Iwan P.

With more than a decade\'s experience working as a journalist and editor for most of South Africa\'s leading ICT publications across consumer and business segments, Iwan Pienaar has a passion for technology, writing, and looking at how it impacts on every facet of our lives. Pienaar was the business unit director of the Technology and Media practice at strategic communications consultancy, Baird\'s Renaissance. Working at the consultancy provided him with a unique insight into how local and multi-national companies drive business strategy by integrating communications in consistent through-the-line campaigns. Agency life saw him work on and consult to several multi-national clients including 1GOAL, Adobe, Expedia, Microsoft, Motorola, and Research in Motion. His work on MTN South Africa afforded him the opportunity to work closely on several cricket, cycling, music, and rugby sponsorship campaigns. He was instrumental in developing and implementing a digital media strategy on cricket. The strategy integrated traditional and online tactics and provided consumers with a unique behind-the-scenes look through the Twitter and Facebook platforms at the sport during tours by Australia, England, and India against South Africa\'s national team, the Proteas. He also provided consulting services to Baird’s (now Edelman South Africa) on ICANN, Life Technologies, Sharp, Shell South Africa, Symantec South Africa, and USAASA. Currently, Pienaar is a freelance writer and social media consultant. He is a frequent contributor to the Mail & Guardian, one of South Africa’s most respected weekly newspapers, and ITWeb Informatica, a publisher of annual guides on carefully selected topics within the technology space. As side projects, he reviews video games for Gamecca, an online magazine focused on making the gaming industry accessible to the man in the street, and writes a monthly security column for Gladget, a consumer-focused online magazine focused on technology. Pienaar has been involved in editing and writing projects for several communication agencies including Active Brand (CWI, Kaspersky, SA Local Government Association), Black Book Communications (Stanchion), Cerebra (Fuel Online Training, Karabina, Inoxico, Obisidan, SilverBridge, WeChat), Exposure Unlimited (FoodSure, J2 Software, Phoenix Software), Magna-Carta (Deloitte), NB PR (Avaya), Optimise Plus (Inovo, Q-Distribution), Orange Ink (Hyundai, KPMG, MTN South Africa, Samsung Electronics South Africa, Student Village), Red Ribbon (BITanium), Vitom (EOH Managed Services), and Waggener Edstrom (Microsoft, Mustek, SAS, Syspro).