Seth Luersen
Database
I have always been inspired to not only master technology and share my knowledge with others, but also to realize how the use of information technology impacts the values and attitudes of society. My journey started at the Lawrence Hall of Science, at age seven, programming my first "GOTO" in BASIC. By eleven, I was adamant about having my own computer, so I started a summer gardening and pet care business. With that money, I bought my first computer, an Atari 1200XL. (I still have it!) I was happy to share my passion. As a pre-teen, I taught LOGO at the San Francisco Exploratorium to both children and adults.
Without a challenging computer technology program at my high school, I lost sight of my publicly shared passion, and considered it just a teenager's awkward hobby. While excelling in three varsity sports, I kept my hobby silent, almost secret. I didn't let anyone know that I was a voracious reader of computer magazines and books. My secret hobby led me to the discovery of bulletin board systems. Using my father's work computer - a giant suitcase then called a Portable PC -- I dialed in at 9600 baud, sharing my knowledge of computers, programming and sports with the world's first virtual, cyberspace communities.
As an undergraduate at the University of California at Santa Cruz, I majored in European History, Historians and Historiography. My thesis on Franz Kafka's short story, "In the Penal Colony", investigated the relationship between technology, society and the self. I explored how technology possesses the power, in its design, architecture and modality, to embody, transmit and transform cultural attitudes and values within society.
At San Francisco State University's Multimedia Studies Program, I continued to explore how contemporary information systems have a similar authority to engender, broadcast and exert influence upon specific societal attitudes and ideals. This was my first opportunity to learn from and work with professionals who made real-world decisions about information products and services. Since I was paying for every class, I wasn't going to let one dollar go to waste. I never missed one of my class and never came late.
Although working fulltime, my participation was vigorous at SFSU MSP, I was the production assistant for a manual, "Producing Video for CD-ROM". I was selected to be a teaching assistant for the classroom course "Understanding Marshall McLuhan" and the online teaching assistant for "Introduction to Macromedia Director". I also interned at Macromedia. For the first collaborative student-faculty project, "Digitata", I was the web and multimedia programmer. My SFSU MSP certification project transformed the traditional paper résumé into an online, hypertext, multimedia document. Coined "WebRez", the project goal was to create depth of content through an interactive multimedia interface. By means of its multimedia modality, the project invigorated and influenced a contemporary artifact, the résumé, with new meaning and significance.
Deciphering how information technology impacts society and individuals, determines my career choices. My professional work experience gives me the opportunity to design and develop information systems that represent data as valued knowledge and information.
At Microsoft, I developed business intelligence systems, which tracked, measured and delivered information regarding the quality of service. I turned terabytes of subscriber usage, web browsing, customer service, and television viewing data into meaningful knowledge about the user experience, operational business costs, and overall customer satisfaction. As both an observer and participant in the technical design decisions for large-scale information products and services, I learned how certain technical design decisions can dramatically impact the lives of people, sometimes beneficially, and other times, with unexpected monetary and societal consequences.
Having thankfully worked with the best (and unfortunately too, some of the worst), I now run my own consulting business. I make my own rules and set my own bar for measuring success. I've been through many doors, and look forward to walking through many more.
My spare time is pleasantly spent with my family and dear friends. I love to swim, bike, golf, hike, write, cook and listen to music. I especially enjoy seeing live concerts and performances. You'll find me at opening galas at museums, too.
It's been a long road, and I find myself happily returning to my community roots, here, at TechFutures.org. I am currently the Advanced Database and Design (Database II) instructor, and the program manager for TechFuture's web application properties. I look forward to helping make this unique program a continual success for each and every willing student.
E-mail: seth@luersen.com