It was an honor and a thrill, frankly, to be interviewed by Jon Udell for his “Interviews with Innovators” series over at IT Conversations. It’s taken me two weeks to blog about it because I couldn’t figure out quite what to say. Somehow “Look, Ma!” didn’t seem right, though it’s pretty much the way I felt.

When in doubt, give thanks. I was the voice on the other end of the telephone, but I wouldn’t have had much to say without a whole lot of other voices in my head, all of whom deserve much wider recognition.

I always need to thank my former boss, UMW CIO Chip German, and my old team of Martha, Jerry, Andy, Jim, and Patrick in the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies. Perhaps I can get some kind of widget for my blog that identifies me as “proud former coach of the Dream Team” and put the badge on blog posts like this one. (Can the TV contract be far behind?) I also want to thank Doug Kaye, Executive Director of the Conversations Network, of which IT Conversations is a part. Doug took me on as a post-production audio engineer for IT Conversations back in March of 2005, just as the podcasting revolution was getting underway. I learned a lot from Doug and got to work on some great shows, including presentations by Doug Engelbart and John Markoff (part one and part two). Doug’s done all of us a huge service with IT Conversations and the Conversations Network, and he’s influenced my own vision of what a truly beneficial information future could look like. The channel may be called “IT Conversations,” but a more accurate title would be “Our World–and get ready for it.”

And of course there are those colleagues here at UMW and elsewhere who keep me alert and moving ahead–you know who you are.

My biggest thanks, of course, go to Jon Udell. It was both daunting and exciting talking to Jon: daunting because the man is so quick and deeply thoughtful, and exciting, well, for the same reasons. And I have to say, with apologies for the tease, that the conversation after the interview was every bit as enjoyable and educational for me as the interview itself was, and that’s saying something.

The plain fact is that Jon’s a very, very inspiring fellow, and has been a tremendous influence on my thinking ever since Jerry Slezak told me about the now-classic Heavy Metal Umlaut Band screencast. If it’s not presumptious to say so, Jon’s a kindred spirit, even when we’re debating an issue, as we have been recently (and you can hear about it in the podcast). He’s also one of the few people I’ve ever met who can be in absolute full-tilt high persuasive gear in a conversation and then suddenly pause, look you in the eye, and say, “y’know, you’re right”–just at the moment I feel that my own argument is on very shaky ground.

I’d go into more detail, but I’m sure I’d embarrass him. I’ll save the rest of the encomium for another post (or ten). Instead, I’ll close now by thanking Jon for the chance once again to think through some questions, challenges, concerns, and dreams in conversation with him. That’s a privilege I do not take lightly or for granted. The fact is, talking to Jon is always what I call a great gig. We in higher education are very fortunate to have his voice, mind, heart, and spirit in company with us. I hope we can travel together for a long time to come.