My 2009, In Retrospect
Personally and professionally, 2009 was my best year yet. I can't think of a year that comes close to 2009, and I want to thank some of the people who made it so great. It's pretty much required that every blog has some sort of countdown to ring in the New Year, and other sites already took the good topics. So, I figured I'd go with what I know best: me. It's mostly for me, anyway- it will be nice to be able to look back in a few years and see what I did in 2009. My 2009, in retrospect:
10ImagineRIT
For the second year in a row, I participated in RIT's innovation festival, ImagineRIT. My entry was less exciting than most- I wrote a small API for a bunch of RIT-related databases I scraped. It lets web developers at RIT easily create RIT-related websites- they can easily access information about students and courses. It gained a little bit of interest- more important, however, it lead to my current project, RIT Intersect.
For the second year in a row, I participated in RIT's innovation festival, ImagineRIT. My entry was less exciting than most- I wrote a small API for a bunch of RIT-related databases I scraped. It lets web developers at RIT easily create RIT-related websites- they can easily access information about students and courses. It gained a little bit of interest- more important, however, it lead to my current project, RIT Intersect.
9Blogging
I finally gave in, and started blogging. I know, I know- I am about 10 years too late. I never really had any interest in blogging until recently. I wanted a place to write down my observations and thoughts, so I could come back to them later- and a blog seemed like the perfect medium. I could jot my ideas down, and potentially have other people read. I don't market my blog or share it- right now, it's more of a sandbox for me to try to improve my writing. I still can't manage to blog regularly (although this year I'm determined to keep a schedule) and my readership is at about 0 (I can't even get my Mom to read it), but its a start. Maybe 2010 is the year I get good at it.
I finally gave in, and started blogging. I know, I know- I am about 10 years too late. I never really had any interest in blogging until recently. I wanted a place to write down my observations and thoughts, so I could come back to them later- and a blog seemed like the perfect medium. I could jot my ideas down, and potentially have other people read. I don't market my blog or share it- right now, it's more of a sandbox for me to try to improve my writing. I still can't manage to blog regularly (although this year I'm determined to keep a schedule) and my readership is at about 0 (I can't even get my Mom to read it), but its a start. Maybe 2010 is the year I get good at it.
8Learning From The Best
Okay, get ready for some name dropping. This is going to sound like bragging, but I swear my intentions are good- I was blessed to get to interact (in the real world) with so many people I look up to in the tech world. This year, I met a lot of interesting people and attend a few of great conferences. I of course met Om Malik (tech journalist), and spent the summer working for him. Jimmy Wales (inventor of Wikipedia) visited RIT to speak, and I was lucky enough to get to attend a special private meet 'n greet afterward. I briefly met and talked to Tim Ferriss (Four Hour Workweek), Matt Mullenweg (WordPress founder), Scott Beale (LaughingSquid), Drew Houston (Dropbox), Bram Cohen (Bittorrent), and many more. Barely counts, but I had sushi at the table over from Ev Williams (Twitter). I got to work with Elan Lee (ARG pioneer) on Picture the Impossible. I had lunch with Bob Fabbio (Founder of White Glove and RIT Grad) and Sir Terry Matthews (Founder of Mitel and 90+ other companies, Wales first billionaire). I attended a number of conferences, as well- WordCamp, GigaOm's Structure, a GigaOM Bunker Session, and RIT's Entrepreneurs Conference. I saw many speakers- Matt Cutts (Google), Bjarne Stroustrup (C++ creator), Marc Benioff (SalesForce), Werner Vogels (CTO, Amazon), Jon Heiliger (VP of Technical Operations, Facebook), John Lilly (CEO, Mozilla), and many more. Thank you to everyone who was willing to share their knowledge with me over this past year- I really appreciate it.
Okay, get ready for some name dropping. This is going to sound like bragging, but I swear my intentions are good- I was blessed to get to interact (in the real world) with so many people I look up to in the tech world. This year, I met a lot of interesting people and attend a few of great conferences. I of course met Om Malik (tech journalist), and spent the summer working for him. Jimmy Wales (inventor of Wikipedia) visited RIT to speak, and I was lucky enough to get to attend a special private meet 'n greet afterward. I briefly met and talked to Tim Ferriss (Four Hour Workweek), Matt Mullenweg (WordPress founder), Scott Beale (LaughingSquid), Drew Houston (Dropbox), Bram Cohen (Bittorrent), and many more. Barely counts, but I had sushi at the table over from Ev Williams (Twitter). I got to work with Elan Lee (ARG pioneer) on Picture the Impossible. I had lunch with Bob Fabbio (Founder of White Glove and RIT Grad) and Sir Terry Matthews (Founder of Mitel and 90+ other companies, Wales first billionaire). I attended a number of conferences, as well- WordCamp, GigaOm's Structure, a GigaOM Bunker Session, and RIT's Entrepreneurs Conference. I saw many speakers- Matt Cutts (Google), Bjarne Stroustrup (C++ creator), Marc Benioff (SalesForce), Werner Vogels (CTO, Amazon), Jon Heiliger (VP of Technical Operations, Facebook), John Lilly (CEO, Mozilla), and many more. Thank you to everyone who was willing to share their knowledge with me over this past year- I really appreciate it.
