What was your first computer? In 1985, when I was working on Tomorrow's World, we used Apples - little stand-up boxy things. The first computer I owned was a BBC Micro, then I sold it and bought a Toshiba laptop. I was very proud of it!
How did you get involved with the net? In 1987, I made a series of drama documentaries about advances in computing called Welcome to My World. We did it on a string of knicker elastic, but got most of the predictions right. My boss at the time used email and newsgroups - the web didn't exist. Later, a friend who worked at the National Physical Laboratory showed me an early web browser, hypertext and hyperlinking. It was a magic moment.
How will broadband and ADSL lines affect BBC Online? We'll be able to integrate different elements - video, sound, graphics simulations, text and interactivity - much more fully to create the best possible experience. We're working on formats for a broadband environment in every sphere: drama, entertainment, information and news. For example, we're getting ready to back up the National Curriculum with virtual reality, 3D and avatars, so a student can enter a Yanamani village in Brazil and move around it.
If you were emperor of cyberspace, what rules would you make? I would ensure that no one received junk email and that no one would be able to promote violence. I would then revoke my title because the whole point of cyberspace is, of course, that there should be no emperor!
What is your recipe for successful online interactive content? First, the experience should be clearly definable so people can comprehend what it is and describe it easily to others. Second, it should be fresh, should startle, amaze and amuse .The experience should also be consistently accessible so the user can get what he wants, without glitches. A great experience also needs to be immersive, like playing computer games or talking to a lover over dinner.
What are your favourite sites? The Smithsonian Institution has found a special way of ordering an online exhibition and of enabling visitors to find new routes. The navigation mechanism was a real "a-ha" experience for me.
I'm also very impressed by the START Natural Language Question Answering System at MIT MediaLab. I think that Amazon is still pretty wonderful. You order books. They arrive. But have a look at the American site, to see how they're enabling users to add value in simpler ways than just submitting reviews. This passes my 'coral reef' test - allowing tiny amounts of added value to accrete into something very impressive.
What would you do if you could do anything? As long as I can carry on learning and doing something I believe to be worthwhile, I'm happy to be where I am. But I do find the commercial world rather tempting.
