Since I founded Inkblots in 1994, I've been writing editorials and other essays. I've been trying to develop a tone of voice that is both knowledgeable and approachable, familiar and yet also authoritative. My biggest influences as an essayist are Umberto Eco, Italo Calvino and Henry Jenkins. When it comes to academic writing, I like to adopt the philosophy of two guys more famous for their ice cream than their essays: as Ben and Jerry once said, "If it's not fun, why do it?"
More examples of my essays can be found in the Miscellany section.
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Divergences: Licensed to Read
C3 Weekly Update
April 9, 2008
A short essay about a new imprint at HarperCollins that aims to do away with author advances, but more fully utilize new technology to publish, market and distribute shorter, cheaper hardcovers by niche authors. An excerpt: "This new imprint combines the digerati DIY mentality with the marketing and distribution prowess of an established publishing juggernaut, minus the stigma of a print-on-demand system or vanity press. The 'shorter works' description sounds about right, as one personal draw of John Maeda's latest book SIMPLICITY is its being only 100 pages, and my own first novel currently weighs in around only 60,000 words. The 'lower price' feature also sounds about right as $20 for a slim hardcover feels like a fairly palatable price point, especially when dropped to $12-$14 after the 30%-40% discount usually offered by retailers like Amazon. The license model also feels like its time has come, and I myself would happily offer additional content, like additional chapters or multimedia materials, on my website for licensed users -- which is not entirely dissimilar from what C3 head honcho Henry Jenkins did with his outtakes from Convergence Culture."
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Divergences: Something in the Air?
C3 Weekly Update
January 11, 2008
A collection of thoughts about how Apple might move into the cloud computing space, which were partially proved correct by Macworld 2008. An excerpt: "What I'd like to see is a further extension of the cloud computing idea to incorporate the legions of iPhones, cell phones and other devices using a SETI@home model of distributed computing – although it'd be a hell of a battery drain and would, I think, require a much-improved bandwidth scenario, imagine being able to do video editing on your iPhone by distributing the processor load to the swarm of unused mobile devices around you at any given time..."
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Divergences: The City of Virtual Lights
C3 Weekly Update
November 15, 2007
A lighthearted projection about how MMOs and tourism will overlap in Paris by the year 2012. An excerpt: "'We noticed that the most popular destinations in both Second Life 4 and World of WarCraft III were these beautiful, vast cities with twisty back alleys lit by flickering lanterns, lovely little shops and cafes, and beautiful rivers crisscrossed by magnificent bridges,' says Jean-Luc De Gaulle, the head of the Parisian tourism board. 'These were clearly inspired by Paris.'"
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10 Takeaway Concepts for Transmedia Storytelling
C3 Weekly Update
July 9, 2007 and July 16, 2007
A summary of the top 10 action points based on my Master's thesis on transmedia storytelling.
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{fray}
I contributed this short personal story to the "The Things We Do for Love" anthology at {fray}. It's about growing up, and how you can't protect your loved ones from their lives.
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Inkblots Magazine
I wrote this editorial shortly after returning from The Digital Storytelling Festival in Crested Butte, Colorado. I was mulling over what it meant to be a "digital storyteller" and where Inkblots was going to go next – something I still spend a great deal of time thinking about.
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Inkblots Magazine
This editorial was full of bluster and indignation at the behavior of the press following the death of John F. Kennedy, Jr. The title refers to the reporters who were outraged that the Kennedy family wouldn't grant the reporters interviews or access to the Kennedy Compound.
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Inkblots Magazine
I wrote this editorial shortly after returning from my time spent abroad. This was me sort of intellectually wrapping up the impact of my time spent travelling.
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Inkblots Magazine
More of a "State of the Union" speech than anything else.
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Inkblots Magazine
I wrote this editorial while sitting in the Boston Tea Party, a favorite coffeehouse in Exeter, England. I was sitting in the upstairs area in the middle of the afternoon, and suddenly the place filled up with young mothers and their little kids. The result was me wondering how to incorporate the two from a business standpoint.
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Inkblots Magazine
Nostalgia, plain and simple, for the days of The Cranberries and the very first Counting Crows album, of a time when culture didn't suck. The grass is always greener on the early side of New Year's Day.
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Inkblots Magazine
The debut editorial I wrote to announce Inkblots moving onto the World Wide Web.
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Inkblots Magazine
An interview with Jason Fried, the founder of 37signals, a web consulting company in Chicago, and the creator of Singlefile, a quality piece of personal library management software.
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Inkblots Magazine
An interview with illustrator Don Barnett, whose portfolio includes work for Microsoft, Dreamworks SKG and some really amazing personal pieces.
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Inkblots Magazine
I was the editor of sorts for this compilation of a mix CD for Inkblots' Summer 2002 edition.
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Inkblots Magazine
When Inkblots returned, this was our first feature article. I cowrote this piece, which focused on the new swing music (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, etc.), with my friend Nick Bastin.
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