No, you are not having déjà vu. I have accepted a position at litl, LLC and could not be more happy about being a part of such an innovative and talented group of people. Here are the FAQ: When do you start? June 21 was my first day (today). Are you moving to Boston? Even though I love it there, I won’t be moving to Boston. I will be working remotely. What will your title be? I am a Channel Developer. What will you be doing there? I’ll be joining the Channel team, developing content for the web book and the upcoming web-based TV product. I’ll also be working with the talented SDK and evangelism team consisting of: Ashley Atkins Kathyrn Rotondo Ryan Canulla and Chuck Freedman In addition of being a part of a supremely savvy company and development platform, I’ll be helping evangelize the litl SDK at various conferences and related events. My first tour stop with litl will be: Columbus Flash/Flex User Group – August 13, 2010 I can’t mention any more specifics just yet (more soon as it becomes finalized), but there are a lot of conferences left in the year and a lot of blogs to contribute to. Expect much more in the way of litl and contextual application architecture here on Commented Out and in person at a RIA event near you. So, why the move? This is a loaded question, but I’ll cover the biggest reasons. 1. Growth as a developer. Let me be clear about the folks at litl: there are a LOT of SERIOUSLY intelligent people working here, from a wide array of backgrounds. From design and UX, to OS engineering, to Flash development/SDK, to hardware integration, to marketing, there is no shortage of insight and world-class professionalism. Being constantly exposed to that level of knowledge diversity is the type of environment where you quickly can jump light years ahead in your personal abilities. It’s like the NBA players that no one knew until they played with Michael Jordan, vastly improving their skills just by being around him. 2. Being able to show my work. This sounds odd, I’m sure, but for the majority of my career, I’ve been under strict NDA, and many of you know the pain of trying to explain what it is we do. When I showed my dad litl’s site, he got super excited. “How do I set my home page to litl.com?” he asked me. Every time I talk to him now, he mentions how cool he thinks the litl web book and OS concept is. He now has something tangible that he can touch, see, and experience for himself, but more importantly, that he can show other people as a proud dad. The same goes for my wife, the ultimate salesperson, who has already started carrying the web book around in effort to draw interest from the general public. Well, that and she “loves it!” Those conversations with friends and family about what I do just got a lot easier. It also helps that I believe in litl as a platform and as a respected player in our industry. Which bring me to my next point: 3. litl has become a driving force in the Flash Platform. It’s pretty awesome to work for a company that is embracing Flash on all levels of product integration and to see that the Flash Platform itself is being furthered by the products that are being delivered by litl. I heard some great quotes from John Underkoffler (the inventor of the real-life Minority Report UI) during his TED talk on the cloud as an interface:
“The cloud IS the interface…” “… we’ve got the Web and, increasingly, the cloud, which is fantastic, but also in the regard in which an interface is fundamental, kind of a distraction. So we’ve forgotten to invent new interfaces.” And that’s exactly where litl comes in. litl’s ground-breaking OS has been so successful because of the right balances of design and development, the sweet spot of a wonderful user experience. Harnessing the cloud by way of the Flash Platform and delivering it in such a beautifully crafted package was no simple task, and yet litl presented developers and consumers with something totally new, and technologically unique. Now THAT is exciting, and a big part of my decision to come aboard. Needless to say, it’s a huge move and even a bit overwhelming, but one that I know is a step in the right direction for my family, and for my career. However, the fact that I get to work with Chuck Freedman may prove a little confusing for many. Oh, and you might be wondering about the significance of the photo above. When I got my suitcase out to pack for my trip to Boston, there were only 2 things in it: the cap I bought at my first Red Sox game, and the pack of cards that explain the design philosophy behind the litl. If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.