Bryan, here. I’m a Project Manager at RD2, as well as the “weblogmaster” for the company. At 5 1/2 years, I’m not exactly a pioneer of the medium, but I have been around the block a few times, and you may know me from sites like the current events satire site “What Would Brian Boitano Do?”, and LifeAfterMTV.com, a chronicle of the journals kept by former cast members of “The Real World” and “Road Rules.”
Since I fell in love with the Internet in 1993, and before that, the dial-in BBS, I have delighted in the multitude of ways people use it to connect to each other. E-mail, Telnet, IRC, Usenet, the Web, Instant Messaging… they all operate on the same protocol, and it’s that communications device which inspires me. What I think each one of us boils down to is a unique point of view, and with the advent of the ‘net came the most efficient way yet devised for anyone to express his/her point of view.
RD2 excites me in its approach to marrying design with the underlying code necessary to make the web work, because communication never needs to be difficult, or ugly. And I intend to move our business forward with my own fusion of understanding and language.
Not to say that I don’t geek out every now and again… I admit that I dig the gadgets and the widgets as much as the next guy (which happens to be Travis), but my technological loves tend to be more abstract, like the need for separation between content, style and structure. Growing up, my father managed a print shop, and it was fun to see how the printed word was laid out on a page in varying styles, but it really only got exciting once that same printed word was able to change based on the reader’s input and preferences. PHP, for instance, gives an author the ability to make his/her web site experience unique for each visitor, and that’s something worth cheering about.
I’m a big fan of open-source technologies, not just because I’m thrifty, but because they are updated more frequently and most of the time they tend to be more solidly built. Chris accepted my recommendation for installing WordPress for our weblog, and since it’s open-source, there are a ton of user-created plugins and hacks, and even if the original authors give up on the project, some other samaritan will take up the slack. I believe it’s our duty to follow the spirit of that passion for code-building with our own desire for building community and brand identities.
My goal on this weblog is to share with our readers any updates regarding our company, industry and culture, as well as our vision for each. I also heartily enjoy the humor of the web, so there’s a good chance you’ll see some of that here. For more, see any one of my other web sites. Or if you’re in the area, come see the band in concert.