A Pleasant Surprise Leads to Contemplation and Gratitude

It's been a while since I've written, after a hellish end to my wife's school year and busy holiday season. But a pleasant surprise came my way today in the email, provoking me to return to my blog.

The Data Shaping Solutions organization was nice enough to confer on me the title of "Data Shaping Certified Analytic Professional." It came about because of my contacts with the group via LinkedIn, which they initiated via my profile.

And although there are far more heavyweight "quants" in this group than I will ever be, it is a pleasant acknowledgment of my work over the last couple of years to incorporate a more data-driven approach to my work as an interactive marketer and communicator. More specifically, my Six Sigma training (plus my two other graduate degrees) qualified me for the group's distinction.

I have not yet completed my Black Belt; although Six Sigma continues to powerfully influence my thinking. As does my renewed interest in philosophy of science and mathematics. (See my second blog for more on that.) The spirit of Pythagoras, it seems, has breathed new inspiration into my career.

Indeed, when thinking about the serendipity of this certification (I did little to seek it out) I have to express appreciation and wonder at the power of the Internet itself, driven by data analysis and mathematics.

When I think about how many old friends and interesting new people I am meeting on the Web, via LinkedIn, Facebook et all; or how Pandora.com's Music Genome Project has filled my days with deeply personalized music, soothing me and helping me to think; how Firefox has been a revelation for me, how Blogger.com has allowed me to capture and polish my thoughts; or all the other little pleasant surprises I find in open source software, online storage resources and more, I can't help but recognize that my life has been truly blessed by powerful minds, many of whom I will likely never meet. And to think it all began with my childhood friend giving me a 286 computer with a 5-inch wide green screen.

Thank you big thinkers, mathematicians, programmers and more, wherever you are. You are changing so many lives, so quickly, for the better.