1. Your profile says that you were a journalist in a former life. What made you change careers?

An oft-asked question. I had a great run with journalism, working at a well-known magazine in New York, and then as a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. If it sounds glamorous, well… it was. Journalism was magical–it provided me with a constantly expanding education and fantastic perks.

When I moved back home to Vancouver, however, I needed to pay the bills, and journalism’s a much smaller industry here than in those big cities in the States. Hence, I set aside time to dream about what I wanted to be in my second career. During the course of a couple writing projects I’d done for Nike Running, I’d worked with two digital agencies. I realized that more than anything, I wanted to be an Internet strategist–and here I am. The skillset from journalism is remarkably transferable. The approach is the same: seek to understand, and then to be understood.

2. Being a journalist demands a certain code of ethics. Do you see new media/emerging media/social media having that kind of a code of ethics?

This is a tricky one. Any content provider should have a responsible code of ethics. Naturally, not all do. The fear with emerging and social media is that there are sometimes no checks and balances to ensure that a code of ethics is in place as there are with traditional media formats–fewer editors, no producers.

The good news is, that with the emerging media, the general public is empowered to take on those roles themselves. Is everyone in the general public as experienced as a formally trained and employed editor or producer? No. But many people subscribe to the belief that the voice of a multitude can be far more powerful than that of an individual. At present, anyone can put their opinion into the public sphere more easily than at any other time in our history, and similarly, anyone can respond. Under the best circumstances, information put out over emerging and social media channels is of high quality because it invites the public to become a participant, a policeman, an opponent, a fan, or something we haven’t even thought of yet. Most people reading this can probably conjure a plethora of examples of this–Wikipedia, the success of sites like Digg, Yelp, NowPublic….

I’m a relativist. To me, it always depends on the context of the particular situation. But frankly, my opinion doesn’t matter. Emerging media and social media are now, unequivocally, part of the information delivery system we use. Whether or not there’s a code of ethics at the moment, one will evolve.

3. You are being sent to Paris on a covert mission. Who do you take with you and why?

I take a powerful and wily accomplice, Mr. Jon Cartwright, the most resourceful man I’ve ever met. Once, in Oregon, he fixed my motorcycle with some electrical tape and a bolt he found on the ground in a parking lot, and I rode it all the way home. (In fact, I still haven’t switched in the correct part.) He builds furniture and masterful marketing plans. He’s tri-lingual. He also has Jedi-mindpower. And despite his spy-like prowess at just about everything, he’s exceedingly humble, an admirable quality indeed.

4. What’s your favorite sport figure and why?

Raul, this is going to make me sound arrogant, but I don’t watch sports. I play ‘em!

5. Social media and web 2.0 are all about the conversation. How do you see web 3.0 evolving? What is the next wave of social media trends?

A while ago I watched a TED talk on these interactive computing blocks called Siftables. The blocks couldn’t do much on their own, but together they could create interactive experiences–creating math games, storytelling, blending paint colours, and even producing music with fades and gradients of sound. Alone they were cute. Together they were REMARKABLE.

Then today I read this story theorizing about how Netbooks could impact the future of the print media. It described new Netbooks which used the open-source operating system Linux, and posited a future in which, in the face of diminishing sales margins, hardware companies produced devices less as monolithic COMPUTERS and more as multi-purpose media machines. The kicker of a sentence for me was this: “Consumer-hardware companies increasingly have to become media companies, and vice versa.”

Both these news items made me think about how constrained we are, at present, to our particular computer, or our iPhone, or our newspaper. I think the WSJ put it best. Web 3.0 is “the complete integration of computing into every part of our lives in a way that is seamless, ubiquitous and, ideally, dead simple.” The possibility exists for greater interaction between devices themselves, and with the advent of cloud-based softwares and services, more ubiquity, speed and accuracy. Overarchingly, the social mediums we use will increase both in terms of software and hardware. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the Internet!

