About Blazing Things

Blazing Things is the latest venture from Kevin Dangoor.

There are probably only a couple of reasons why someone would come to an "About" page:

Curiousity, or
Can I trust these people with software I want to use?

Though Blazing Things wouldn't be possible without the work of quite a few people, the buck stops with me. So, I'll give you a little background and you can decide if I've answered your question. If not, feel free to contact me.

My first significant computer experience started with our TRS-80 Model III back in 1980. Back in those days, every little thing you could get the computer to do seemed cool. You learn a lot about working with limited resources on a machine like that.

I started doing software development professionally in 1987, working on the first of two insurance company billing systems. If you're having trouble falling asleep at night, I'd highly recommend reading the specs for an insurance company billing system.

From the mid-80s to the mid-90s, I was a big PC geek. I followed all of the latest hardware developments and every speed and capacity bump that came along. Why did I stop following PC development?

In the mid-90s, PCs had been commoditized to the point where they weren't that interesting any more. A far greater reason, though, was the coming of the Internet.

In 1994, I joined ANS, one of the earliest internet service providers, and a top notch one at that. I was at ANS during a whirlwind time in which the company was bought twice (first by AOL and then by WorldCom) and growth was huge. At ANS, I had positions in network operations, software development, sales and management. There's nothing like fast growth to provide opportunities for a range of experiences.

Since leaving ANS, I founded two companies: Kendermedia and now Blazing Things. I've also worked at three heavily internet related companies: Web Elite, CareerSite and JSTOR.

My first experience with syndication and distribution of articles on the net was with KM|Net News, open source software that I released in 1999 that helps you run a blog-like site. Kendermedia's main site, Byproducts.com was, at the time, powered by this software. Byproducts.com content was available on the My Netscape page as a result.

The early technology basis for products like Zesty News really does reach back more than 5 years!

My experience with more modern blogging began in 2001, when I started my personal "We Write Online" blog. In 2003, I moved my blog to its permanent home at Blue Sky On Mars.

So, in a nutshell:

I've been working professionally with the internet for more than a decade
I love what I do
I'm willing to share thoughts and software where I think I can help

Though Blazing Things is a new business, I do hope that I can earn your trust based on where I've been in the past.