• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Business index
  • Contribute
  • Wellesley Square
  • Private schools
  • Camp
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Kids
  • About us
  • Events
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Athlete of the Week
  • Seniors
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Mr. Swellesley gets laid off & so the job hunt begins

May 31, 2017 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

IDG sweater
Hanging it up at IDG

UPDATE (September 2017): Back to work….

It’s no secret that the publishing industry isn’t exactly booming these days. News outfits have died off left and right, and with a few exceptions, most have slashed their staffs, as even the promising worlds of the web and mobile devices haven’t proven to be panaceas.

Now I find myself, Mr. Swellesley (a.k.a. Bob Brown), among the latest casualties of a publishing company layoff. Earlier this month I was relieved of my job, after nearly 30 years at IDG’s tech business news publication Network World, as part of a broad workforce reduction. So while I worked hard with my wife on The Swellesley Report as a side gig, I had a real job, too.

Having studied journalism at college, initially with the aim of becoming a sportswriter, I never envisioned that I’d wind up covering technology and business at the same place for three decades. Though I’m indescribably grateful for having had such a swell opportunity to work with so many talented people, write for an appreciative audience of smart readers and got to interview so many movers and shakers throughout the technology industry, from DEC founder Ken Olsen to web browser creator Marc Andreessen.

So, for the first time since about the 7th or 8th grade, after fixing pin-setting machines at a candlepin bowling alley, writing for Boston University’s alumni publications, reporting and doing odd jobs at the Boston Herald and covering the world of technology for Network World, I find myself unemployed.

Now it’s on to the next thing, whatever that might be. Should I dive right back into where I came from, or try something entirely new? I haven’t yet decided.

I’ve decided to start by taking a page from Sree Sreenivasan, a social media expert I met while he was a journalism professor at Columbia. Sreenivasan grabbed headlines last summer after he was let go by NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art as its chief digital officer and then leveraged his social media following to solicit guidance on what he should do next in his career and life. Sreenivasan invited his followers to fill out a form with suggestions for what he should do next and encouraged people to join him for a walk-and-talk anytime that summer. He wound up getting hired as NYC’s chief digital officer.

Bob Brown propicI’m not looking to move to NYC myself, as I love it here. But if you’d like to offer me career/life, etc., advice, here’s a brief form to fill out. And if you’d like to get together to chat, I’m up for logging some miles running or walking on the Brook Path or elsewhere in town in the weeks ahead.  You know where to find me: [email protected]

print

Share

Filed Under: Media

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.

Linden Square, Wellesley
Dedham Country Day School

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]

 

Advertisements

Wellesley Square
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Edge on Science
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Cheesy Street Grill
Admit Fit, Wellesley
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Most Read Posts

  • Wellesley Business Buzz: Merchants raise 'Parking, parking, parking' concerns in Wellesley Square; Lockheart Restaurant sign goes up
  • Wellesley public works taking fresh look at RDF give-and-take area
  • You might wanna sit down before you open that Wellesley tax bill
  • Wellesley Select Board office hours
  • Wellesley book news: Couple takes part in Nantucket Book Fair; Journalists coming to town to tout books

Upcoming Events

Jul 6
10:00 am - 11:00 am

Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

Jul 16
9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Wellesley Square July Jubilation Sidewalk Sale

Jul 19
8:00 am - 9:00 am

Fay School admission information session

Jul 20
10:00 am - 11:00 am

Tour at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

Aug 12
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Fay School admission information session

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • J. Staffier on Supporters gather to wish all the best to retiring asst. fire chief Jeff Peterson
  • Dennis McCormick on Wellesley public works taking fresh look at RDF give-and-take area
  • Mary Bowers on Supporters gather to wish all the best to retiring asst. fire chief Jeff Peterson
  • Ian on Wellesley Business Buzz: Merchants raise ‘Parking, parking, parking’ concerns in Wellesley Square; Lockheart Restaurant sign goes up
  • Katalin on Wellesley public works taking fresh look at RDF give-and-take area

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • Animals (416)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (577)
  • Beyond Wellesley (47)
  • Books (366)
  • Business (1,503)
  • Camp (11)
  • Careers/jobs (48)
  • Churches (79)
  • Clubs (229)
  • Construction (295)
  • Dump (127)
  • Education (3,109)
    • Babson College (250)
    • Bates Elementary School (16)
    • Dana Hall School (34)
    • Fiske Elementary School (9)
    • Hardy Elementary School (44)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (42)
    • MassBay (55)
    • Schofield Elementary School (24)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (608)
    • Wellesley High School (962)
    • Wellesley Middle School (203)
  • Embracing diversity (69)
  • Entertainment (788)
  • Environment (749)
  • Fashion (141)
  • Finance (14)
  • Fire (163)
  • Food (344)
  • Fundraising (612)
  • Gardens (157)
  • Government (557)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (14)
  • Health (850)
    • COVID-19 (200)
  • Hikes (3)
  • History (388)
  • Holidays (406)
  • Houses (154)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (850)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (6)
  • Letters to the Editor (62)
  • Media (70)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (11)
  • Morses Pond (108)
  • Music (568)
  • Natick Report (29)
  • Neighbors (273)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (73)
  • Outdoors (642)
  • Parenting (62)
  • Police (757)
    • Crime (386)
  • Politics (551)
  • POPS Senior Profile (9)
  • RDF (6)
  • Real estate (331)
  • Religion (131)
  • Restaurants (332)
  • Safety (151)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (120)
  • Shopping (144)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (980)
    • Athlete of the Week (6)
  • STEM (107)
  • Technology (164)
  • Theatre (392)
  • Town Meeting (23)
  • Transportation (230)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,230)
  • Volunteering (346)
  • Weather (177)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (276)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (19)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed
Deland, Gibson Insurance, Wellesley

© 2022 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login