Hi, my name's Tom. I'm British and I've been based in Barcelona for over 6 years now, where I've been working as a freelance Internet Marketing Specialist, whilst also developing my own online e-learning projects.

I left the UK more than 12 years ago, and in that time I've lived and worked in Australia, Thailand and Spain, for various internet companies, start-ups, small businesses and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

I've also been an internet entrepreneur myself for over 12 years, and have set-up and managed several online e-commerce businesses. I therefore understand very well the challenges facing small businesses and start-ups.

In total I have more than 16 years' experience working in a wide variety of web-related roles - in Europe, Australia and SE Asia. During my professional career, I've intentionally kept my experience broad and a wide range of internet-related skills as up-to-date as possible. This means I can now offer my clients an "integrated approach" and provide help with all aspects of online business - from planning & conception, to project management, development, delivery, as well as marketing and data analysis.

Some of my key experience is as follows:

I began working in internet companies in London in late 1998, and was lucky enough to work in the early days for a web development company in London, on some key internet accounts such as the London Stock Exchange, Honda, and British Gas.

In those days I specialised in programming, front-end development (HTML/ASP/JavaScript), cross-browser compatibility and SEO, but was also responsible for running the weekly Webtrends Analytics reports and reporting back to the London Stock Exchange web team.

In 2003, I moved to Australia, and worked in a web design agency in Sydney, as a web developer, SEO specialist and technical project manager, before heading to Thailand to volunteer, and then work for NGOs operating in the Human Rights field. More on that shortly…

I grew up in Oxford, England, then moved to London in 1991, where I studied BSC Anthropology at London University. During university I ran an events promotion business, and for several years afterwards, I worked in the music industry as an events promoter, press officer and professional DJ.

I've always loved travelling and discovering new cultures, and this was one of the main reasons I chose to train as a web developer in the 1990s. I understood how the web was going to have an enormous impact on our professional lives in the future, providing us with increased flexibility and considerably more freedom than previous generations.

I set-up my first e-commerce business in 2003, which then enabled me to volunteer for a year with a Human Rights NGO working on the Thai/Burma border in Thailand. I found the work more rewarding than anything I had experienced before. This one experience radically changed my ambitions and priorities in life.

The voluntary work led onto me staying in Thailand another two years, and forming my own NGO to specialise in providing IT training courses and website development for small grass-roots human rights organisations working with refugees from Burma.

Whilst working in Thailand, in 2005-2007 I also began blogging and podcasting, having been introduced to podcasting by a close friend of mine from England, Ben (from Notesinspanish.com). I started experimenting with some travel podcasting and this led onto me developing an interest in e-Learning.

I left Thailand in 2008 and headed to Latin America where I travelled, worked remotely and studied Spanish for almost a year before arriving in Barcelona in 2009.

At this point I began working full time as an freelance Internet Marketing Manager, whilst simultaneously developing some ESL (English as a Second Language) e-learning materials, and setting up several websites to market them.

As my network of friends and contacts in Barcelona has grown, I've found myself advising increasing numbers of entrepreneurs on their internet marketing strategies and have decided to set up Barcelonaonlinemarketing.com.