Related posts:

1. Guest post: The untold history of the world’s best cryptic crossword, by Grace Carter
2. My interview with David Berner on The Power of Social Media in Public Policy
3. Congratulations to @invoke on their OpenWebAwards win

When other people don’t get you, they see you as: Detached, wishy-washy, and superficial

Related posts:

1. Why Does The Wind? (Tracey Thorn)

Your Energy Level is High

You are a very enthusiastic, productive person. You have no trouble getting anything done. Beyond having a lot of energy, it’s likely that your energy level tends to be quite steady. Unlike people with very high energy, you don’t tend to be impulsive. By keeping your energy in check, you are able to use it as productively as possible.

Related posts:

1. Wasting energy in the Richmond ice skating rink
2. Action-packed weekend but no energy to recap it :-(
3. Music review – Running in the Family by Level 42

1.  When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Credit: Nine Inch Nails Official

You might be shocked (or not) but I seriously wanted to be a doctor. A medical doctor, that is. Now, I am a different type of doctor, but I have just as much respect for MDs as I do for PhDs. You’ll see… my grandfather on my father’s side, two of my uncles (one on my Mom’s side, one on my Dad’s) were all MDs. I grew up with this sense that I was destined to help people and cure their illnesses and mitigate their suffering. Add to this the fact that my grandmother on my mother’s side was a nurse, and I’ve got a hell of a lot of health care practitioners in the family.

Funny how things go, as I grew up, I modified my interests. My brothers are all engineers, and I thought that it would be non-sensical not to go the engineering route. First, I thought of biomedical engineering. But, at the time when I was about to start my undergraduate, I didn’t get the sense that biomedical engineering had evolved strongly enough in Mexico (and at the time, I wasn’t planning on moving from there).

So I went with the career I thought was the toughest one at the time, the most complete and the most exciting: chemical engineering. Masters and PhD degrees later, I still identify myself as a chemical engineer, although my business and social science training provide me with what I think is a much broader spectrum of career possibilities. But I can tell you one thing… if you invite me to a chemical plant (as Molson did when they invited me for a tour of their Kitsilano plant at the Brew 2.0 event) you will see my eyes brighten and my smile sparkle. I still am a chemical engineer!

2.  If you could see any one performer in concert, who would it be and why?

Credit: Ianiv and Arieanna on Flickr

Growing up, my parents raised me and my brothers in the classical music realm. I grew up with Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Chopin. The kind of piano pieces I play (despite the fact that I don’t play nearly as well as my brothers do – they play concert-level) is very much influenced by Chopin and Beethoven.

But as I’ve grown older, I’ve become very open to other kinds of music. My very favorite artist right now, hands down, is Vancouver-based Sarah McLachlan. Every time I’ve wanted to see her in concert, there has been *something* that has precluded me from seeing her. Actually, in recent months, I’ve had such bad luck with live performances (I couldn’t go to kd lang despite the fact that I actually had tickets) that frankly, I’d be very happy seeing Sarah McLachlan this 2009. Her voice is just amazing, her music brings me to tears and moves my heart in ways that many other performers don’t. And, of course, she IS Canadian

3.  What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Credit: Eszter on Flickr

My biggest guilty pleasure is watching romantic (girlie) movies, curled up in the couch with a cup of rooibos tea and a fleece blanket. Yes, I admit it. I did watch “Sex and The City: The movie”. Not only that, I rented it. Furthermore, I have rented “27 Dresses”, “P.S. I Love You” and (hangs his head in shame) “Never Been Kissed”. Ok, somebody find me refuge… where can I hide now?

