Scripting News: What kind of kid was Tim O'Reilly?

Scripting News, the weblog started in 1997 that bootstrapped the blogging revolution.

What kind of kid was Tim O'Reilly?

As I think about this code of conduct thing, I find myself wondering what kind of kid Tim O'Reilly was.

It made me think of an idea Ponzi has for Gnomedex. She's thinking of asking my mother to give an interview on stage. I know Ponzi loves me, so I'm actually thinking of supporting the idea. (My mother also loves me, btw.)

I think the kind of kid each of us was has a lot to do with how we approach things as adults.

I was bullied a bit when I was a kid, but then I shot up and the bullies mostly left me alone and picked on smaller kids. I couldn't help but identify with them, and I felt bad that I didn't put myself between the bully and the kids they tormented. And I have definitely been pushed around in the blogosphere, and as I mentioned earlier, the biggest bully on my blog block is Tim O. So I find it pretty ironic that he's the one calling for civility.

But I digress.

I wonder what Tim was like when he was a kid. What did he get in trouble for, or maybe he didn't. I don't want to presume to know, but I wonder.

Since he's made our behavior such an issue, and mine in particular, for so many years, in so many ways, it seems only fair to ask some questions about him.

Last update: Thursday, June 3, 2010; 4:00:39 PM

~About the Author~

Dave Winer, 55, is a visiting scholar at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. He pioneered the development of weblogs, syndication (RSS), podcasting, outlining, and web content management software; former contributing editor at Wired Magazine, research fellow at Harvard Law School, entrepreneur, and investor in web media companies. A native New Yorker, he received a Master's in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, a Bachelor's in Mathematics from Tulane University and currently lives in New York City.

"The protoblogger." - NY Times.

"The father of modern-day content distribution." - PC World.

One of BusinessWeek's 25 Most Influential People on the Web.

"Helped popularize blogging, podcasting and RSS." - Time.

"The father of blogging and RSS." - BBC.

"RSS was born in 1997 out of the confluence of Dave Winer's 'Really Simple Syndication' technology, used to push out blog updates, and Netscape's 'Rich Site Summary', which allowed users to create custom Netscape home pages with regularly updated data flows." - Tim O'Reilly.

Mail: scriptingnews1mail at gmail dot com.

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