Twitchhiker (a portmanteau of hitchhiker and Twitter) was conceived in January 2009. The aim of the project was to travel as far from home as possible in 30 days, relying on the goodwill and generosity of people using Twitter.
Twitchhiker – How One Man Travelled the World by Twitter is the book about my adventure around the world, published by Summersdale and available on Amazon.
The website, Twitchhiker.com, was initially created to record my progress as he travelled around the round. You can find the original WordPress version here.
About Me
Hello you. I’m Paul. Pleased to meet you. For 13 years I perpetuated the myth of holding down a proper job in radio and, astonishingly, nobody rumbled me. I worked as a copywriter, a presenter, an executive producer and a programme controller – the some total of this effort was a receding hairline, a handful of good friends and a bunch of shiny awards that I obviously don’t like to talk about. Ever.
Aside from radio, I was also a trainee rocket scientist and almost, but not quite, inventor of the portable toaster.
These days I’m the programme manager of ignite100 – I work with investors and startups to realise new online products and technology. I also work with a development partner to create mobile apps, such as Next Metro, Appysnap and Starred.
My writing career began at the age of 14, with a monthly astronomy column for the local newspaper. It was so successful that the editor entirely failed to inform me when it was dropped for a feature about second-hand white goods.
I’m currently a travel writer for Round The World Flights, a brilliant bunch of knowledgeable folk who help people see the planet. I’m very proud to work for them, and some of my best writing has been while travelling on assignment for the team – you’ll find plenty of it on the Round The World Flights website.
At one time I wrote extensively for The Guardian; for details of my media and tech blogging and writing for the print version of The Guardian, see my online profile. My travel writing for the Guardian looks like this:
The Tyne of your life
Newcastle is more than just party central, says Paul Smith, who leads us on a tour of his hometown
Twittering all over the world
Paul Smith is attempting a charity trip to New Zealand relying on the goodwill of the Twitter community. We catch up with him 13 days into his journey
The Twitchhiker: one man on a Twitter travel mission
Meet the Twitchhiker. His quest – to see how far he can travel in 30 days relying solely on the hospitality and advice of the Twitter community, and raising money for charity as he goes
The knowledge
No one knows a city better than a taxi driver, from A to Z and every bar and restaurant in between. Paul Smith asks five for a tour of their home towns
Finally, I occasionally turn up on stage as a speaker or chair. I’m a regular guest at Thinking Digital and have delivered keynote addresses and interviews for the Irish Computer Society, ABB, Think Visibility, Trade Doubler conference and Tech Entrepreneurs Week.
If you’d like to find out more, get in touch (details on the Contacts page).
“Paul is a great compere, keynote speaker and panelist; authoritative and yet highly likeable. He brings brings great insight through observation and personal experience. On top of it all he is always witty and funny and accessible to nearly any audience. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him across multiple events and conferences over the years and hope to be able to continue to do so for years to come.”
Herb Kim, Thinking Digital