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From Tech Writer to Tech Guru: Interview with Chris Shipley

March 2, 2009 | Author: Jessica Howard | Filed under: Job Hunting, Moving Up

Today and tomorrow’s posts share career insight from a well-known tech analyst and startup guru. As we speak, Chris Shipley is presiding as executive producer over this year’s DEMO conference, which runs March 1 to 3. Having organized this “launchpad for emerging technologies” for 13 years, Shipley recently announced she’s handing over the reins to focus full-time on her own venture, the Guidewire Group.

As one of our UpModels, she offered some insight on how she went from writing for “this new thing” called PC Week to becoming an authority on technology and startups. Shipley says her career moves have been motivated by opportunities to learn rather than fancy titles or high salaries.

After graduating university with a degree in literature and communications, Shipley started writing for technology magazines including PC Week, PC/Computing and Computer Life, all publications of Ziff Davis Media. As she moved up into senior editorial and managerial roles in the publishing world, she had the opportunity to attend some DEMO conferences. These events provide a venue for selected startups to introduce their products to potential investors, the media and the marketplace.

After sharing some constructive criticism with DEMO founder Stewart Alsop, she ended up landing a job as executive producer of these events in 1996.

Here, Shipley rewinds to when she was 22, living in Boston and looking for “any kind of job” related to writing, newspapers or public relations:

Chris Shipley: I had interviews with everything from a state trooper publication to a children’s wear catalogue to this new thing called PC Week. And I went to interview with them and they called me back, and I didn’t know much about computers.

I had had one programming course in college to satisfy a liberal arts distribution, but at that point Ziff Davis was one of the biggest publishers of consumer publications, including special interest titles like Modern Bride and Popular Psychology. So I figured, “I don’t know much about computers, but maybe someday I can go to one of those other publications.”

Within 3 months of being hired, they announced they were selling those other divisions and only keeping the computer division, so there I was at this computer publication, which I decided I really kind of liked.

During 12 years at Ziff Davis, I went to a number of different publications based on interest. At one point the company moved the publication I was working on from Boston to California. I wasn’t ready to make that move, so I got involved in online (joining the company’s online publishing group) in the early 1990s. It was a point where I got to learn a lot about emerging technology space.

When I left Ziff and was kicking around figuring out what I wanted to do, there was a columnist job at InfoWorld magazine that was open. I started talking to (former editor-in-chief) Stewart (Alsop) about it.

I had been to DEMO twice in the past and had just recently come from DEMO and saw some problems with the event and tried to articulate what I thought the issues were. It was in the spirit of unsolicited feedback. And Stewart said, “That’s all really interesting. We’re looking to hire an executive producer, are you interested?”

I didn’t sit back and say, “Now I want to be an analyst and executive producer of this important computer event.” It just happened.

I can’t tell you I made these career decisions because I knew it was going to lead to some other thing. It was coming to a point of an opportunity and realizing that it would be interesting. I don’t think that at any point I knew what it was going to lead to.

That’s been more the driver, than “I want to be the executive with a particular title and a big salary.” It’s been more about, “Let’s see what I can learn and what kind of adventure this can be.”

Tomorrow’s post shares more insight from Chris Shipley.

Related Resources:

How a Startup Junkie Got her Start: Interview with Natalee Roan

How to Approach a Mentor: Interview with Pamela Skillings

How to Manage Your Career Like a Superstar

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