David Mathison is an author, blogger, speaker, entrepreneur,
new media
New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...
activist and event producer. He is best known for his book, ''Be The Media'', an encyclopedic guide to how individuals, organizations, and non-profits can use new media platforms to become content creators and distributors and reach audiences previously reserved for giant corporations.
Life and early career
Mathison was born in
Baldwin, Nassau County, New York
Baldwin is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 33,919 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
Original inhabitants of the a ...
, earned his
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in
international affairs
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...
and
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from the
State University of New York at Brockport
State University of New York Brockport (also known as SUNY Brockport or Brockport State, and previously The College at Brockport) is a public university in Brockport, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY).
History
...
in 1984, and received a
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in international affairs from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1995.
After earning his B.A., he worked in the early software industry and, in 1994, joined
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
NewMedia, where he pioneered online
content syndication
Web syndication is a form of Broadcast syndication, syndication in which content is made available from one website to other sites. Most commonly, websites are made available to provide either summaries or full renditions of a website's recently ad ...
, creating and launching a service called ''Target News'' in 1998.
In 1999, he founded the Kinecta Corporation, which provided infrastructure that streamlined internet content delivery and syndication. In 2002, Kinecta was acquired by the Stellent, Inc., which was acquired by
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...
in 2006 for $440 million. In 2001, he founded the natural E creative group, a diversified media company specializing in print, digital publishing and event production for such non-profit organisations as Home Aid America, and digital and tech industry events such as the Chief Digital Officer Summit. In 2011, Mathison joined the international recruiting firm Chadick Ellig to launch a digital media department.
''Be the Media''
Mathison's book, ''Be the Media,'' published in 2009, is a guide to content creation and distribution for individual creators across all media. Mathison and ''Be the Media'' were featured in an
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
story after over 5,000 copies were pre-sold in eleven days by Mathison on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The book has been used in course work in major journalism, media and communication schools such as
Columbia University School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City.
Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sc ...
,
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...
, and the Nieman Journalism Lab at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
's
Nieman Foundation for Journalism
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University is the primary journalism institution at Harvard. It was founded in February 1938 as the result of a $1.4 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of ' ...
.
Mathison is the host of an award-winning radio show, ''Be The Media'' on
BlogTalkRadio
BlogTalkRadio is a web-based platform that allows podcasters and radio sites and talk show hosts to create live and on-demand talk format content for distribution on the web and podcast distribution channels. Its claim to fame is a web-based 'st ...
.
Philanthropy and activism
In April 2010, Mathison founded HomeAid.net, an annual campaign and event to benefit America's homeless, with
Ken Kragen
Kenneth Allan Kragen (November 24, 1936 – December 14, 2021) was an American music manager, television producer, author, speaker, and non-profit consultant, best known for his role in organizing the 1985 benefit record "We Are the World" and t ...
, who was instrumental in producing "
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album ''We Are the World''. Wit ...
". Mathison is on the board of directors of HomeAid America, which builds and renovates multi-unit shelters for America's temporarily homeless families and individuals, and Speakers Without Borders, an international non-profit organisation created to support professional speakers who are committed to inspiring the human spirit in under-served communities though the power of the spoken word.
Mathison, through bethemedia.org, takes an active role in such issues as media ownership, cable provider franchise agreements and net neutrality.
Mathison was on the board of directors of WebHood (Cambridge, Massachusetts),
- Project Censored's Media Freedom Foundation (Sonoma, California) and the
Mountain Play Association (Mill Valley, California) and the board of conveners of the Community Media Center of Marin (San Rafael, California).
Bibliography
*''Be The Media'' (2009)
*''Killer Content'' by Mai-lan Thomsen (
Addison-Wesley
Addison-Wesley is an American publisher of textbooks and computer literature. It is an imprint of Pearson PLC, a global publishing and education company. In addition to publishing books, Addison-Wesley also distributes its technical titles through ...
; 2000) Foreword by David Mathison
*''Inside Secrets to Venture Capital'' by Brian E Hill and Dee Power (
John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, in p ...
; 2001) Interview with David Mathison
*''XML Handbook" by Brian Goldfarb (Prentice Hall), Third Edition (2000) Contributed article on the implementation of
Information and Content Exchange Information and Content Exchange (ICE) is an XML-based protocol used for content syndication via the Internet. By using XML both sender and receiver have an agreed-upon language in which to communicate. Using a client–server architecture, ICE de ...
References
External links
Official Be The Media website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathison, David
American technology writers
Living people
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni
American bloggers
1960 births
People from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York
State University of New York at Brockport alumni
21st-century American non-fiction writers