mark plakias
Writer in Kinderhook, NY
Currently rethinking everything I've worked on in tech (ok, only the tech that's still around).
Along the way I spent 25 years as an analyst in the interactive and new media space with a concentration on telecoms, and did pioneering business cases, expert testimony, and press interviews on the topics of interactive yellow pages, voice mail, audiotex, enhanced 800/900/700, and automated directory assistance.
I was an advisor to most of the early speech recognition companies, including SpeechWorks, Nuance, Phonetic Systems, and early voice cloud providers such as Tellme Networks and Voxeo.
I have been playing jazz piano since I was 16 and have performed both at CBGB and Carnegie Hall as an accompaniest during my stint as a resident of the West Village before it became trendy.
Based on my past research and consulting interests, I am deeply interested in identity, both human and artificial, and how we relate to each other despite the distortion effects of technology.