Hello! My name is Alx Klive and my day job is making stuff at 360 Designs. This is my personal blog, and I’ve been blogging in one form or another since the late 90’s.

This is quite a lengthy background. If you fancy something shorter, my LinkedIn is here. Hopefully this is more fun and informal.

I grew up in London running a series of micro-enterprises while still at school… Mail-order software for VIC-20 computers, selling ‘jokes and tricks’, and a roving mobile disco. It was an interest in nightlife that led me to working at the Mud Club – London’s Studio 54.

When the club closed its doors in ’91, I embarked for North America seeking adventure, and started organizing large dance music events (raves) called Chemistry. Details Magazine called them “one of the best nights out in North America” and I was later credited for starting the rave scene in Canada.

Following an appearance on the TV show Electric Circus, I started working on the show. Later I moved into News as an Assignment Editor, before becoming a roving Videographer for CityTV/MuchMusic/Bravo.

I was lucky enough to interview the likes of Dennis Hopper, Hilary Clinton, Isabella Rosellini, Jeff Bezos and The Fugees to name just a few. When I found myself unexpectedly in London at the time of Princess Diana’s funeral, I ended up presenting the lead story for the 6 O’Clock News. My most insane TV experience though was hanging out with Hunter S Thompson – which literally nearly killed me.

In the mid 90’s I started learning HTML and VRML, and began developing websites for CityTV and others. Picking up an idea I’d conceived in ’95, I left CityTV and began working on WorldTV.com – “a global Internet News and Content Network produced by amateur videographers from around the World”. When it became clear the Internet bubble was about to burst in ’99, I shelved the plans, vowing to relaunch WorldTV later on…

Instead I started the Millennium Photo Project, a crowdsourced effort to document the 24 hours at the turning of the Millennium – through the eyes of thousands of photographers worldwide. Covered by CNN, the BBC and the Wall Street Journal among others, it quickly grew into the largest photojournalism project in history, and was arguably the first large scale online crowdsourcing effort. A book, Dawn of the 21st Century was the result, and if it weren’t for George Bush and ‘hanging chads’ I’d have been on Oprah talking about the book. My appearance was cancelled last minute due to the election stuff. It turns out luck is quite a big part of entrepreneurship.

I returned to the UK in 2001, working as a Technology Reporter for CNBC Europe, and interviewing business leaders on the challenges posed by new technology. In 2007 I filed a patent for a Virtual Reality Time Machine and these days I’m both working on and writing a lot about VR. I’m a closet inventor, and the patent system makes this extremely hard for individuals – these days.

My main entrepreneurial influence has been Steve Jobs and a myriad of other visionaries like Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, James Dyson and Elon Musk, although my admiration for the latter has waned considerably. The nightlife scene has also been a major influence on my life, and the myriad of awesome people I’ve met through that scene.

I don’t write here nearly as often as in the past. Life and family keeps me busy, but if I have something long form to muse or rant about, it’s most likely here that I do… Recently I launched a new startup making professional VR cameras and producing live VR broadcasts like the Oscars, Champions League Football and NBA. If you have an interest in VR video, feel free to get in touch.

Party on.