Productivity-Blogger Interview: David Seah [HD BizBlog 1.2]
This is the second in an ongoing series of interviews with influential productivity and new media thought-leaders. The first was with Ryan Rasmussen, Emerging Media Specialist at Levenger.
Today we will get to know a little more about Dave Seah of DaveSeah.com:Better Living Through New Media
I had a few questions for Dave, that he was kind enough to answer. Let’s begin with a quote from About Dave Seah:
I like writing about things that empower and inspire people, covering topics such as design, development, becoming productive, and the business of being a freelancer. You can find information about my design offerings on the Working with Dave page!
I have been a reader of Dave’s blog for longer than I have been a blogger myself, and I am a big fan of his Printable CEO series. These Time Management forms were one of the things that inspired me to create my own GTD Calendar. The following questions and answers should shed a little more light on this very interesting writer/designer.
Where did you grow up?
The first nine years of my life were spent in rural New Jersey, in a small town named Perrineville where Dad was the local Presbyterian minister for Monmouth County. The next nine years were spent in Taipei, Taiwan, where I went to Taipei American School and utterly failed to absorb any of the language or culture of the island.
What type of work experience led you to blogging and designing? Just how did you get to where you are?
I’ve sort of followed opportunities as they’ve presented themselves until just a few years ago. Very broadly, the career path has been engineering, interactive design, video game development, management, graphic design, and now writing/design consulting.
Tell us about your Education:
My undergraduate and masters degrees are in Electrical Engineering (emphasis on digital computers, because I suck at math). Facing a career in engineering, I realized that I had gone astray; I wanted to really make stuff that PEOPLE interacted with, so I went and got my MFA in Computer Graphics Design, then went into the video game industry.
How do your interests work into your life?
Just about anything related to storytelling and experience-making in all its forms. This covers writing, filmmaking, animation, video game development, illustration, magic performance, graphic design, music composition…I can’t do a lot of this, but I read up on it and try to incorporate those insights into my design work. I find the psychology of experience very interesting too, and this gets into design, teaching, education, ergonomics and human factors, personality typing, etc. I am also fascinated by artifacts that are shaped by years of human need and experience: watches, guns, furniture making…basically, any kind of specialized gear and any kind of methodology that has arisen to use that gear effectively.
Do you have any hobbies?
Hm. I don’t really have any…I have a lot of interests, but I can incorporate almost all of it into my work. Pistol shooting is probably the closest thing to a non-work related activity, though there are of course methodologies from that discipline that I can see being applicable to other areas. I also have been getting into the gym recently, and am finding that this is a nice way to clear the head while engaging in conversation with my own body. I’ve slowly started to get more into physical activities because of this.
What was the last book that you read?
Fiction:
“Squids will be Squidsâ€, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. It’s an awesome children’s picture book that is written in a smart, funny, and strangely-wise “Aesop’s Fables†manner. Just awesome in terms of both design and illustration.
“The Crystal Cityâ€, by Orson Scott Card, the last book in the “Tales of Alvin Maker†series of alternative colonial America. While I like most of OSC’s material (particular “Ender’s Game†and “Ender’s Shadowâ€), this series is close to my heart because I like the elements of “plain hardworking folk with a knack for magic†and the sense of calling that Alvin is pursuing. In some ways, it echoes my own journey to figure out what the heck I want to make, and how to do it.
Non-fiction:
“Bless Your Heart, Trampâ€, by Celia Rivenbank, a self-described “tarnished southern belle†that I would describe as a cross between humorist Dave Barry and blogger Heather Armstrong. Another book that my sister turned me on to.
What is your most important accomplishment?
Corny as it sounds, my blog means the most to me. It’s the first time I’ve done something that was 100% me that people have come across and liked enough to say so. I’m also happy that I’ve helped a few people solve a problem for themselves, or just helped them feel a little less alone in their troubles because I’ve shared my thoughts on them. This means more to me than just about anything.
What is your next big goal?
To be completely mobile and self-sufficient by 2010, with awesome people to work with.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In a nice café somewhere in the world, with friends and comrades nearby, continuing to build our community of mobile butt-kickers, writers, and consultants.
Who/what was your inspiration to start blogging?
It was actually being confused about what I wanted to do. I had a zillion interests and even more opportunities, but I didn’t know which one was “the right oneâ€. So I started blogging to figure out what I was actually interested in, with the idea of eventually converging on something on which I could base an expert consultancy or design practice. Every time I wrote something, I put it in a category if one existed. If there was no category that really fit, I would make up a new one. After a few months of this, I could see the general shape of my interests. I had no idea that it would be about “productivityâ€, though this is just one facet of the whole “empowerment†and “pursuit of happiness†theme that I tend to follow.
Dave and I had a very interesting conversation about trust and it’s use as currency. Read about the importance of trust in the web 2.0 economy.
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Original post here: Stephen
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