Nathan Wright, 32
Social Media Strategist, Entrepreneur, Swimmer
You mentioned you were from Ames and went to Iowa State University. What was your degree?
A B.F.A. (bachelor of fine arts). My areas of emphasis were illustration, painting and something they called computer graphics. It was the late '90s and they barely even had Web design classes yet. Actually I had no idea what I wanted to do back then, but ended up at the agency (The Meyocks Group in West Des Moines) as a Web designer because I taught myself HTML and interface design. Everything I know about running a business and marketing I've learned on the fly.
Why did you start Lava Row, your social media consulting business?
At the ad agency, I handled digital and interactive initiatives for clients, but in 2006 and 2007, I started to see that with the emergence of social networks and with blogging becoming more influential, there was a niche that needed to be filled: giving businesses strategic counsel in these new media.
Do you ever get cyber burnout?
I do my best to shut it off after 5 or 6 p.m. It's a personal boundary I set up for myself so I don't go crazy. It's great to unplug.
What do you do when you unplug?
I like to swim and spend time at home with my wife. I (go to) local drinking establishments and hang out with friends.
So did you meet your wife via social media?
No. We actually went to high school together. When we reconnected, things like MySpace and Facebook didn't exist.
I understand that you don't like being called a "guru" of social media. But, in the view of many people, you are.
If people want to use that word to define us, that's OK. We just don't ever use it ourselves because everything changes so fast in this field. We keep educating ourselves and learning as fast as we can.
What's the next big thing in social media?
Social networks based on location, like Brightkite, Loopt and Foursquare. The interaction with these social networks takes place mostly on your mobile device and less on a laptop or a computer. There may even be wearable technology, as crazy as that sounds, like on your glasses or some sort of badge that you wear that can interact with other places and people.
