About Joseph Dickerson

Well, About Me, the part of any personal web site that almost always comes off as self-serving. Well, fine, I’m not one to break traditions or rock the boat….

Actually, I am, now that I think about it. Not much, but enough to make everyone else in my boat slightly queasy. And I’ve not broke traditions, but certainly have strained myself from time to time trying…

Now burning bridges though – that I have never done. Not when I have seen what has happened to those who do… Seeing as the IT business in Atlanta is a very insular interconnected industry, those that do “never work in this town again!”

Anyway, enough about me; let’s talk about me for a minute (“I’ll take obscure Alan Parsons references for $200 Alex”).

I’ve called myself the “Forrest Gump of IT” and I think it’s sort of an in-joke, for a couple of reasons:

- First, I hate Forrest Gump. Hate the movie and the message it presents. Hate it hate hate it.

- Second, we’re both from Alabama (best thing that came out of Alabama? I-20).

- Third, we’re both been called idiot savants, or odd, or “tetched in the head” – most of the time, for me, it’s not true. Can’t speak for Tom Hanks.

- Finally I like shrimp. So we got that going on.

I started out in creative design years ago, having created my own magazine/fanzine in junior high. I turned my passion for design into a job, designing advertising and magazines for Vulcan Publications in Birmingham. Then a brief career in journalist, reporting on pop culture on TV and in print (this is when I frightened Richard Simmons on a TV show we both appeared on – long story I CANNOT post here… ever).

Then, I saved Timothy Leary from assault… Again, long story, BUT one I may eventually relate here.

After meeting the woman who eventually became my wife (I KNEW those illicit photos I took of her would come in handy someday), I moved to Atlanta to build a future with her, and started designing print catalogs. In between photographing forestry equipment and doing page layouts in Quark Express, I convinced the management of the 40-year old mail-order company I worked at that they needed to put their product line on this new thing called “the Internet” (which I then helped them do). This was around ’90.

As I shifted my focus into web development I joined a web start-up, working in application design as well as product development. After the opportunity presented itself to become a Creative Director at another start-up, I was able to expand my skills into Use Cases, Usability, and Information Architecture.

Then the bubble burst.

Run Joe Run!

I ended up at another start-up and designed and architected a human resources management application. Then THEY ran out of money (this is known in baseball as strike three) and I ended up working for the CDC in UI design and human factors for several years. From there, I landed at Cingular Wireless, now the New AT&T, then the new Cingular, where I happily worked until a better (at the time, at least) opportunity came along…

Now, I’m happily ensconced at a company that does financial services and management applications for the world’s largest banks. If you pay bills on-line, or bank on-line, you’ve probably seen some of my work.

I also have three wonderful sons, Chip, Ernie and Rob (my wife is a VERY patient woman).

I’m blessed beyond reason.

That’s it. Thanks for reading and I hope you took notes, as there WILL be a quiz later…

Just a guy named Joe…

MORE ON ME (as if you care):

Joe’s Tumblr site is here.

Joe’s YouTube channel is here.

Joe’s Digg profile is here.

Joe’s Myspace page, for what its worth, is here.

Joe’s Amazon page is here.

Joe’s twitter page is here.

Photos (family and otherwise) are available here.

An, I’m sure you are wondering, what is Joe’s interests? Well, I’ll tell ya (taken from my pitiful little My Space page):

Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Eurythmics, ELO, movie scores, St. Francis Albert Sinatra, Propellerheads, Kate Bush, They Might Be Giants, Tori Amos, Peter Gabriel, The Rutles, Warren Zevon (RIP – enjoy every sandwich), Harry Nilsson (RIP), and did I mention Peter Gabriel? MST3K, Getting Things Done, The Holy Bible, Watchmen, non-fiction about Entertainment industry, Ian Fleming’s Bond novels, Leo Laporte, Web 2.0, Information Technology, Star Trek, Disney, G.I.Joe, The Godfather, Scrooge, A Christmas Story, Jaws (Most. Perfect. Movie. Ever.), Star Wars, Battlestar: Galactica, The Office, classic Star Trek, Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Prisoner, Twin Peaks, Mythbusters, Dr. Who, Firefly, Homicide, Star Trek II (KHAAAN!), comics, Fark, digg, Family Guy, Futurama, Apple, computers, usability, Ace of Cakes, interaction design, Disney, Firesign Theatre (“Oh, you mean Nancy!”), little baby ducks, old pickup trucks, slow moving trains, and rain.

Oh, and finally, I LOVE any show that had a talking car that helped solve crimes with the help of a super cyborg monkey from the future. Talk about a can’t-lose premise…

Contact Joe at josephcdickerson@gmail.com

Follow Joseph Dickerson on Twitter.