About Matt

I got my start in web development and technology because of video games! In a six month span, I went from someone who literally didn't know the difference between a floppy disk and a hard disk to someone who had spec'd the best system Micron sold, updated the sound and graphics card myself, and figured out how to turn my computer into a server using dial up networking — and all so I could play networked Duke Nukem with friends.


During my last quarter at the UW, I took a basic HTML class, where I fell in love with web programming / digital media, particularly because it allowed me to be creative even though I can't draw a dog better than a four year old. This love of media can been seen in the companies I have worked for and in the things I have created for important events.

Back in 1997, my wife and I made an engagement announcement website that contained updates, directions to the wedding, etc...we told half our family via email and had to call those who didn't have computers yet; after all, it was 1997, when people still proudly said they "didn't do email."

I have been incredibly fortunate in my profession in that I have worked for companies that employ cutting-edge technologies, have high visibility, and have made an effort to help the community. All these factors made work a great experience, and my friends and coworkers have made everything even more enjoyable and rich by creating an atmosphere in which we, as a team, could revel at our triumphs and commiserate during our setbacks.

Nowadays, I enjoy examining users' work flows and figuring out ways to simplify and automate the way people work. Building beautiful, UX and AJAX friendly interfaces that perform complex tasks is another thing that really gets me excited to come to work. And then, of course, my bread and butter is creating highly available and dynamic sites that can perform under any condition and that rank well in the search engines.


I'd love for my next position to be at a company that treats their employees well and has a good understanding of work / life balance. I'd love to be working as part of a fun and energetic team that builds tools and applications to help users work more efficiently — and all while building it with some cool technology (I like LAMP but am quite good with the MS Stack). I'd like to be able to collaborate with other business units (marketing, creative, etc) to build a product or service that everyone will love, and I really like the back-and-forth in those types of creative meetings. Lastly, I'd love to work where I could use my diverse set of skills to make a difference and give back to the community.