About

I’m Sharon. I’m an experienced web professional, specialising in intranets and the digital side of internal communications.

I started my career early, writing for The Guardian at the age of 14. I went on to work as a journalist in La Paz, Bolivia, then moved into communications, working for organisations as diverse as Defra, Save the Children UK, and Westminster City Council‘s communications consultancy team (where I was named Internal Communicator of the Year in 2009).

In early 2010 I moved to a new role as Intranet Manager at the Houses of Parliament, where I managed the rollout of a new CMS, as well as delivery of an award-winning mobile intranet platform for MPs and Peers.

In April 2012 I joined Standard Chartered as Senior Manager, Online Communications – looking after web, intranet and social media channels for this global bank. There I am working on a wide range of online communications projects and campaigns.

I genuinely love communication. Done well, effective communication brings enormous benefits to both employees and the organisations that employ them.

I love communication theory, too. I studied it at Goldsmiths, and in 2009 completed the CIPR Internal Communications Certificate, with a final assessment on social media and employee advocacy.

My experience of social media is wide-ranging and as an early adopter and longtime geek I’ve been interacting with strangers via the internet for nearly 20 years. Ironically, I was also a freelance contributor to a printed guide to Facebook. I tweet a lot; about intranets, mostly, but also UX, usability, technology and public services. Plus food, TV, whimsy and regular rants about South West Trains. Despite this, Ragan.com named me as one of their 25 top comms industry tweeters in 2011.

I’m passionate about the potential for the social web to allow people to collaborate, participate and make their own choices, both at work and in their communities.

As well as sporadic blogging here, I also blog over at Intranetizen, where I write about all aspects of intranet strategy, design and management. I love to talk about intranets – both online and in person – and have presented at many conferences and events. If you’d like me to speak, present or facilitate at your event, drop me a line.

I live a stone’s throw from the river, with my husband, David. I like to travel. I read a lot. I run a bit. I cook (badly).

Finally, although I talk about my work in my blog, any views expressed here are my own, not those of my employers.