&c1=usa&c2=(none)&c3=The+Guardian&c4=Media&c5=&c6=Interview+by+Nicola+Norton&c7=2001_04_16){kind=small}
- The Guardian, Monday April 16 2001
Favourite websites?
olga.net, an online guitar archive where you put in the name of a song and somebody somewhere will have written down the lyrics and transcribed the guitar chords for it. I play guitar myself so I like to check that.
Last online purchase?
I bought the back-catalogue of torch singer Eva Cassidy from amazon.com. It came in a special offer with a packet of razor blades and if you've ever heard Eva Cassidy you'll understand why.
Most recent technological faux pas?
I haven't really made one online, but I did recently connect up my washing machine to the central heating system.
Main news sources on the web?
I have MediaGuardian.co.uk on for most of the day to get media news, but I still use television for general news.
What is the least useful site on the web?
www.soupsong.com/imovies. This is the definitive site for information on movies which feature soup. For example, in the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, there's a scene where Jen Yu is about to go into battle and before doing so she orders a plate of shark-fin soup.
Time spent on web?
I'm online all day long, but I probably sit and look at it for about 30 minutes a day, and at weekends I just check emails.
Which site do you think is least likely to succeed?
Retailers offering discounts which you could easily get by walking into a Dixons and negotiating with the spotty youth behind the counter. I wouldn't name any in particular but if you can do that, why would you do it online? I think our site will work because it's ideal for the web. It's about entertaining people and it will translate the experience from the television.
Most useful sites?
google.com is by far the best search engine.
Most irritating thing about web?
I hate these pop-up windows where the vicious bastards close down the website which you are in and make you go to their site.
Ever been in a chat room?
No and I've also never stood in a railway station taking down the numbers of locomotives. It's the last thing I'd be interested in doing. I'd rather go to a bar and talk to people.
Do you still bother with old media?
I take all the papers every day. I don't think newspapers have got to be that concerned except for the intrusion into the classified advertising market, but even that hasn't seen the light of day, yet.
John Hardie is marketing and commercial director of ITV which has recently launched an online version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire at www.itv.co.uk
