Bio
For the past decade, my work has been social tools and their impact on media, business, and society. I divide my attention across research, design, and media activities, working with a diverse set of companies and collaborators.
My work is generally directed to what’s just over the horizon, but I consider myself a ‘postfuturist’ since my research approach is something past postmodern, something more post-industrial (see It Is The Business Of The Future To Be Dangerous, for a more in depth discussion).
In 2012 I consolidated my research activities under Work Talk Research, an independent research institute that I head. 2012 projects their include Ambient Innovation (in collaboration with Teresa Di Cairano), Social Network Science (in collaboration with Claude Theoret of Nexalogy), The Business of Social Business (an e-book in process), The Architecture Of Cooperation (a long format writing project, formerly called Liquid City), and Media Futures (in collaboration with Gerd Leonhard of The FuturesAgency).
I serve as an advisor to a short list of innovative social tools and media companies, principally focused on product direction and strategy. These have included giants like AOL, Microsoft and IBM, and start-ups like Bitly, Yammer and MOG. I also consult to large enterprises grappling with the challenges of applying social tools to their operations.
I started my career (if that’s what this is) as a software researcher working in programming tools and software environments. I have served as adjunct computer science faculty, an inadvertent entrepreneur, an software analyst, a newsletter editor, a columnist, president of a blog media company, and mostly as a commentator and advisor. I have served in other roles and appointments, far too many to enumerate.
I have presented at numerous conferences and events worldwide — Web 2.0, Enterprise 2.0, GigaOM Net:Work, Reboot, Next, Mesh, Shift, Lift, SIBOS, Defrag, and TEDxMidAtlantic — and I can still find something new to arouse my curiosity, so I still enjoy it.
My principal writing is found at StoweBoyd.com. I write about things not technical at Underpaid Genius, and maintain Work Media as an ongoing open research site on streaming social tools for the enterprise.