4.  What was the best present you got for Christmas this year?  The worst?

Credit: Murmull0s on Flickr

I’d have to divide these amongst material and non material. The best present (not material) I got was the chance to spend Christmas with my brother and family and Mom. Was such a wonderful time. The worst (non material) was the cold temperature in Calgary – 37 oC. Not for me. The best present (material) I got this Christmas was my trademark cologne, Herrera for Men. My Mom knows I love this cologne. My worst material present was definitely the huge amount of snow we have been getting since Christmas! And it’s been snowing for over a day now here, nonstop! ARGH!!! Somebody take me to Mexico, pronto!

5. Are you a Canucks fan yet?

Credit: Miss604 on Flickr

As many of you may know, I used to care less about hockey a year ago, but I am definitely a Canucks fan, now. Rebecca has been a primary influence on this aspect, since she is a die-hard Canucks fan. Besides, John and her (along with JJ, DaveO and Alanah) have The Crazy Canucks. Moreover, people on Twitter are *always* talking hockey. I seriously have to ramp up my game. So yeah, I am a Canucks fan. But I still need to be MORE of a Canucks fan Work in progress!

Want to get in on the fun? You can be a part of it by following a few simple steps…
Send me an e-mail with the subject line “Interview Me”
I’ll respond within 24-ish hours with 5 questions directed to you (I promise to try and be unique)
Answer the questions on your blog (or Facebook or MySpace) and link back to this original post
Invite others to participate by re-posting these steps

Related posts:

1. Was it worth doing a PhD? Part 2: Asking interesting questions
2. 7 Questions with Mojave
3. Seven questions with The Hush Now (@thehushnow)

This 6th photo of the 6th page of my Flickr is of my friends Rebecca Bollwitt (Miss604) and Kris Krug (RainCity Studios) when we had lunch at Salt with Anthony Nicalo and a bunch of other good friends from the Vancouver tech community.

I’m not going to push this tag on anyone, but do it if you feel so compelled (and of course, link back!)

Related posts:

1. Photo meme – I’ve been tagged!
2. Six quirks/habits of Raul – Meme
3. 5 Things Meme

1.- I follow exactly the same routine at night, EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.
- Check the doors are locked (outside and in my apartment)
- Brush my teeth and floss.
- Drink water.
- Choose my clothes for the following day.
- Go to sleep.

2.- In the past year, I’ve started to check my blogging Gmail BEFORE my personal or research emails. Yeah, I’m first a blogger and then everything else. Weird!

3.- I hate waiting for anyone to pick me up, so I’ll walk outside my house and stand there. I know, if you watch the water all the time will never boil. It’s painful.

4.- I lit candles in my apartment regardless of whether I have company or not. Sometimes I do it just for the sake of feeling calm and relaxed.

5.- I prefer to book slots of time for friends than to have a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of schedule. Makes my life somewhat complicated sometimes as I have a pretty active social life. And the tech community loves to do things in the spur of the moment (on Twitter!)

6.- I say “REALLY?” a lot. I think what I actually mean is “mmmmhmmmm”.

This time, I’m tagging people who may (or may not) expect me to tag them. I can’t tag Rebecca as she’s already been tagged, so here are who I’m tagging.

Andy Peatling
Duane Storey
Tyler Ingram
Gus Fosarolli
Ianiv and Arieanna Schweber
Tanya Davis

There you go! You didn’t expect me to tag you, did you?

Related posts:

1. Too much information meme – Raul’s answers
2. Sixth Photo Meme Redux
3. Why I wish I was more like Raul – Guest post by Jodi Hamilton

You Are Checkers

You are very logical and rational. You are able to understand what is and isn’t a factor. You’re able to compartmentalize and focus on the essentials. You appreciate simplicity. You can see the layers of complexity and beauty in anything. You are also playful and good natured. You don’t take life too seriously!

Yes, I am super rational, and I think about what my options are, etc. But I have to be honest. I have played checkers but more than that I’ve played chess.

Related posts:

1. Vancouver Five Hole For Food 2011 Mainstream Media Game on Granville Street #FHFF
2. The Canada-Switzerland hockey game
3. Canucks game: Calgary vs. Vancouver