Jon founded Birmingham: it's Not Shit, a website that markets Brum without ever mentioning 'canalside living'. 

Jon's worked in publishing, music journalism, and in a venetian blind factory. Now, after several years at the BBC, Jon is a freelance social media consultant and producer, writer and blogger. His common theme - tech plus people equals great things. He's obsessed by place. www.jonbounds.co.uk

Birmingham: it's not shit

Telly Savalas from TV's Kojack described Birmingham as being "my kinda town" but somewhere along the way Birmingham got a reputation for being a bit, well, shit. Birmingham: It's Not Shit loves Birmingham, its people, arts, animals, buildings, parks, grass verges, factories and bus stops. Come to this talk and you'll probably end up loving it just as much.

11:11:11

On the eleventh of November a disparate group of psychogeographers, artists, bloggers, photographers, bus drivers and babies spent eleven hours on Birmingham's number eleven bus starting after eleven am. The idea is that a snapshot of the real Birmingham from a number of different people will emerge, one that's unedited, unspun, and unwashed. Circling the city will force the gaze inward, focussing our attention exclusively on our municipality.