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Joe McCarthy
Title: President and Connector-in-Chief, Interrelativity, Inc. Email: joe@interrelativity.com |
OverviewI am passionate about promoting the use of technology to help people relate to and connect with one another. I believe we are all kindred spirits, with valuable insights and experiences to share with others, who, in turn, have valuable insights and experiences to share with us. Unfortunately, we are often unaware of the serendipitous -- or synchronistic -- opportunities for greater awareness, interaction and growth that other people near us might offer. Admittedly, there are times and places in which we are not open to any serendipitous encounters, but there are times and places where most of us are open to such possibilities. Virtual communities have long provided digital tools for finding and connecting with others who have shared histories, interests and passions, without regard to separation of time or space. However, there exist very few digital tools for discovering shared histories, interests or passions among the people in our physical communities, with whom we share time and space. As computing technologies move beyond the desktop and into the other spaces that we inhabit, new possibilities are emerging for tools that can help us connect with the kindred spirits around us. Over a period of 8 years, I utilized my roles as a research project leader -- first at Accenture Technology Labs, then at Intel Research Seattle -- and conference chair -- of CSCW 2002 (co-chaired with Elizabeth Churchill) and UbiComp 2003 -- to open up these kinds of possibilities. I have led a number of research projects in which we designed, implemented, and deployed technologies in innovative ways to enhance physical spaces to create new opportunities for awareness and interactions among the people inhabiting those spaces, and have written numerous papers and given many presentations on that work. More recently, I have been channeling my passion and energy for this work through an entrepreneurial path, via Interrelativity, which has provided numerous challenges and opportunities for growth (some of which are catalogued on my weblog). Other Stuff
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