David Mathison

David Mathison is an author, blogger, speaker, entrepreneur, new media activist, and event producer. He is best known for his book, Be The Media, an encyclopedic guide to how individuals, organizations, and non-profits can use new media platforms to become content creators and distributors and reach audiences previously reserved for giant corporations.

Life and early career

Mathison was born in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, earned his B.A. in International Affairs and Political Science from the State University of New York at Brockport in 1984, and received a Masters degree in International Affairs from Columbia University in 1995.

After earning his B.A., he worked in the early software industry and, in 1994, joined Reuters NewMedia, where he pioneered online content syndication, creating and launching a service called Target News in 1998.

In 1999, he founded the Kinecta Corporation, which provided infrastructure that streamlined internet content delivery and syndication. In 2002, Kinecta was acquired by the Stellent, Inc., which was acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2006 for $440 million. In 2001 he founded the natural E creative group, a diversified media company specializing in print, digital publishing, and event production for such non-profits as Home Aid America, and digital and tech industry events such as the Chief Digital Officer Summit. In 2011 Mathison joined international recruiting firm Chadick Ellig to launch a digital media department.

Be the Media

Mathison's book Be the Media, published in 2009, is a guide to content creation and distribution for individual creators across all media. Mathison and Be the Media were featured in an Associated Press story after over 5,000 copies were pre-sold in eleven days by Mathison via social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The book has been used in course work in major journalism, media, and communication schools such as Columbia University School of Journalism, Ithaca College, and the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University's Nieman Foundation for Journalism.

Mathison is also the host of an award-winning radio show, "Be The Media" on BlogTalkRadio.

Philanthropy and activism

In April 2010 Mathison founded HomeAid.net, an annual campaign and event to benefit America's homeless, with Ken Kragen, who was instrumental in producing We Are the World. Mathison also serves on the Board of Directors for HomeAid America, which builds and renovates multi-unit shelters for America's temporarily homeless families and individuals, and Speakers Without Borders, an international non-profit created to support professional speakers who are committed to inspiring the human spirit in under-served communities though the power of the spoken word.

Mathison, through bethemedia.org, takes an active role in such issues as media ownership, cable provider franchise agreements, and net neutrality.

Mathison has served on the Board of Directors for WebHood (Cambridge, MA), Project Censored's Media Freedom Foundation (Sonoma, CA), and the Mountain Play Association (Mill Valley, CA) and the Board of Conveners for the Community Media Center of Marin (San Rafael, CA).