I recoil just a bit whenever I’m referred to in any of these frames.  They bother me because they lock me into a commitment with a specific industry, discipline and expertise — at least in the eyes of the purveyor of such frames.

This commitment problem can be challenging in a career, as you might imagine.  It’s difficult in a world of specialization to be a multi-disciplinarian.  It’s not just confusing to others (who expect others to be something they can label), but it also means that there’s no way I’m going to be one of the best in any given area or discipline.

I’ve traded in specialty and expertise for being at the nexus of several disciplines. No, I won’t be the best at any one thing, but I might be one of the best at knowing how, when and why different things need to come together to act in symphony to solve a problem, or provide an experience.   My multi-disciplined nature enables me to understand enough about many different things, providing me with the perspective to piece together elements from different viewpoints to identify, create and unleash new innovations and insights.

Maybe this “in the middle of it all” specialty is what drives me to be such a passionate advocate for the user experience. After all, experience is a multi-dimensional concept. Perhaps the lack of a traditional specialty is a specialty in experience.

All of this is to say why my “about” page doesn’t say that I’m a technologist, a communicator, a political strategist, a digital musician, a globalization wonk, a web guru or a brand guy.  It could.  But it won’t.

Viva la experience!