7Picture the Impossible
One of my big projects this past year was Picture the Impossible, a community-based game developed jointly by the Lab for Social Computing at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. The game engages members of the community in exploration of the City of Rochester, and encourages both creativity and charitable giving in the community. Players participate in a range of activities, including casual web-based games, games that bring players out to events and locations throughout the city, and games that involve the tangible aspects of the Democrat & Chronicle newspaper itself. A good 99% of the credit goes to Liz Lawley, however it was a project I was proud to be a part of.
One of my big projects this past year was Picture the Impossible, a community-based game developed jointly by the Lab for Social Computing at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. The game engages members of the community in exploration of the City of Rochester, and encourages both creativity and charitable giving in the community. Players participate in a range of activities, including casual web-based games, games that bring players out to events and locations throughout the city, and games that involve the tangible aspects of the Democrat & Chronicle newspaper itself. A good 99% of the credit goes to Liz Lawley, however it was a project I was proud to be a part of.
6The Casualties of Efficiency
This year, I wrote a paper for my Innovation and Invention class entitled The Casualties of Efficiency. It gave me a chance to put a lot of things I had been thinking onto paper- technology has been changing us, and it often comes at the expense of human interaction. I would someday love to turn it into a book (or longer paper), however that is unfortunately a ways off.
This year, I wrote a paper for my Innovation and Invention class entitled The Casualties of Efficiency. It gave me a chance to put a lot of things I had been thinking onto paper- technology has been changing us, and it often comes at the expense of human interaction. I would someday love to turn it into a book (or longer paper), however that is unfortunately a ways off.
5Senior Year
This year, I started my fourth and final year at Rochester Institute of Technology. After spending the last decade and a half in a classroom, it is going to be weird to move on. This is my best year of college yet- I'm enjoying my classes, my personal projects, my jobs, and my friends. Being a Resident Adviser was one of the best decisions I've made- I really like both the other RAs, and my residents. I'm going to really miss RIT- it took me a few years to get completely into it, but now I love it. I'm extremely glad I ended up here- in hindsight, I can't see myself having done as well I did in a different environment.
This year, I started my fourth and final year at Rochester Institute of Technology. After spending the last decade and a half in a classroom, it is going to be weird to move on. This is my best year of college yet- I'm enjoying my classes, my personal projects, my jobs, and my friends. Being a Resident Adviser was one of the best decisions I've made- I really like both the other RAs, and my residents. I'm going to really miss RIT- it took me a few years to get completely into it, but now I love it. I'm extremely glad I ended up here- in hindsight, I can't see myself having done as well I did in a different environment.
4GigaOM
This year, I was fortunate enough to get to work at The GigaOm Network, a popular technology blog and event network. I was able to work with a number of great people- Om, Chancey, Paul, Jaime, Andrew, Jon and the rest of the team. It was a great experience, and I had a lot of fun. This also meant I was back in San Francisco for the summer, and was able to hang out with the Offbeat Guides gang again.
This year, I was fortunate enough to get to work at The GigaOm Network, a popular technology blog and event network. I was able to work with a number of great people- Om, Chancey, Paul, Jaime, Andrew, Jon and the rest of the team. It was a great experience, and I had a lot of fun. This also meant I was back in San Francisco for the summer, and was able to hang out with the Offbeat Guides gang again.
3RIT Intersect
RIT Intersect has been my pet project this past year. Registration at RIT is hard- finding classes, checking teacher reviews, seeing if the class is open, generating schedules, and other tasks are spread out over a number of websites. So, I decided to take the whole process, and combine it into one site that lets students browse, sort, filter, search, save and organize courses. It's come a long way, and will hopefully be finished soon.
RIT Intersect has been my pet project this past year. Registration at RIT is hard- finding classes, checking teacher reviews, seeing if the class is open, generating schedules, and other tasks are spread out over a number of websites. So, I decided to take the whole process, and combine it into one site that lets students browse, sort, filter, search, save and organize courses. It's come a long way, and will hopefully be finished soon.
2GCCIS Spotlight
During Fall and Winter quarter, I was featured on the front page of the RIT Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences website as their Student Spotlight. My high school sent out the article to all alumni, as well- definitely embarrassing, but still an honor.
During Fall and Winter quarter, I was featured on the front page of the RIT Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences website as their Student Spotlight. My high school sent out the article to all alumni, as well- definitely embarrassing, but still an honor.
1Planning for Next Year
Time to relax? No way- I already have a full schedule for 2010. Before I graduate in May, I have a few big projects. The release of RIT Intersect and RIT48 (details on that coming soon) should happen in the next few months. In January, I'm speaking at Home Care of Rochester about how senior citizens can use social media to keep up to date on Parkinson's Disease.
Time to relax? No way- I already have a full schedule for 2010. Before I graduate in May, I have a few big projects. The release of RIT Intersect and RIT48 (details on that coming soon) should happen in the next few months. In January, I'm speaking at Home Care of Rochester about how senior citizens can use social media to keep up to date on Parkinson's Disease.
After I graduate, I have a few plans for what I want to do- I want to work out the details before I start talking about it, however I will post soon!
And there you have it- my 2009. Hopefully 2010 will be half as good.