Peter Parkes

It’s all very well trying to instrument things

Peter Parkes — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:43:20 +0000

… until your instrumentation breaks down. My iPod ran out of battery while I was running today, and so Nike+ missed a third of the run. It’s the little things.

Transient visiting

Peter Parkes — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:03:33 +0000

Cities in which I haven’t left the airport:

Atlanta
Dallas
Helsinki
Phoenix
Vancouver

I spent a night in an airport hotel in Minneapolis once, too.

Hail showers

Peter Parkes — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 07:39:38 +0000

Normal summer weather this weekend in Glasgow, I see.

Join my team at Expedia

Peter Parkes — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:14:34 +0000

As part of Scott Durchslag’s Expedia Everywhere strategy, we’re investing heavily in the social web. And, naturally, that means that we’re hiring.

I’m looking for a manager-level social media native to join my team, based in London. The ideal candidate should have strong creative and analytical abilities, as well as a mixture of agency and in-house background, and preferably agency management experience too. If this sounds like you or someone you know, you can read the full job description on our jobs site, and please drop me a line if you have any questions.

Powered by people who travel

Peter Parkes — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:23:22 +0000

A sneak preview of our new UK TV ad.

Day one

Peter Parkes — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 22:37:10 +0000

Today was my first day at Expedia Worldwide as Head of Social Media for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. I’m thrilled to have joined the team here, and am excited about what the coming months have in store. I’ll be responsible for social media strategy across the region, as well as building a team and fostering a social media culture in the organisation.

There’s a personal side to this too. The intersection of travel and technology has always fascinated me, and I’ve occasionally written a bit about things which have piqued my curiosity, whether it’s the cultural norms of station design, the advantages and disadvantages of frequent flight, the view from the plane or the view of the plane.

In many cases, however, travel is an inherently social experience, and I’m looking forward to bringing some of the insight I’ve developed over the last five years to new challenges here at Expedia.

Expedia Worldwide is the division of Expedia, Inc which operates the Expedia-branded sites in Expedia’s consumer portfolio.

Santa Monica

Peter Parkes — Mon, 30 May 2011 01:11:33 +0000

Today is clearly beginners’ day — there are circles all over the sky just off the coast. And I was reminded (again) how much I like LA.

Being a tourist

Peter Parkes — Tue, 17 May 2011 21:44:24 +0000

I spent a couple of weeks in Asia on holiday, and took some photos. The full collection is on Flickr. Taken with various lenses, but including my new favourite.

Faded screens at the Confucian Temple, Tainan

Ceremonial Guard at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

Guangzhou Street Night Market II

Pudong view — Jin Mao Building and Oriental Pearl Tower in the smog, taken from the Park Hyatt through an extremely dirty window

Golden tiles

Mediæval fire extinguisher — a copper-iron vat used to hold water for use in the event of a fire

Changdeokgung Palace courtyard

Left turns

Gyeongbokgung Palace throne detail

Dragon — throne detail

Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong

Peter Parkes — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:59:57 +0000

I’m heading off on holiday for a couple of weeks. Suggestions for things/people to see (and food to eat) in Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Tainan or Hong Kong are very welcome.

Update: I took some photos.

Photo of Shanghai by le niners.

Heading to Austin for SXSW

Peter Parkes — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:00:04 +0000

I’m heading to Austin this weekend for SXSW, where three things are happening. Skype’s hosting a panel session and party at the Scoot Inn on Sunday 13th. I’m speaking on a panel hosted by the excellent Made by Many on Monday 14th (thankfully in the afternoon). And Jonathan Rosenberg, Chief Technology Strategist at Skype, will be speaking about the ‘10 deadly sins of mobile video calling’ on Tuesday 15th.

If you’re planning to be there, please let me know. It’d be great to catch up with those who I haven’t seen in a while.

Photo of 6th Street, Austin by Visualist Images and licensed CC BY-NC-SA 2.0