Projects Talks Writing About

I'm Tom Coates, I explore new technologies, and turn them into products people actually understand.

Twenty-five years of design and product leadership across social software, location, connected devices and media — at the BBC, at Yahoo's Brickhouse, and in studios and startups of my own. I'm at my best on the early, unsettled problems, before anyone's decided how they're meant to work.

Selected work, talks & play

Social Web Foundation Not started A nonprofit to support and grow the open social web. Work 2024 Planetary Not started A decentralised social network built on Secure Scuttlebutt. Work 2019 How to Find the Product Complete On drawing the product out of a new technology. Talks 2018 The Shape of Things Complete On the service layer for connected devices. Talks 2016 Thington Not started A conversational service layer for connected devices. Work 2015 Up Coffee Complete A caffeine tracker for Jawbone that made data physical. Work 2014 An Animating Spark Complete On making connected things feel alive. Talks 2013 The Eatery Not started Crowd-rated eating, for Massive Health. Work 2012 Everything the Network Touches In progress On design and the networked world. Talks 2010 Yahoo! Brickhouse Not started Product lead at Yahoo's rapid-innovation studio in San Francisco. Work 2008 Fire Eagle Not started A location broker for Yahoo, built around consent and control. Work 2008 BBC/Yahoo Hack Day Not started The original mass Hack Day, with Yahoo. Work 2007 Native to a Web of Data In progress Future of Web Apps, London. Talks 2006 Greater than the Sum of Its Parts In progress Future of Web Apps, San Francisco. Talks 2006 Programme Information Pages Not started A permanent web page for every BBC programme. Work 2005 Phonetags Notes and data attached to real-world places, for the BBC. Work 2005 BBC Radio & Music Strategy Not started Shaping how BBC radio and music met the web. Work 2004 UpMyStreet Conversations In progress Local conversation tied to postcodes. Work 2002 Barbelith Not started An online community with unusually careful moderation. Play 2001 plasticbag.org In progress One of the early, influential UK weblogs. Play 1999

Work Play Talks

Who I've worked with

Selected employers, clients & collaborators

The Workbench — experiments, toys & unfinished things

See all →

Have a wander, or say hello.

There's more here than the list above — half-finished experiments in the Workbench, a pile of talks, and twenty-odd years of writing. Poke around, or drop me a line; I always like hearing from people.

Say hello

tom@plasticbag.org plasticbag.org — the weblog Mastodon & Bluesky Résumé (PDF)

Index