Bio
My boss at CNN Interactive, Harry Motro, asked me an apparently innocuous question in my job interview:
In one sentence – What is it that drives you? What gets you out of bed in the morning?
I’m sure I wasn’t eloquent or concise in my answer at the time, but the question stuck with me and I’ve boiled it down to the simplest possible answer.
I help people make cool things.
The way I do that has changed over time. Once upon a time, I created by putting on headphones, shutting out the world and slinging code for 80 hours a week. Now I’m more likely to do it by speaking about how a technology might be applied or tap-dancing in front of a whiteboard – helping to bring common goals into focus for a group of individuals with differing agendas and priorities, writing product business requirements or technical design documents. I’ve also become more interested in the interfaces between people and technology than in technology itself.
But the creativity and excitement are the same, as is the drive to create something new. Designing something to delight users will always bel the thing that jazzes me.
My dusty old IBM Global Services Bio is more flowery:
< corporate >
Web Sites often focus on graphics, content and brand; flash and sizzle. To really succeed web sites must become web applications. They must deliver powerful function, artful presentation, and intuitive information architecture, while focusing intensely on the task at hand.
Behind the bells and whistles are people like Jonathan Peterson who can bridge gaps between technology, creativity, and business savvy. Jonathan’s expertise covers all aspects of the development of intelligent business solutions, from legacy system integration and e-business process re-engineering to the creation and market positioning of award-winning multimedia products.
< /corporate >
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Rita Parisi Jordan
