Bob Alberti: "You Can Go Your Own Way” Part 2 of 2
This Week's Guest: Bob Alberti
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
If you listened to part one of our time with Bob Alberti, you heard about his captivating adventures in the 1970s during the Wild West days of computers and the early internet. Those tales include using the earliest version of chatrooms, playing multiplayer games across a network, and eventually laying the groundwork for what would become the basis of the search engines we use today. You also heard him talk about what it was like starting and losing two whole companies (for very different reasons) by the time he was just 25 years old. So it goes in the tech world. If you missed that episode, give it a listen first.
Here we share the second half of the discussion, in which we assess the many issues that stem from living in an age when anyone can send data across the world in just a few seconds—issues that Bob was already worried about in the mid-90s when the internet was picking up steam on a consumer level. How can we be better stewards of arguably the most important human inventions since the printing press, especially with all the data security problems and abundance of disinformation now being peddled on practically every platform? There are no easy answers.
Towards the end of this episode, you’ll also hear Bob’s thoughts on investing at a young age, our newfound freedom from cubicles, and some simple tips on choosing a fulfilling career path. Oh, and also a bit about his improv career. Sound like a lot of ground to cover in one episode? It most certainly is. Don’t miss this one.
LINKS AND ARTICLES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Vilification Tennis—A structured improvisational show Bob is a part of, where competitors engage in a battle of insults!
Fearless Comedy Productions, which Bob helped found and remains a member of.
GamBit Multisystems—Bob’s company credited with developing the world’s first MMORPG, along with other commercial email, chat, and interactive games.
Sdf.org—A real, living, working example of a Gopher server you can still use today
“After 32 years, dad is now grad,” article featuring Bob in the Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Sorting through electronic keepsakes: Sentimentality has turned many of our computers into ‘the new attic.’" from the Star Tribune
More About Our Guest
Information Security Architect. Pioneer of the world's 1st browser, Internet Gopher RFC1436, and 1st commercial MMORPG.
As a co-author of the Internet Gopher protocol (RFC 1436) Bob Alberti’s work creating the world's first searchable Internet browser helped foster the growth of the World Wide Web, providing for the rapid distribution of new technologies and software.
Bob created GāmBit MultiSystems, an innovative company that pioneered commercial e-mail, chat, and interactive games. GāmBit's "Scepter of Goth" game is recognized by Internet historian Prof. Richard Bartle of Essex University as the world's first commercial massively multi-user interactive online role-playing game (MMORPG).
Bob is a security architect for the University of Minnesota’s roughly 100,000 students, staff, and faculty. He holds the SABSA Institute’s Foundations certification, and the CISSP and ISSMP from ISC2.
