Matthew Buckland

Country:	South Africa
Website:	[Matthewbuckland.com Matthewbuckland.com]
LinkedIn:	[Matthew Buckland LinkedIn Matthew Buckland]
Twitter:	@matthewbuckland

Matthew Buckland is the CEO of Creative Spark; and a self-described "serial entrepreneur". He has also held a number of high profile roles within the corporate Internet industry, been on various boards, and won awards for his blog and entrepreneurial endeavors.

He is married, with two daughters, and is living in Cape Town, which he describes as "one of the best places in the world to live".

Online Media Innovations

Matthew was one of the first new media graduates from Rhodes University, and is continually interested in emerging technologies and innovations in social media.

He believes that the corporate culture needs to recognize that "the reader" is now becoming another publisher as (s)he is given access to blogs and other publishing formats. Matthew is interested in how new media formats are upending the accepted models of large media corporations, and sees the grassroots work of individuals creating, publishing, and propagating information for other users as the stuff of an IT revolution.

Prior Experience

• Founder, Memeburn.com
• General Manager of Publishing and Social Media, 24.com
• Founder, 20FourLabs
• General Manager, Mail & Guardian Online
• co-Founder, Amatomu.com
• co-Founder, Thought Leader

Matthew was responsible for integrating semantic technology with the Mail & Guardian Online's sites; which coincides with his interests in online publishing developments and his participation in the Online Publisher's Association.

The successful launch of Memeburn.com was entirely promoted entirely through social media and the blogosphere. One of his initial goals was to stabilize the finances of the site and bring on a full-time editor; the site now has a full-time editor, Jeremy Daniel.

Advisory Roles & Board Memberships

• Board Member, Creative Commons
• Deputy Chair, Online Publishers' Association