Current Projects
I'm working on a few things at my "day job":
- Since I joined Google in early 2007, I've worked on a couple different products. My starter project was the Geo-Targeting Tool for AdWords, which launched in December of 2007. That was an enormously satisfying experience for the whole team. We got some favorable reviews from people who follow the search engine industry and plenty of positive feedback from actual users (gratifying to have one's work so carefully scrutinized, I have to say).
- Before I came to Google I was working on AT&T's Project Lightspeed, which brings higher-speed, fiber-optic based Internet services to American homes, including IPTV service and Voice-over IP service, and faster Internet access. This includes both Web-based user interfaces, and IPTV-based user interfaces. It was a lot of fun, I have to say, working on something so new and challenging. Alas, that company and I didn't agree on some rather important ethical and philosophical matters.
- I designed a UI that will enable AT&T customers to control and interact with their plain-old telephone services via a Web-based user interface
- I also tried to bring to AT&T some awareness about Web Standards
I also occasionally work on some projects outside of work, for example:
- I'm reading Ben Fry's Visualizing Data and thinking about how to use Processing to create some proof-of-concept information visualizations at work
- Tim Ziegler and I have been collaborating on the plans for a Core Conversation at SXSW Interactive conference. This should be a lot of fun, but we are going up against some steep competition: Dan Saffer and Aza Raskin. Wow.
- Back in 2005 or so, I discovered ning.com and created a quick proof of concept for a site that would (in theory) provide a means for AustinFree.net users a way to post and find jobs. See smagula.ning.com.
- A DIY "Internet TV station" that I'm experimenting with (Note: I had to remove that link because the script involved requires a more expensive type of hosting...and I don't have the cash for that!). It uses Broadcast Machine, BitTorrent and RSS to create a "channel" that you can subscribe to using something like DTV or iTunes. DTV is a new application by participatoryculture.org (did I mention that I'm a great fan of theirs?),
- A Memex Wiki (based on Instiki) Thank you dyndns.com--they provide a domain name that automatically maps to my dynamic IP address! To download Instiki, go to Sourceforge.org and search for Instiki.