From the very first Sony Walkman, that allowed users to "shut out" the rest of the world with portable music and headphones, technology has the dual nature to either isolate or connect people. Even today, even though people want to "connect" over the Internet, many find that the technology in our daily lives only serves to isolate us.
Over his 25 years in the industry, Skip has focused on utilizing technology to bring people together and "create community." Skip was first exposed to the power technology had to connect people through BBSes (very early forerunner to the Internet) in the late 80's and early 90's, which connected PC users in a local area. This was before the Internet or e-Mail, and being able to "chat" and "message" people over a computer network was brand new.
While we now take global online games such as World of Warcraft for granted, back then it was amazing to play online games with people several towns over. While current online gamers have only just begun to meet "IRL" (In Real Life), we used to meet up at Denny's late on Saturday night, once everyone was off of work. This "Golden Age" of computers and gaming allowed Skip to meet people and make friends that would last a lifetime.
During the late 90's Skip served as a Monitor, and then Moderator of the Ravenloft Listserv E-Mail List for Wizards of the Coast (the creators of Dungeons & Dragons). This mailing list brought together fans of the Ravenloft D&D campaign setting from across the globe. The list was known for its friendly, inviting and helpful members.
In 2003, Skip created the Widescreen Gaming Forum (WSGF). At this time, widescreen displays were just coming into PC notebooks and desktops. The WSGF was created to give gamers a single source of information on how well games worked on widescreen displays. The Forum evolved into a vibrant community which began providing solutions for improving how games run in widescreen. From there they began to set standards by which games should behave in widescreen, and lobbied game developers and publishers to adopt these solutions.
Over the past few years, the emergent display technology are PCs that create a panoramic view by displaying games across mutliple monitors. The WSGF has become the Internet's foremost resource for multi-monitor gaming. The WSGF has always been known as a welcoming and friendly community. Even with 10k+ users and over 500k page views a month, the WSGF continues to have this positive reputation.
Skip has been lucky enough to grow up in (what he considers) the greatest technology age. While the Xbox360 and PS3 are great, there was nothing like seeing the first Atari 2600 hooked up to a home TV. The games and graphics may be getting better, but there is nothing like seeing gaming technology first emerge. Since building his first computer (from two boxes of parts he received for Christmas when he was 12 years old), Skip has always immersed himself in technology.
By seeing our connected world evolve from BBSes, to Listserv discussion lists, the Internet, forums and message boards, and now Facebook and Twitter, Skip understands how technology can be a great asset to enhancing your life, your business and your community organization. Add in experience with photography (all the way from developing and printing B&W film), video editing and audio mixing, STS offers a little something extra that you won't find in many companies.
