marketing.

Mars Pathfinder mirror site

I received a Certificate of Appreciation from the JPL division of NASA for “significant contributions to the Mars Pathfinder Mission” by hosting an official JPL Mars Pathfinder Mirror Site – the only one in Africa.

Driving Ford to the Loeries

The most gratifying achievement during this time was the management of the technical and creative team responsible for the Ford South Africa web site. The team at THOS designed and implemented a leading-edge site and garnered the first Loerie for a motor manufacturer’s web site and Ford’s first Loerie, ever, beating out other more traditional media.

E-commerce & on-line shopping

To celebrate the new century, I conceived a millennium logo incorporating the numerals “010100″. This was placed onto caps and t-shirts and sold on-line. As a fan of digital music, we sold (also via an on-line store) the Diamond Rio 500 portable digital MP3 audio player and the Diamond Rio PMP 300, the world’s second portable consumer MP3 digital audio player.

In 2001 THOS left Caxton/CTP and joined the listed company, MB Technologies, a leading IT conglomerate. I took on a broader managerial role as the company became the primary provider of Internet services for the entire group. Internal and external Internet marketing of most of the groups’ business centres was channelled through THOS. At this time I re-engineered and re-implemented many of THOS’s internal and external processes based on the work of W. Edwards Deming and Total Quality Management (TQM).

The rest of the noughties

The company I worked for, THOS, sold a major stake to an IT behemoth called MB Technologies in 2001.  THOS moved premises and diversified away from its core abilities (web marketing, design and development) into areas such as digital CCTV, networking and ISP services (corporate e-mail, calendaring, etc.).

In mid 2002, MB Technologies de-listed from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).  I became the Managing Director of THOS and we went back to our core focus and strengths, namely web design, development and marketing.

Content management

I managed a core research and implementation team whose goal was to expand the company’s product offerings into the burgeoning content management (CMS) arena.  I oversaw all aspects of the business from the sales team to the technical and creative development resources.  During this time the company secured a number of additional high profile national and international customers and continued to evolve the idea of self managed web sites.  At its peak our proprietary content management system was in use by over 200 different users encompassing both the corporate and SME ends of the market.

“Open Windows”

I co-consulted to Vodacom on a project entitled “Open Windows”. The goal of the project was to streamline Vodacom’s internal business processes and communication using a web based interface on Vodacom’s Intranet.

Corporate consulting

I developed material aimed at both the one-to-one and one-to-many audience on a range of topics particular to my industry and consulted to various corporate companies on topics such as SEO marketing and utilising the Web as a platform for more effective customer engagement. “Customer” in this instance incorporated staff members, suppliers and also consumers.  THOS ceased trading in 2004.

Maesti Web Consulting

I joined Maesti Web Consulting Services in the latter part of 2004.  Maesti is a small highly specialised company focussed on  assisting its customers get the most out of their investment in the Web and Internet.

I performed various roles, ranging from high level brain-storming to detailed strategic implementation, particularly around the area of SEO marketing, standards migration and social marketing.  I was instrumental in researching and developing multiple on-line advertising channels as well as the on-going technical maintenance and support of Maesti’s key web based properties. The most notable of these properties is www.SouthAfrica.co.za.

As a consultant I advised clients on web strategy, SEO, marketing and promotion via various channels such as e-mail newsletters, social media trends and innovation. I was required to liaise at all levels of the organisation and to co-ordinate various activities in order to achieve the ultimate end result – a professional on-line offering, delivering quantifiable and measurable results.

Maesti also maintains a sizeable domain name portfolio for various clients. I was responsible for the management of this portfolio from initial registration to the creation of keywords for a “long-tail” based advertising campaigns.

At the moment…

In late 2009 I started my own Internet consultancy and I am currently contracted to various sized companies (including Maesti) and provide essential Internet consulting, presentations, ideas, support and solutions.

I also teach part time, lecturing IT to matric students, and two other senior grade levels,  at a leading school  in Bryanston.