Walt Ruppar | Consulting - IT Specialist, Digital Media Architect, Developer

I’m a guy that is passionate about what I do and thinks Pugs Rock!. I’m a firm believer in karma and the belief that we all can/should do our part to spread peace in the world as we go about our daily lives. Whether your contributions be rocks or pebbles, the cosmic karma tank is not even close to being full.

When I’m not working on a client engagement(s) or in the home office getting my geek on with virtual machines, code, social media, and Mt. Dew, I enjoy the outdoors. Some of my outdoor activities include playing golf (both with the little white ball and a Frisbee®, just not at the same time!), mountain biking, sailing, scuba diving, camping, hiking, snowboarding, and attempting to surf (still have my Topper from living in San Diego, but don’t catch many waves in CT). If I’m not outdoors or working, then I’m relaxing on the couch watching a Movie or TV Show via Boxee/Netflix/AppleTV/iTunes.

Living in New England, the term Carpe Diem is no joke… don’t get me wrong, I embrace Mother Nature and her seasons but one day it can be a beautiful warm sunny day and the next it is a thunderstorm. Same goes for the fluffy white stuff… there can be no signs of snow in the forecast and a foot dumps overnight! I give the local weather man a lot of credit for keeping his sanity. I digress…

Over the years I have obtained a wealth of knowledge, some of it is actually accredited.  Here’s the short-list, and you may view my full Resume via Emurse or using the widget to the right.

* Follow @waltruppar on Twitter: http://twitter.com/waltruppar
** or on the Web: http://www.google.com/profiles/waltruppar

EDUCATION / CERTIFICATIONS

• Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) in 2008
• CompTIA Security+ in 2008
• Livelink ECM Certification in 2006
• Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management (OGC ITIL/itSMF) in 2003
• B.S. Computer Information Systems, Roger Williams University in 1996

In late 2001 I packed things up on the East coast and made the cross-country trek to the West coast and a paradise called San Diego where I quickly became engulfed in the geek culture.  Being close to LA provided live access to G4TV and The Screen Savers (now Attack of the Show), of course there was San Diego Comic Con, and the general west-coast social vibe all helped fuel my passion.  Social Networking and On-line Web Communities were gaining traction, Bit-Torrent hit the scene, and RSS feeds could now contain audio… Life is good.

In 2003/2004 is when I started to see the writing on the wall.  New Media was being born. Sites like Digg and Twitter along with Podcasts began to give savvy internet/technology users the opportunity to get news and information from an untapped source, unfiltered and unbiased by big corporate sponsors.  This whole scene intrigued and pre-occupied my free time.  My iPod was no longer full of music, but of unplayed podcasts and downloaded RSS feeds.  I was digging away and reading about stories told in a whole different light as compared to the same story told on Fox News or CNN.

Fast forward to late 2007 and it was time I bid farewell to Southern California, so I planned the venture back to the East Coast.  I had my iPhone in hand jailbroken with a custom theme and applications loaded before the iTunes App Store even came to be.  With the TWIT and Diggnation podcasts pumping and now mobile browsing of feeds and sites, I continued to marvel at how far Social Media had come in such a short time.

More to come… Check back soon!