Salutations, Steemit Community!

Join me on a journey through the world of software engineering! Let’s discuss these bleeding edge solutions to the world’s problems. On this platform we’re going to discuss software topics like blockchain solutions such as decentralized applications, and how decentralized organizations could change the way business is done. First I’d like to introduce myself and my frame of reference to you.

I’ll start with my motivation for writing in the first place. I want to improve the world around me, and make life more engaging for all people. Our societal systems have become outdated and could benefit from reexamination to devise a modern approach. In my estimation we can effect change through the sharing and discussion of ideas, and getting people motivated to adopt them. The process for changing the world is to identify problems and formulate solutions to them. My intent is to present my perspective on solutions to some of these problems. Most importantly I am looking forward to discussing these ideas with the you.

I have from an early age been a devout lover of technology. From my first game system, an Atari 2600, I became enthralled by these devices that we have engineered to enable us to do any task from simple calculation to full simulation of virtual worlds. The first time my video game glitched displaying hexadecimal characters all over the screen I was inspired to learn why. This motivated me to soak up all the information on computers and software I could find.

I was lucky enough to be one of few teenagers that had home internet access in the late 90’s. My Grandfather had purchased our first desktop computer, tasking me with learning how it operated. He knew computing was the future of our world, and I am thankful for his foresight because it provided me with the means to follow my life long passion for software development. Thanks to him I got to experience the wild days of the early internet before the tech giants built their massive data silos.

My experience with writing software begins in the late 90’s with my first desktop. I sought out information that would allow me to use my computer to do what I wanted it to. I learned how to write .bat files for Windows OS, and how to edit .ini files to modify games such as Command and Conquer. I even built a few websites with HTML and JavaScript. This was the beginning of my journey which would carry me into a college career in software engineering.

Now I’ll take a moment to present my method of tackling the world. I am a first principles kind of thinker and found myself in disagreements with my teachers about the need to understand the underlying parts of my software. The black box perspective of not needing to know what goes on inside a given function or class implementation bothered me. So I took it upon myself to not only learn the language with which I was working, but the fundamental Computer Science that underpinned its implementation choices. I do have an appreciation for software libraries, as they are tested common solutions, although there is value in understanding what it is your software is doing.

Given my pursuit of the fundamentals, I built a foundation upon which I have a skill set that allows me to transition easily between technologies. It isn’t what tools you use but what problems you can solve that is important. It is imperative to not lose sight of the goal of software engineering, efficient problem solving. My experience includes a wide array of technologies building desktop software and web applications. Recently my interests have led me into the domain of decentralized applications and blockchain technology.

Reminiscing about the beginning of the internet does make me lament the current state of the platform. Giant tech companies control all of our data. They have created a market out of our digital lives. I don’t blame them, as it is the contract we agreed to when we chose to use their services. Many of these companies benefit from their users, the so called network effect generates their value. These platforms monetize our output with very little if any compensation to the content creators. We can fix this relationship with technology such as this very platform is designed to do. We can decentralize the internet as it was originally envisioned to be.

It is my goal through engaging with you, the community of this platform, to discuss the problems our global society faces and some of the technological solutions we could present to solve them. Some of these topics will be decentralized applications, software security, design patterns, blockchain technology, and chunking of problem spaces into manageable pieces. Through these discussions we may even examine popular software solutions and their pros and cons.

In summary, I am a lifelong lover of technology who became a software engineer out of love of the craft. I have decades of experience with the progression of technology from the early days of the internet to the present. The world has problems that need solving and I look forward to working together to apply software solutions to them.