John Maxwell Hobbs has been working with computer multimedia and telecommunications for over twenty years. He has extensive experience in communicating complex technological ideas to the general public through digital media, as well as guiding the development of cutting edge Internet applications and mobile application strategy and development.

In addition, he has hands-on experience in video, audio and digital media production, and maintains a full digital media production system of his own.

He is the founder of Oden Konsult, a digital media consulting firm specializing in both information architecture and digital creative services. Oden Konsult's customers include Ericsson, IKEA and Goodyear. Prior founding the company, he worked for the Swedish telecommunications company, Ericsson as the Chief Information Architect of the Corporate Web Group where he helped to guide a multimillon dollar web portal platform project that helped increase productivity and reduce IT costs by tens of millions of dollars. As, the Head of Creative Development for Ericsson CyberLab in New York City, he lead a developer education project that became Ericsson Mobility World, a global resource for developers of mobile internet applications.

His contributions to the early days of music on the web have been documented in the book "Virtual Music" by William Duckworth.

From the book:

"In a review of his interactive online instrument, Web Phases, Kyle Gann of the Village Voice described it as being 'on a noticeably higher artistic level' than the earliest tape-music and computer-music pieces, concluding that 'the potential for social reorientation is even more incredible,' and predicting 'we'll look back and say 1998 was the year our relationship to music entered a new era.'"

He is the Vice President of the board of directors of Vanguard Visions, an organization dedicated to fostering the work of artists experimenting with technology and also served on the Digital Arts subcommittee of the Mayor's Council on New Media in New York City.  His interactive composition Web Phases was one of the winners of ASCI's Digital '98 competition.  He has collaborated with artist/programmer Mark Napier on Ripple, an interactive musical instrument and is currently in the midst of "Cinema Volta: Daily Ambience," a project in which he has committed to recording and releasing a new piece of music every day for a year.

John Maxwell Hobbs can be reached at: john.maxwell.hobbs@odenkonsult.com.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Redsign of Ericsson's websites on both Internet and intranet.

"Cinema Volta: Daily Ambience" - a web music project.

"Retina" - New York. Composed the score for a work of video art by visual artist Cora Mancini.

EARTH TO THE UNKNOWN POWER - The Kitchen - US/Le Thoronet Abbey - France 

Developed and produced the "Virtual Abbey" with David Hykes. Through the use of audio codecs and ISDN transmission, the voices of The Harmonic Choir were transmitted from New York to Toulon, played back in a 12th century abbey, and the resulting acoustic reverberation was transmitted back to New York in real time. The concert was attended by audiences in both cities and released on CD by Catalyst/BMG

ARTICLES (all links are to archived versions)

Towards Hypermusic -Leonardo
Introduction to the Java Sound API - Earthweb.com
Java Sound MIDI API - Earthweb.com
Synchronized Multimedia Interface Language - Earthweb.com
Customizing Multimedia With A SMIL - Earthweb.com
Working With SMIL - Earthweb.com 
Real Text and Real Pix -Earthweb.com 
Perspective: Turning Cybercasts From Music Promotion to Art Form-@New York 
Sound On The Internet  - Earthweb.com

LECTURES 

Chairman - eBiz UK Summit 2003 - Glasgow, Scotland.

TAMING THE BEAST- "OLD GROWTH" WEB SITES, EBUSINESS AND XML
ebiz Summit 2002 - The Belfry, Birmingham, UK

UNIFIYING MULTIPLE GLOBAL WEB INITITATIVES
Strategic e-Business Integration - Amsterdam

DELIVERING CONTENT TO MULTIPLE DEVICES - ERICSSON.COM, A CASE STUDY
Digital Content Management 2001 - Stockholm

FORM FACTORS AND FUNCTIONS
CTIA Wireless 2000 - New Orleans

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIRD PARTY DEVELOPERS IN THE EMERGING WIRELESS WORLD
EPOCWorld Developer's Conference - London

THE ACOUSTICS OF CYBERSPACE
Parsons School of Design - New York

MULTIMEDIA ON THE WEB
Lecture to "Telecommunications for Artists" class at the School of Visual Arts

ARTS ORGANIZATIONS AND THE WEB
Panel Discussion, Lincoln Center, Fall 1996 Employment History

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

2003 – Present Founder Oden Konsult AB, Stockholm Sweden

Oden Konsult is a Stockholm-based digital media consultancy specializing in helping European companies in the areas of enterprise architecture, intranet portals, digital media and system integration. Clients include Ericsson, Citat Journalistgruppen, Goodyear Nordic, Absolut Vodka and others.

