About Me
I grew up in Oklahoma, and along with everyone here am slightly atypical from what you might expect. I've ridden my share of horses, actually corralled cattle, and have helped build one of the most innovative tech companies in Oklahoma. One of the only tech companies in Oklahoma.
I have a borderline obsession with Ancient History and have loved Star Wars as long as I can remember. I read whenever I can, listen to audio books when I can't. A good movie is great, a bad movie with friends can be even better. And in whatever free time I get - I write.
Position:
VP, Marketing
Favorite Projects:
Every ONEsite community is so distinctive and unique. There is something incredible about the way each has grown and evolved after it first launch. And part of that comes from the people we work with - with every client we get to work with an incredibly talented group of people. Those independent ideas, thoughts, strategies, and suggestions have driven the platform to be the best in the market. So every project is my favorite - Clear Channel, Univision, BowlSpace. Their communities and the different things each has done with them has been incredible.
Favorite Experience:
I got a call once from someone at Z100 - because Rihanna desperately needed help setting up her page.
Hobbies:
Intelligent conversation, reasonable people, and a group of close friends. The occasional game of Heroscape and whatever video game playing I can get in. You could probably build a pretty good Thad replicant if you got the combination of Ancient History + Science Fiction + Awesome + Dinosaurs + 80's Cartoons + More Awesome + Genius - some ego + some delusions of grandeur + whatever my MBA professors have done to my poor brain. I think that I came out relatively well.
Monday, March 3, 2008, 10:49 AM CST [Oklahoma 2.0]
The title does sound a little like a bad sci fi channel original, or at least the title of a movie that showed up late night to be lampooned on Mystery Science Theater 3000 but it is a reality in the industry. The social network provider space has grown crowded. Too many players with far too little distinction between them. Most of those are out of the box solutions that offer nothing more than a bolt-on community.
Our acquisition of Social Platform is certainly even more evidence of that.
Mark Hendrickson @ TechCrunch just wrote an article this morning on more consolidation in the space and Jeremiah Owyang's thoughts on the matter. Consolidation is innevitable in such a crowded space. I have a couple major dissagreements with Jeremiah's key points.
It is not the commoditization of the software that is driving the consolidation. The technology involved in delivering an integrated community - one that provides a compelling and seamless experience for the user is complex and intricate. It is not going to be something that can be provided as a bolt-on package and be expected to be successful. It can not simply be a few changes to colors here and there - that does not and will not work. That is what you get from a commoditized software package and it simply will not engage users.
Beyond the technology - the expertise involved in working collaboratively with a client to create a truly unique destination - can never be a commodity. To create a community that will be successful, sustainable, and will actually engage and audience takes a lot of strategy and collaboration. It takes a partnership between the company providing technology, and the company that can deliver content, an audience, and a compelling experience. It has to fit as seamlessly strategically as it does for the users web experience. It has to be completely integrated. That sort of collaboration, the expertise needed to do that - that is something that can never come from a box.
Thursday, January 24, 2008, 09:51 AM CST [Oklahoma 2.0]
My littlest sister (I have two younger sisters and a younger brother) is 12, and an incredibly active internet user. I always pay close attention to the sites she likes or is using at the moment. It's a tough road, COPPA is hard, but I have seen a lot of really interesting sites come up from her browsing. One that caught my eye was a new one - Kerpoof! (http://www.kerpoof.com/)
It's pretty straight forward - but a really slick application. Basically kids can get onto the site and create pictures and movies from all sorts of different backgrounds, objects and characters - aliens and pirates, ghosts and dogs. It's worth 10 minutes of time to checkout some of the things different kids have come up with.
Monday, December 10, 2007, 10:14 AM CST [Oklahoma 2.0]
There is something unique and incredible about how the Oklahoma TV news covers the weather. It is outlandish, it is crazy, it is full of sensationalism and of special graphics for every stormy occasion. Today the news is covered with graphics proclaiming ICE-POCALYPSE 2007, ICE AND DOOM '07, DEATH BY ICE 2007. Still, today has seen a lot of ice, in a lot of places that no one really wants it to be.
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