Welcome

Usual picture of Phil Archer, chin resting on hand

There are many professionals with whom I share my name: among them a retired golfer in Warwickshire, a musician/artist in Norwich, a journalist in Houston, the Florida State Attorney … and a much-missed farmer at Brookfield Farm in Ambridge (ref. BBC Radio). I make no claim to share any of their skills, but this is where I make my own contribution to the Web.

In July 2017 I began working for GS1, an organisation few have heard of but whose best known standard is omnipresent - GS1 is the organisation behind barcodes. My role is to improve use of the Web and other online technologies to improve different aspects of eCommerce, in particular embedded product data. That is, applying some of the knowledge gained in my previous role to the online retail world, or, if you prefer, being 'that bloke that used to work at W3C.'

W3C is the technical standards body for the World Wide Web. As Data Activity Lead/Data Strategist, I coordinated work on the Semantic Web and related technologies. My personal focus was on eGovernment and open data, research and geospatial data. Previously I was involved with online safety and mobile Web. In all cases, the work was largely funded by participation in EU projects.

I work from home in Ipswich (that's the original one in Britain, not one of the various towns around the world in places like Massachusetts and Queensland that share the same name). Apart from when I'm travelling to conferences and such like, this makes it relatively easy to negotiate the path between work and family life.

Going back in time I have had a varied career path that has included work in local radio, advertising and countryside conservation. If you want the full gory details please see my CV or there's the short version. The diary gives a good feel of what I'm up to at any given time.