About

Why a social network education?

This blog is a part of my effort to explore what happens as most of us become connected to each other through digital devices. It’s my belief that we’re in the midst of a social revolution; one that is enabled by information technology, but fueled by basic social needs. This revolution is steadily changing the way we perceive our world, exchange information, structure our economies, establish and maintain relationships, understand our roles in society and distribute power. It reaches into nearly every corner of our societies, is still in its early stages, is probably irreversible and is extremely complex. In other words, it’s a really interesting subject.

These posts will occasionally wander off into territory that looks nothing like ICT or social networking issues, but that’s the nature of exploration. Sometimes your intuition leads you into dead ends, sometimes down well-constructed highways you don’t at first recognize as such, and sometimes down the rabbit hole into new territory.

About me

Originally hailing from Evergreen, Colorado, I currently live in Munich, Germany, where I lecture in International Relations at the University of the German Federal Armed Forces, the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmish-Partenkirchen, and online for the University of Denver.

My work experience includes two years as a foreign expert for the Chinese Academy of Sciences and four years as a broadcast engineer and project manager for CBS Television, where I specialized in fiber optic and microwave communications. I also have more than 10 years of experience teaching university students, government officials and corporate professionals in the United States, China, Scotland and Germany.

I hold a BA from Penn State, an MLitt in International Security Studies and a PhD in International Relations from the University of St Andrews in Scotland. My current research interests include the security dimensions of social networks and mobile technologies, with a focus on emerging markets, which I conduct in cooperation with colleagues from Oxford University and the British Institute of East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.

I also regularly consult with and give keynote presentations to corporate, governmental and security organizations throughout Europe and the United States on the networked information economy and social media issues.