leaving the bbc to join headshift

For a couple of weeks I've been dropping hints, via tweets and facebook updates of course, that I would soon be leaving the BBC. Now that everyone who really needs to know has been informed of my departure, I can finally announce here that next Friday (27 June) I'm leaving the BBC to join Headshift where I'll be leading an already established and expanding Social Media practice.

My friends will know, and probably more than a few readers of this blog will have picked up, that I have absolutely loved spending the past 6+ years throwing my heart and soul into helping people across the BBC understand and use blogs, RSS, social networking services and other forms of social media to reach out and engage with audiences.

It's been a huge pleasure working with so many talented people on projects, programmes and websites which help inform, educate and entertain millions of people everyday.

Leaving a job where I've had enormous freedom to learn and grow, teach and facilitate - effectively, the job I've always dreamed of having - takes a truly special opportunity and that is exactly what my new role at Headshift, Europe's leading social computing consultancy, is.

At Headshift, I'll be leading a team of experienced Social Media consultants who have already won and done great work with the BBC, Channel 4, Metro Newspapers, UKTV, a major UK publisher and others. I'll be focusing on extending a number of key client relationships, developing new client ideas for consumer-facing business applications of social computing, and increasing Headshift's visibility and presence.

I've also recently been named a Visiting Fellow within the Department of Journalism at City University, London and, although we're still ironing out the details, I hope to mix my full-time role at Headshift with the occasional lecture at City.

Whilst walking out the doors of the Broadcast Centre for the last time and knowing I'm leaving behind many friends will be an emotional moment, I'm also greatly excited to be joining the team at Headshift the following Monday (30 June) and getting my teeth into some new and interesting projects.

This blog will continue as usual and, I think, is likely to become much more interesting - there's going to be some great stuff ahead!

* The photo of the Nabaztag bunny currently warming my seat at Headshift's new office was taken by Jessica Wittebort, just one of the many interesting people I'm looking forward to working with.

Comments

[Davy Sims]

Robin, Robin, Robin.

Good for you - when I decided to go it was like the greatest weight lifted off my shoulders. There was a physical response --- and with just a little practice I reorganized my face and re-learned how to smile, again.

Technically I'm not away yet, so I'll leave my comments to a political minimum (come 22 July I might be less politically correct). You are a visionary, and it's tough being a visionary in the modern BBC. Sad, as the Corporation was built on the work of people whjo understood the present and the future.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege. I know BBC people use the “privilege” word as often as they use “delight”, but I mean it; right back to the earliest days when NI was setting up the first message boards. The technology was easy, the philosophy was the difficult bit. But we were always able to call you or Lizzie and that was a great reassurance.

Someday someone in Beebland is going to say “Hold on, I don’t quite understand --- let’s call oh, er, emmm – shit all the people who understand are gone. Now what do we do?”
Hope you bill high to give the answers.

[Lars Plougmann]

Really looking forward to having you as a colleague.
It can't happen soon enough, we have projects waiting for you.

[Robin Hamman]

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to stop by, read, and post a comment. It's so cool. Thank you thank you. :-)))

[Neville Hobson]

Congratulations, Robin. Success!

[Danica Radovanovic]

Congrads. Robin! :) Wishing you all the best at Headshift! Good luck!

[Chris Reed]

Nice one Robin. So you'll no longer be "at large" in the BBC. Headshift - good outfit. Clever move, sir.

[David Brain]

Robin congrats. Welcome to the consultancy world. You will be a natural.

[Colin McKay]

Congratulations, Robin!

[Trippenbach]

Congratulations Robin. BBC's loss indeed. You've been doing good work getting the place into the 21st Century. Good luck with Headspace!

[darko156]

Good luck, and all the best, Robin