Bob Alberti's guest appearances

Bob Alberti

Stayin' Alive in Tech

Dive Bar Mitzvah

David Campbell

Kara Goldin

Tom Peters

Cindy Gallop

Rand Fishkin

Philip Rosedale

Ellen Petry Leanse

Kjell Bjorgen

Jenifer Daniels

Howard Rheingold

Bryan Miller

Owen Thomas

Danny Sigelman

Elisa Camahort Page

Heidi Williams

OwlTail

In our first episode with Bob Alberti, we heard what it was like to be at the forefront of the new world of computers and early internet of the 1970s, along with all the innovations he had a key role in during the decades that followed. Do you play games like World of Warcraft? Thank Bob for that. Ever search for something on the internet? He helped develop that, too. (If you missed the first episode, give it a listen, too.)  While Bob was certainly excited to see the primitive internet of the 1970s and 80s develop into what we use now, the rapid advances in speed, usage, and capabilities presented a whole new set of problems—many of which he was already sounding the alarm on in the mid-90s. What do we do about data security and the massive potential disinformation that practically anyone can put out there? There wasn’t an easy answer then, and there definitely isn’t one now.  In this second of two episodes with Bob, you’ll hear him discuss why the creation of the internet is just as significant as the invention of the first printing press, and the unintended consequences that come with being able to send information from one corner of the world to the next in a matter of seconds. He also reflects on the new world we find ourselves in since the pandemic began and how, if it weren’t for the newfound need to work from home, many of us may have been unnecessarily bound to cubicles for the next few decades.  Ultimately, Bob closes his time with us by offering some simple advice on determining what your life and career path should be—advice that comes from a man who’s tried his hand at more than a few things in life, including his more newfound passion: improv.  LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:   GamBit Multisystems—Bob’s company credited with developing the world’s first MMORPG, along with other commercial email, chat, and interactive games. Sdf.org—A real, living, working example of a Gopher server you can still use today “After 32 years, dad is now grad,”  article featuring Bob in the Minneapolis Star Tribune “Sorting through electronic keepsakes: Sentimentality has turned many of our computers into ‘the new attic.’"  from the Star Tribune  ABOUT THIS PODCAST Stayin' Alive in Tech is an oral history of Silicon Valley and technology. Melinda Byerley, the host, is a 20-year veteran of Silicon Valley and the founder of Fiddlehead™, a digital marketing intelligence firm, based in San Francisco. We really appreciate your reviews, shares on social media, and your recommendations for future guests. And  check out our Spotify playlist for all the songs we refer to on our show. 

In our first episode with Bob Alberti, we heard what it was like to be at the forefront of the new world of computers and early internet of the 1970s, along with all the innovations he had a key role in during the decades that followed. Do you play games like World of Warcraft? Thank Bob for that. Ever search for something on the internet? He helped develop that, too. (If you missed the first episode, give it a listen, too.)  While Bob was certainly excited to see the primitive internet of the 1970s and 80s develop into what we use now, the rapid advances in speed, usage, and capabilities presented a whole new set of problems—many of which he was already sounding the alarm on in the mid-90s. What do we do about data security and the massive potential disinformation that practically anyone can put out there? There wasn’t an easy answer then, and there definitely isn’t one now.  In this second of two episodes with Bob, you’ll hear him discuss why the creation of the internet is just as significant as the invention of the first printing press, and the unintended consequences that come with being able to send information from one corner of the world to the next in a matter of seconds. He also reflects on the new world we find ourselves in since the pandemic began and how, if it weren’t for the newfound need to work from home, many of us may have been unnecessarily bound to cubicles for the next few decades.  Ultimately, Bob closes his time with us by offering some simple advice on determining what your life and career path should be—advice that comes from a man who’s tried his hand at more than a few things in life, including his more newfound passion: improv.  LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: <ul> <li><a href="https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=211215219043201" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> GamBit Multisystems</a>—Bob’s company credited with developing the world’s first MMORPG, along with other commercial email, chat, and interactive games.</li> <li><a href="https://sdf.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sdf.org</a>—A real, living, working example of a Gopher server you can still use today</li> <li>“After 32 years, dad is now grad,” <a href="https://www.startribune.com/after-32-years-dad-is-now-grad/151058065/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> article featuring Bob</a> in the Minneapolis Star Tribune</li> <li>“Sorting through electronic keepsakes: Sentimentality has turned many of our computers into ‘the new attic.’" <a href="https://www.startribune.com/sorting-through-electronic-keepsakes/139538643/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> from the Star Tribune</a></li> </ul> ABOUT THIS PODCAST <a href="https://stayinaliveintech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stayin' Alive in Tech</a> is an oral history of Silicon Valley and technology. Melinda Byerley, the host, is a 20-year veteran of Silicon Valley and the founder of Fiddlehead™, a digital marketing intelligence firm, based in San Francisco. We really appreciate your reviews, shares on social media, and your recommendations for future guests. And <a href="https://www.stayinaliveintech.com/podcast/2018/8/s2-e1-cindy-gallop-talk-dirty-to-me-sextech" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> check out our Spotify playlist for all the songs we refer to on our show. </a>

