Gary Barber
Me - I work on the web. That should be I live the web, I seem to be online most of the time, I don't sleep much.
Coming from a background in science and working in a mundane position as a Network Admin I have travelled out of the BBS scene (2400 Baud Modem anyone) onto the long standing roads of the web from the early commercialisation in 1994, through the bubble 1.0 to the second wave of today.
I'm not a specialist. No one told me I have to be. I would have ignored them anyway, I'm like that. I have been pushing pixels for over 12 years now mainly running my own gig at radharc, freelancing from time to time. Sometimes doing long term consulting within the corporate cubical space (usually in a moment of insanity). But mostly working on the web.
I have always been interested in design, in drawing and fine arts. People tell me I have talent, I just laugh. The thing I really have a passion for is the front end of the web and the creative process, the user interface. This is where I'm currently most at home. I have a passion for getting it right, making it perfect, I'm a standards zealot. But a business realist. Mind you I can also see the beauty and creative talent of the backend coding which I get obsessed over from time time as well.
I fit in nowhere, but everywhere.
I guess I'm one of these veterans people tell you that don't exist, the people with an arm load of skills.
There is a passion within the web industry that no other industry I have been in can come close too. It's almost tribal. A sense of community locally to round the world. Friends outside of the web industry, mostly look on in awe at this sense of community. I feel very humble and privileged to be part of this community of incredibly talented people.
The aspects of the web I love is the way this community pulls together and people can help to build something better. Building upon each others ideas one at a time concept by new concept. The web is never dull for me, in fact for the most part it is just wave after wave of endless ideas and information. The scary part is, we are just at the beginning. Gold is worthless, information is the new currency.
My mantra: "you only get back what you give".