Col Needham
Encyclopedia
Colin Needham is one of four founding partners of the Internet Movie Database
(IMDb), and has served as General Manager of IMDb since its acquisition by Amazon.com
in 1998.
at Hewlett-Packard
(HP). By the summer of 1996, thanks to IMDb's first film-related advertising campaign
(for Independence Day
), Needham had quit HP to work on IMDb full-time as a paid employee.
In 1999, he collected two Webby Awards
for IMDb.
Needham and his wife Karen have been married since 1989. They have twin daughters and live in the village of Stoke Gifford
, a suburb of Bristol
, England.
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
(IMDb), and has served as General Manager of IMDb since its acquisition by Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
in 1998.
Career
IMDb was started in 1990 by Col Needham while Needham was working as an engineer in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
at Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
(HP). By the summer of 1996, thanks to IMDb's first film-related advertising campaign
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
(for Independence Day
Independence Day (film)
Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
), Needham had quit HP to work on IMDb full-time as a paid employee.
In 1999, he collected two Webby Awards
Webby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
for IMDb.
Personal life
Born in 1967 in Denton, Tameside, Greater Manchester, Needham grew up on Stockport Road and attended Audenshaw School. He later went on to Hyde sixth form now Hyde Clarendon.Needham and his wife Karen have been married since 1989. They have twin daughters and live in the village of Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford is a large dormitory village, and parish in South Gloucestershire, England, in the northern suburbs of Bristol. It has around 11,000 residents as of the 2001 Census. It is home to Bristol Parkway station, on the London-South Wales railway line, and the Bristol offices of Friends Life...
, a suburb of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England.