Bob Alberti: Go Your Own Way (Pt. 2)

Bob Alberti epitomizes what this podcast is all about: stayin’ alive in the often unforgiving world of technology. In the backdrop of Minnesota, which Bob calls the “Silicon Valley before there was Silicon Valley,”  he started (and lost) two separate tech companies, developed the world’s first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMOPRPG), and helped create a foundational internet search program that paved the way for the ones we use today.  While that sounds exciting, those milestones were not without plenty of losses and hardships along the way. In this first of two episodes with him, Bob is candid about what it’s like to be one of the builders of the internet we use today, why developing cutting-edge tech innovations is not always guaranteed to make you rich, and how Al Gore really did play a big role in creating the World Wide Web.  You’ll also hear Bob recall what it was like using chat rooms, email, and multiplayer network games in the 1970s, and how things really aren’t that different 50 years later.  LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:   GamBit Multisystems Solid State: Minnesota's High-tech History—A program from Twin Cities PBS documenting how Minnesota was once the global epicenter of computing. It’s free to watch! Sdf.org — A real, living, working example of a Gopher server you can still use today The generation you may have never heard of, Generation Jones Ringworld, by Larry Niven “After 32 years, dad is now grad,” article featuring Bob in the Minneapolis  Star Tribune “Sorting through electronic keepsakes: Sentimentality has turned many of our computers into ‘the new attic.’" from the  Star Tribune   MUSICAL INSPIRATION FOR THIS EPISODE ON SPOTIFY:  Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac  ABOUT THIS PODCAST Stayin' Alive in Tech is an oral history of Silicon Valley and technology. Melinda Byerley, the host, is a 20-year veteran of Silicon Valley and the founder of Fiddlehead®, a digital marketing intelligence firm, based in San Francisco. We really appreciate your reviews, shares on social media, and your recommendations for future guests. And  check out our Spotify playlist for all the songs we refer to on our show. 

Bob Alberti epitomizes what this podcast is all about: stayin’ alive in the often unforgiving world of technology. In the backdrop of Minnesota, which Bob calls the “Silicon Valley before there was Silicon Valley,”  he started (and lost) two separate tech companies, developed the world’s first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMOPRPG), and helped create a foundational internet search program that paved the way for the ones we use today.  While that sounds exciting, those milestones were not without plenty of losses and hardships along the way. In this first of two episodes with him, Bob is candid about what it’s like to be one of the builders of the internet we use today, why developing cutting-edge tech innovations is not always guaranteed to make you rich, and how Al Gore really did play a big role in creating the World Wide Web.  You’ll also hear Bob recall what it was like using chat rooms, email, and multiplayer network games in the 1970s, and how things really aren’t that different 50 years later.  LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: <ul> <li><a href="https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=211215219043201" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> GamBit Multisystems</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.tpt.org/solid-state/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Solid State: Minnesota's High-tech History</a>—A program from Twin Cities PBS documenting how Minnesota was once the global epicenter of computing. It’s free to watch!</li> <li><a href="https://sdf.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sdf.org</a> — A real, living, working example of a Gopher server you can still use today</li> <li>The generation you may have never heard of, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Jones" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Generation Jones</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61179.Ringworld" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ringworld</a>, by Larry Niven</li> <li>“After 32 years, dad is now grad,” article featuring Bob in the Minneapolis <a href="https://www.startribune.com/after-32-years-dad-is-now-grad/151058065/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Star Tribune</a></li> <li>“Sorting through electronic keepsakes: Sentimentality has turned many of our computers into ‘the new attic.’" from the <a href="https://www.startribune.com/sorting-through-electronic-keepsakes/139538643/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Star Tribune</a> </li> </ul> MUSICAL INSPIRATION FOR THIS EPISODE ON SPOTIFY: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4xh7W7tlNMIczFhupCPniY?si=c9AzG6QqRBq0ctfeJO6l6g" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac</a>  ABOUT THIS PODCAST <a href="https://stayinaliveintech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stayin' Alive in Tech</a> is an oral history of Silicon Valley and technology. Melinda Byerley, the host, is a 20-year veteran of Silicon Valley and the founder of Fiddlehead®, a digital marketing intelligence firm, based in San Francisco. We really appreciate your reviews, shares on social media, and your recommendations for future guests. And <a href="https://www.stayinaliveintech.com/podcast/2018/8/s2-e1-cindy-gallop-talk-dirty-to-me-sextech" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> check out our Spotify playlist for all the songs we refer to on our show. </a>

Bob Alberti: "Go Your Own Way" - Part 1

You can hear the sizzle in this episode of Dive Bar Mitzvah-- we're at Matt's Bar, 'the home of the Juicy Lucy!' There's a nearly unspoken history of Minnesota's role in modern computing and in this episode I chat with one of the trailblazers: Bob Alberti! From helping to develop multiplayer online role-playing games to working on the revolutionizing the internet with Gopher, he was there in the trenches. Today he's still working with computers but he splits his time with the insult comedy troupe Vilification Tennis! He's a well rounded guy.

Matt's Bar with Bob Alberti