2000 – September 2003 - Chief Information Architect – Ericsson Corporate Web Group, Ericsson Headquarters - Stockholm  

•  Worked with Ericsson's marketing and communications organizations to develop an effective strategy to promote Ericsson's products and solutions on the Internet.

•  In charge of Internet and intranet information architecture and technology strategies for Ericsson globally.  

•  Played a major role in the selection of software and suppliers for Ericsson's Enterprise Portal platform.

•  Was responsible for defining functional requirements and information architecture for Ericsson's portal.

•  Oversaw the relaunch of Ericsson's global website with a new visual and interaction design and content management system.  

•  Responsible for overseeing an annual technical budget of 25,000,000 SEK.

•  Responsible for ensuring on-time delivery of new systems and functionality.

1998 - 2000 - Head of Creative Development - In charge of research and development and prototyping of digital multimedia applications and devices for Ericsson.

•  Initiated the creation of the Ericsson Mobility World concept.   Mobility World is Ericsson's global outreach program to promote the use and development of mobile applications by third parties.

•  Worked both within Ericsson and with external software companies to develop business cases, marketing and development strategies, and technical roadmaps for mobile applications.

•  Trained 3rd party software developers in the techniques of creating software for mobile platforms in the areas of WAP, GPRS and 3G.

•  In residence at Ericsson's Singapore CyberLab to consult on the development of the Delphi Pad, a wireless, Linux-based tablet computer.

•  Consulted on the development of the user interface for the WAP browser on the Ericsson R320. This design was used in Ericsson phones up through the T20.

1997 - 1996 - Senior Manager of Multimedia Technology - EarthWeb - New York City

Initially hired as web site producer, responsible for the architecture and delivery of chatplanet.com, a directory of Java chatrooms.   The site was designed, developed and launched in a six week period.  

•  Led research and development effort focused on peer to peer audio and video conferencing as part of the infamous "Tesla" project.   Was an evaluator of the Java Media Framework for Sun Microsystems.

•  Designed and produced a database-driven dynamic site, listing locations and events of more than 6,000 EarthWeb Chat sites on the web.  

•  Supervised a team comprised of Java programmers, graphic designers, and customer service agents.

1991-96 - Producing Director/New Technologies - The Kitchen Center for Video, Music, Dance, Performance, Film and Literature - New York, NY  

•  Developed and produced the "Virtual Abbey" with David Hykes. Through the use of audio codecs and ISDN transmission, the voices of The Harmonic Choir were transmitted from New York to Toulon, played back in a 12th century abbey, and the resulting acoustic reverberation was transmitted back to New York in real time. The concert was attended by audiences in both cities and released on CD by Catalyst/BMG

•  Responsible for producing over 150 evenings of performance featuring over 500 artists. Also acting as producer for annual fundraising performances at large venues. These events have included performances by Philip Glass, Robert Wilson, Eric Bogosian, and Laurie Anderson.

•  Responsible for implementing ISDN video and audio technologies for use in multi-site performances involving such artists as Future Sound of London (ISDN Album), Mort Subotnick, Alvin Lucier, DJ Spooky, and others. Created The Kitchen's website in early 1994, which was the first site of it's kind.

1989-92 – Freelance Video Camera Operator – New York, NY

•  Regular videocamera operator for concerts at The Pladium, NYC.

•  Video documentation and editing at The Kitchen and other performance venues in New York

1986-91 - Freelance Sound Engineer - New York, NY  

•  Worked as a sound engineer for live performances by They Might Be Giants, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, and others.

•  Film sound engineer for Propaganda, The End, and other production companies.

•  Owned and operated 208 Studios, a rehearsal and recording studio.  

1983-86 - Marketing and Technical Support - Voicemail International, Inc. - New York, NY and Santa Clara, CA.  

•  In charge of joint marketing and development program between Voicemail International and Digital Equipment Corporation for the Eastern United States.

•  Responsible for training DEC Office Automation sales force and troubleshooting installed base of dedicated systems.

•  Collaborated on creation of marketing plans and troubleshooting manuals for dedicated systems.  

 

AFFILIATIONS 

Chairman, Teamsite User's Group - Northern Europe
Vice President, Board of Directors of Vanguard Visions - New York, Stockholm
Member of the Mayor's Council on New Media in New York City- Digital Arts subcommittee
Member of the Audio Engineering Society