ICANN hires journalist critic

Congratulations to Kieren McCarthy, a technology writer who many of you may be familiar with (he's written for The Guardian, The Register and Techworld, among others). Now, though, he's joining ICANN. Interestingly, Kieren's been tracking ICANN very closely over the years and has written some pretty critical articles at times (for example).

Kieren has been appointed as 'general manager, public participation' and will have to 'ensure active participation in ICANN processes by Internet stakeholders, including end users'.

Hopefully Kieren can make a difference to an organisation which has often appeared too secretive and political, given its vital role in running the Internet. Given he lives in Oxford (as do I), it's another reason to meet up for a pint :)

Guardian Unlimited has a bit more info, as does Kieren's blog.