Why I Joined PublicEarth

Just over a month ago I virtually disappeared from my normal life, and took a position as the Chief Product Officer at a start-up called PublicEarth. PublicEarth is in Boulder, Colorado - and has been in "stealth mode" for more than a year. In the next week they will expose the beta site to view, and about a month after that, my "consumerization" of the product will begin to roll out.

A new job, very different from nonlinear editing, different from Petroglyph, and different from writing DROIDMAKER. The question arises: why did I join PublicEarth?

I joined for one reason: i continue to dislike my alternatives when it comes to researching places online. I don't think there are really any GREAT travel sites. And I don't think anyone has come close to understanding me well enough to help me get ideas for new things to do, even around where i live. I joined because Google is really really great for many things, but the enjoyable act of exploration and discovery is not one of them. Neither is Yelp. I like them both very much. But this isn’t that.

I don’t think I’m stupid, but frequently find myself frustrated when I’m trying to prepare for a trip. The consequences of bad choices are sometimes high. The website alternatives are complicated, and the features I need are either not present, or available if I can navigate through the interfaces to use them. So I don’t. I don't have the patience or the stamina. How can that be? I'm a professional geek. But tell me to do research for a trip and I groan. To me that means there is room for improvement.

I joined because I met a guy, Duncan McCall, who was not only passionate about mapping and geography, but he was a true explorer... the kind of guy who goes places dangerous and far, comfortable with discomfort when accompanied by adventure... a guy who has actually worried whether his vehicle would strike a landmine, and struggled to cross international borders. I am not a person like this. I wish I were a global adventurer, but honestly, i'm not. My adventures, while often risky and scary, are less muddy. I joined because I liked Duncan's vision -- for creating this public wiki, and gathering rich data on all those unusual places in the world, and helping people share and discover these places.

I joined because I think a few of my work experiences might help him take that vision and make it useful on the web; in particular, working at Netflix; there they innovated continuously, delivering an award winning website. I learned a lot there: a website based on consumer science with a culture of simplicity. Netflix's mission was "to connect people to movies they'll love" and i think PublicEarth's mission is to "connect people to places they'll love." See? I've been training for this job for years.

So I joined PublicEarth. We’re just at the dawning of the Consumer-GPS age (I have enjoyed a number of these ages dawning and I suggest this is a nice place to be); there is still an opportunity in terms of user experience and product innovation, and finally, Duncan and his team have been laying the groundwork for more than a year – It's easy to arrive in time for the fun part. This next 12 months are going to be interesting.

There you have it: the one reason I joined PublicEarth.