Behind The Screens With Web Guru Peter Wiggin

Kelly – 17/4/97

As co-ordinator of the highly successful “Press Online” and author of the New Zealand bestseller “Wired Kiwis – Every New Zealander’s Guide to the Internet“,

Peter Wiggin
Peter Wiggin

Peter Wiggin has become a leading personality in the Internet scene in Christchurch and New Zealand since his arrival here just over 2 years ago. The “behind the screens” nature of his work suits Peter’s relaxed, unassuming style, but it seems highly appropriate for him and his achievements to be profiled on the Web, particularly since Peter has recently left Christchurch and returned to the United States.

Peter and his partner Laura arrived in New Zealand looking for a change in lifestyle after tiring of the frenetic pace of the United States. They chose Christchurch as a place to live “because it seemed to be about the right size”. Complaints about the Canterbury weather aside, they did not regret the decision. Peter’s experience working for a company providing an online service for boat brokers in the States, his knowledge of computers, and background in freelance writing, led to a job for “The Press” as a Computer Writer. The profile of Information Technology has risen dramatically since then, and Peter’s involvement in this area has also expanded. As well as writing about computer technology, Peter has been responsible for the publication of “The Press Online” on the World Wide Web. The Press’s move into electronic publishing is a strong example of the increased local acceptance of Internet.

Peter Wiggin’s role at “The Press” is a broad combination of Journalist, Web Designer, Planner, Programmer and Technician to which he is uniquely suited. He has been able to keep pace with development of new technology, as well as implementing innovative ideas effectively. Peter began using computers at age 11, and he has studied computer science, but claims that his interest in computers is,”as a tool to do a job, not to study in themselves.” Peter’s focus is on the interactive capabilities of technology; “I like being able to connect to things – the first thing I did was buy a modem. Being able to connect to people and places makes a computer that much more powerful; a computer without Internet seems like a waste.” Transferring a local newspaper into dynamic, easy to navigate Web pages which can be accessed from anywhere in the world, is a task which fulfils this concept of connectivity and communication on a large scale.

The self-determining nature of his job sits well with Peter’s independent working style, and he has found building a career in a rapidly evolving field to be a constant challenge; “It’s a real draw, not drudgery, I’m never doing the same things each day. To a certain extent you’re learning what can be done and finding out how to do it at the same time – creating your own work. Learning what’s new is really important with Internet, otherwise you get left behind.”

Peter Wiggin’s background in writing, (he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours from Boston University, and has written freelance), and first-hand knowledge of the Internet industry in New Zealand, made him the perfect candidate to write a book on the subject. “Wired Kiwis – Every New Zealanders guide to the Internet” took Peter less than a year to write, yet it quickly became a best seller here after it was published in May 1996. Peter has a typically modest response to his book’s success: “It’s surprising how well it’s done. I had no idea how well it would be received”. A new book written by Peter Wiggin is about to be released – “The New Zealand Internet Directory” – which provides up-to-date listings of New Zealand Web sites and Internet Service Providers.

The Press Online The entry of “The Press” on to the World Wide Web was gradual, beginning with the monthly publication of its “Newspapers In Education” pages. It is now the only daily newspaper published online in New Zealand. Peter Wiggin comments that other newspapers have launched on to the Web “with a big splash, while we eased into it and gradually expanded as the need increased”. NIE is a section of The Press which teaches High School students about the print medium; the online pages included examples of news headlines and it seemed logical to provide hypertext links to the current stories behind the headlines. When these articles attracted interest from overseas it became clear that there was an audience eager for electronic news and information about Christchurch and New Zealand. Peter comments that the electronic news does not compete with newspapers; “It’s a totally different medium and it reaches people who wouldn’t normally get the newspaper”.

“The Press Online” has changed immensely since its inception. It still receives a greater volume of international than national visitors, however it is also extremely popular within New Zealand. The site receives an average of 200 000 page views each month. Wiggin emphasises that “The Press Online” is being constantly revised and improved, with new features appearing each month. “Netguide” printed a glowing review of “The Press Online’s” new design in an article called “The 10 Commandments of Web Design” earlier this year. Weather maps and information are a recent addition, and unlike the rest of the online version of “The Press”, they are published the night before the newspaper is sold. Photographs which did not appear in the newsaper are published in “The Press Online” in the “Photo Gallery” section, and these can be purchased using order forms on the Web. Cartoons penned by Garrick Tremain are also published exclusively in “The Press Online”.

Peter plans to use what he has learned about the newspaper business to help other papers go on-line. Already the Southland Times has begun publishing its own articles on “The Press Online” pages, and Peter sees it as becoming “a generic site – not just “The Christchurch Press”, but more as The Press, the institution, online. We’ll bring other newspapers from the I.N.L (Independent Newspapers Ltd.) on within that; but they’ll have their own banner.”

As for the future of Internet in general, Peter theorises that “it will become more of an everyday thing, like phones and TV, and that’s happening already. An email address is getting to be like a phone number – an accepted thing. I think the structure will grow but there will still be complete anarchy. Anybody will still be able to put up their own pages. That kind of freedom is what’s made it (the World Wide Web) so popular, and it will never go away. It’s too widespread for some government to control, and it’s not in their interests to anyway.”

Although Peter Wiggin has recently returned to the United States, he will continue working for “The Press Online” from his desert home in Tucson, Arizona. He casually dismisses the hurdles of distance and physical absence in a manner which reveals his familiarity with the ‘virtual workplace’. We hope that Peter will continue to be at least virtually present in Christchurch for some time, maintaining the high standards and innovation his work with “The Press Online” has established.