By day

Everything is digital. The pixels on this screen, the music you listen to, the letter you write, the message you send your family.

While the transformation of the world from an analog one has been underway for quite some time, it continues. In that, new generations of technology replace the old. Creative destruction is alive and well, and we all benefit from it.

In here, I fit. A senior solution architect at Contentful, I consult and advise our customers through their digital transformations and revolutions as they adopt our software-as-a-service, API-first content platform. Whether that means analyzing their data architecture, application stack, workflows, or content strategy, I untangle their problems and guide them to the appropriate end: meeting their business goals.

The public speaking (selected)

The content model and your content velocity: the interplay, strategies, and tactics

Conference: Fast Forward
Date: 2021 November 5
Speaker: Jim

Let the robots do the work

Conference: IASA Conference, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Date: 2016 September 28
Speaker: Jim
Abstract: Conference web page

Leveraging partnerships to manage and preserve the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty records

Conference: IASA Conference, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Date: 2015 September 30
Speakers: Jim, Brandon Burke
Abstract: Conference web page

The basics of archival preservation

Conference: Audio Engineering Society Convention, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Date: 2011 October 22
Speaker: Jim
Abstract: Convention web page

A summary appears in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, Vol. 60, No. 1/2, 2012 January/February.

By night

Music

Music rules everything around me. I’ve played off and on in bands for over half of my life, and that’s given me memories and life lessons I wouldn’t trade for the world. Some fun facts from my time in bands:

  • The first gig I played in my first band in San Francisco was at AT&T Park.

  • The next was in an Irish pub in the Inner Richmond at a friend's birthday party.

  • A week or two after my last gig in DC, that venue got condemned. We rocked it that hard.

  • We shot a music video in beautiful SoMa, San Francisco called Robot Prostitute. Hilariously, I'm not on the recording, but in the video.

Movement

Some dance to remember, some dance to forget. Some work out for physical fitness, some work out for mental fitness. To those options, I say yes.

These days, you'll find me moving heavy things in every which direction at a fantastic gym that caters equally to professional baseball players, strongman competitors, and run-of-the-mill everyday Joes such as myself. Overhead keg carries are far too fun. You should try it!

Additionally, martial arts has always played a big part of my life. I've trained in Muay Thai under martial artists instructor extraordinaire Kenya Prach alongside professional MMA fighters. Before that, I earned my black belt in Kenpo karate under Jim Clapp, a direct student of Ed Parker in the Kenpo family tree.

Baseball

Baseball is the greatest team sport ever devised. If you don't agree, we probably can't be friends.

Copyright © Jim Sam