Die Rückkehr von SPN

Reprinted from SeroTalk.com.

So, what’s the scoop? Is SPN dying a slow death? Well, that’s what skeptics would have you believe, but thank goodness SPN is the intrepid cat that keeps coming back and feeling more than ready to rise to the challenge!

Let’s start with staff changes. To that end, we’ll begin with your Serotek Communications Director. I oversee the company’s external channels. Hence, the SPN platform and its staff fall under my supervision, an excitingly daunting prospect to be sure. My philosophy for SPN moving forward is pretty straightforward: Recruit the best talent to bring you the best information you can count on.

But, I am boring. Let’s move onto a couple of the people who are the real stars behind this operation.

Derek Lane and Hope Povenmire are Serotek’s new Co-Content Directors. They have quickly become my trusted pilots at the helm, and our highly engaging strategy sessions make me confident you are going to be in really good hands. For everything that goes well, thank them. For anything that goes wrong, blame me.

Derek in His Own Words

My primary hobby and professional work have always dealt in different aspects of audio production. I learned how to run live sound at church–where we run mixes for the house and musicians. My work there exposed me to different microphones and maximizing peoples’ voices with a variety of equipment. When Sound Forge rolled out, I moved my work away from a minidisc recorder and into computers.

I graduated from Gardner-Webb University with a major in communications and an interdisciplinary minor in music. The college experience taught me valuable interviewing techniques, recording styles, and collaboration with different personalities to design optimal products. I enjoy special interests ranging from teaching an audio fundamentals course with the Cisco Academy to audio restoration and Internet broadcasting on such stations as TBRN, where I am joined by Patrick Perdue and other talented personalities.

I am no stranger to SPN. You’re familiar with my work if you’ve been a fan of Triple Click Home and High Contrast, among other imaging products around the Network. In my new role my creativity will be stretched, and while there are moments when it can feel daunting, I am blessed to count on a community so willing to pitch in their assistance. If there is something that is missing that you want to see, let me know. I’ll be monitoring the SAMNet forums, and doing what I can to act on your ideas.

SPN and SAMNet are solid platforms. I can’t wait to work with you to make it stronger and better than ever.

Hope In Her Own Words

I grew up in a small town in Ohio. My family encouraged me to do what I wanted to do and not let my blindness stand in my way. Even though it really scared my mom, she encouraged me to cook on the stove, ride bikes, build tree houses and hit the ski slopes in Vermont.

Music helps me in so many ways. It is my water colors; my clay, my garden. It allows me to create, and, put into music emotions that words alone could never begin to fully express. As long as I can remember, music has been a part of my everyday life. I love playing the piano, the Celtic harp, the accordion, the recorder and really just about anything I can use to produce notes. My attempt at the violin was brief, though at least I was able to calm the screeching cat I initially produced. I enjoy singing, almost as much as I enjoy playing, though I love choral singing and hope to do it again one day.

My interests are pretty diverse. I enjoy cooking. It’s intriguing to combine a number of ordinary ingredients to create something memorable. Maybe that’s why I enjoy the way some authors can string a few words to create awesome plots. I love epic fantasy, thrillers, and yes, even a few well-written Nora Roberts books now and then. I also love to travel; to see new places and experience the way people work within different cultures.

I’m a very curious person. When I learn something, I want to learn as much as I can from it. The same thing can be said for when I take on projects. It’s either all or nothing. If I take on a task for someone, I know that I gave it my best. Those are the attributes I plan on contributing to Serotek and for you, our loyal followers.

Current Momentum

Our guys have been hard at work rebuilding the wonderful platform you know and love.

Over on SAMNet, an awesome feature of the Accessibility Anywhere package, the user forums have been hopping with suggestions we’ve been able to tackle on your behalf. Among other fixes, we’ve improved the organization of the described audio library to better help you find what you’re looking for. We’ve revamped the sound quality where you told us it was lagging. You wanted to see recent listings in television, not just movies. We heard, obeyed, and we’re looking forward to making other improvements to make SAMNet the place you turn to for the best in information and entertainment in the company of good friends.

We’re proud to report the SeroTalk and Triple Click Home Twitter feeds have been reactivated. If you’re not following, now’s a great time to change that!

Our podcast rosters are bringing back a few familiar voices along with some fresh talent. Technology will always be a staple of the SPN brand, but in the New Year we are branching out to other special interests. You said the world does not revolve around Apple and Android. We hear you loud and clear and have recruited talent to meet you at your interests. We will of course continue relying on the combined wizardry of Derek Lane and Patrick Perdue to create that clean, crisp audio landscape you know and love.

Finally, SPN is more than just a digital tapestry for your ears. We’ve already begun recruiting writers to boost our blog for those of you pressed for time or who prefer the written word to the spoken one. We look forward to covering everything from entrepreneurship to product reviews, from current events to financial management. In time we hope for our blog to play a lead in stimulating great debates over hot topics of impact to the community.

So, yeah, you could say we’ve been busy. Things are definitely looking up, and we really want you to be a part of our upward momentum. Stay tuned for regular programming to resume just around the corner. Sign up for our RSS feed or use the e-mail sign-up form below to get regular updates on current happenings.

Spread the word: SPN … has returned!