MAX HITCHINS

MAX HITCHINS is an Author, Poet, Pilot, Pianist, Publican, Memory Magician and Melbourne Cup Raconteur.

This was the timeline (and story) assiciated with publishing CHASING GOLD.

* 1991: The first Internet site went live in 1991.

* 1995: Max recognised the opportunities the Internet might offer. He convinced three friends to join him in an approach to Futurist Craig Rispin. They asked him to mentor them in learning all there was to know about the Internet. Thus began a learning curve of monthly two hour sessions that lasted 25 years.

* 2005 YouTube ‘went live’.

* 2007 Apple iPhones went on the market

* 2010 Max began his research for a book about Olympic Games athletes. He recognised the opportunities YouTube and iPhones might offer to authors in being able to put links in books and on mobile phones.

* 2012: Max published his digital book “Motivation and Inspiration for Olympians. It ‘flopped’. Putting links in hard copy books doesn’t work.

* 2019: Although QR (Quick Response) Codes were ‘invented’ in Japan in 1994, they really didn’t ‘take off’ until the Covid era.

* 2023: Max recognised the opportunities to use tQR codes to link stories in hard copy books and ‘links’ in digital copy books.

* 2022: The final link in the chain was ChatGPT. It was released to the world on the 30th of November which began in November 2022 and attracted 1,000,000 downloads in 60 days. Immediately research and composing became easier.

* 2023: Max recognised the opportunity to create something that has never been done before was at his fingertips. a hard copy book about Summer Olympians, Winter Olympians and Paralympians

* 2024: CHASING GOLD went ‘live’ on Amazon in March 2024. CHASING GOLD is the first ever book about Summer/Winter and Paralympic Athletes that contains QR codes and digital links connecting the readers to YouTube stories, newsreels, interviews and historic Olympic moments.