[quote style=”boxed”]Learn to enjoy the moment. In the past, I’ve gotten too focused on what’s next rather than living in the present.[/quote]
Dave Elchoness co-founded Tagwhat with Don Cramer and Angus Shee in 2009 to create new mobile experiences for people at places. The team launched Tagwhat in 2010 as a location-based social network with augmented reality but found that users did not quite know how to leverage location and soon revised their plans to focus squarely on place-based storytelling in multimedia. Walk by a place and watch as that place comes to life in your mobile in video, audio, and images as you pass. Organized in channels, Tagwhat is poised to do for places what television did for the home: deliver media in context for information, fun, and commerce.
Dave spent the early part of his career practicing law in San Francisco and Boston before joining Qwest Communications’ legal team in Denver. Dave led a large IT organization at Qwest before following his passion into social media and technology. A graduate of Rutgers University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, he lives near Boulder, Colorado with his wife, three sons, two dogs, and two cats. He is not in the market for additional housemates, thanks.
What are you working on right now?
We are putting the finishing touches on Tagwhat’s publishing platform. This will allow anyone to post multimedia stories anywhere in the world for users to enjoy and interact with.
What does your typical day look like?
My three sons wake me up very early. I compulsively check email and Twitter and head to the gym. I go to the office, meet up with the team, and do the best I can to tell the world about Tagwhat.
What is the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
I worked as a short order cook in high school. I learned that it hurts to get burned on a grill but you get used to it.
3 trends that excite you?
Mobile, tablets and new devices, self-serve yogurt and ice cream shops (the latter are far overdue.)
How do you bring ideas to life?
By working with people who are a lot smarter than I am.
What inspires you?
My sons ages 5, 4, and 1.
What is one mistake you’ve made, and what did you learn from it?
Learn to enjoy the moment. In the past, I’ve gotten too focused on what’s next rather than living in the present.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Witty on-line assistance for guys responding to interviews.
What do you read every day, and why?
I skim lots of things from TechCrunch and Mashable to CMO and Advertising Age. Why? Let me get back to you.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read, and why?
“The School Nurse from the Black Lagoon” by Mike Thaler. It helps you be less afraid of the school nurse.
What is your favorite gadget, app or piece of software that helps you every day?
Google Reader. Yes, not too exciting, but it works and gets me what I need every day quickly and efficiently. It also helps me share ideas with my team. Google+ is also pretty great.
When is the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it.
I laugh out loud all the time thanks to my three boys. Recently my 4 year old asked me “How do you say ‘butt’ in English?” The same guy asked if we could make our own fireworks for the 4th of July (I explained to him that he was born into the wrong family for that kind of thing.)
How is Tagwhat different than the other location based services out there?
Tagwhat is focused on great multimedia content at places and making it easy for publishers to offer their audience an opportunity to act. For example, how do you know that a particular movie was shot in your neighborhood, watch a clip, and then add the movie to your Netflix queue? How do you learn that the club you pass by everyday was the place where a particular band got her start, hear some music, and purchase the single? Tagwhat will make this possible. We’re about a new kind of content marketing and engagement with place. A new medium, we think.
Connect :
Twitter: @delchoness
Email: [email protected]
Web:
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.