Hi. I’m Tom Abate. My Ruminations arise from a lifetime of working class and white-collar experiences, including more than 30 years of writing about Silicon Valley. I hope you’ll find my work useful, informative and, at times, entertaining.
I have many interests, but just one cause: helping writers, artists, artisans, and other self-employed people get a better ROI for their creative and commercial efforts online.
… cloud computing has fenced off cyberspace and created a handful of ginormous cash registers and vending machines in the sky …
The internet was designed as a virtual frontier where anyone could peddle ideas, products, services, things we haven’t yet imagined. But cloud computing has fenced off cyberspace and created a handful of ginormous cash registers and vending machines in the sky. Money goes up. Stuff comes down. Artists and artisans can’t compete with the cloud – unless and until they work together to develop easy-to use software and business systems so they can create virtual villages – communities of interest and marketplaces in which ordinary people can thrive.
I’ve been a “beat reporter” for years. I burrow into a topic, learn what’s going on, and share what I know. I’m sure there are folks – maybe you –already doing stuff along these. Please find me if I don’t find you first. There’s lots to be done, but I truly believe amazing things become possible when people of like mind work together.
I invite you to learn more about me from the biographical capsules and resume below.