Des Paroz: On The Go

I first set up the desparoz On The Go blog several years back. I don't remember the exact date, but it was quite early in the world of blogs, perhaps around 2002. It was originally about my personal views on a wide range of topics that interest me - scuba diving, travel, photography, technology, personal productivity and whatever else caught my mind. For a while, I focused this blog on the Customer Experience of marketing, but I've decided to go back to this being a blog on a range of topics - whatever is on my mind.

About Des Paroz

I am a scuba diving instructor trainer (PADI Course Director), photographer (underwater and landscape), marketer and technology enthusiast based in Sydney, Australia.

I have a background in marketing, e-business and customer service in the technology and recreation industries, and have a personal passion for productivity and the technology that can support that. 

I am a PADI Course Director, and hold Instructor Trainer ratings with Emergency First Response (first aid/CPR), DAN (first aid/CPR), AUSI (snorkeling and free diving) and PADI TecRec (technical diving).

I also have a Masters of Commerce in Marketing from the University of NSW and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Queensland. I am a fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute.

I worked for many years in the information technology industry, while concurrently teaching scuba diving and first aid courses on the weekends. In 2008 I made the shift to focus on training professionals in a variety of areas, including marketing, customer service, scuba diving, first aid/CPR, business skills and more.

Before starting my own business, I spent 10 years with Acer Computer Australia, the last 8 of which I served as eBusiness Director for Australia/NZ. In this role I was responsible for the development, management, support and marketing of Acer’s eBusiness platform, which achieved $1 billion in sales during my tenure. I also oversaw Acer’s eLearning and Financing business operations. Prior to working with Acer, I worked with Galileo Southern Cross and NCR Corporation.

I teach PADI Instructor Development Courses and first aid/CPR instructor courses on a regular basis throughout Australia.

My personal interest areas are personal productivity, experiential marketing, and how to make technology work for the individual and for the organisation.

You can also find me on the web in the following places:

• DivingIDC.com – my website for PADI, DAN and EFR instructor courses
• BlueBeyond.com.au – information on scuba diving, underwater photo/video and related topics, with a particular focus on the fabulous coastline of NSW, Australia
• The Surface Interval Show – a podcast about diving by divers
• @desparoz on Twitter
• My Facebook Profile

Photo Gear Info

I get some questions regarding my photographic gear. Here's what I am currently using:

• Nikon D200 camera with a variety of lenses. My primary underwater lenses are the 12-24mm, 10.5mm fisheye and 60mm macro lenses from Nikkor.
• Aquatica AD200 housing
• Inon Z220 & Z240 strobes
• Ultralight arms

For post processing, I use Apple Aperture 3 and Adobe Photoshop CS3 or Photoshop Elements. I use the excellent MarineLife Keywords (aff) product to help with my keywording workflow in Aperture