Everything old is new again

Back in mid 1997, I took a chance and answered an ad on MSN.com (yes, I know) for a new company called “The Mining Company” that was based in New York, and was looking for people to write about topics of passion. Obviously, I kind of had a thing for open-wheel auto racing (still do), and I had just taught myself copious amounts of HTML, so I applied, and before you knew it, I was About.com’s first Auto Racing Guide.

I got to interview Indy 500 winners, write about tragedy at the track at Charlotte, and at Fontana when Greg Moore lost his life in 2000. I moved over to what then became known as “About.com” in a corporate capacity in 2000.  It was my first full-time job working “on the Internet”, was working there on 9/11 and got to work with a team that helped develop a product that was ultimately patented, and do a lot of other fun things before I left in August 2003.

Fast forward 10 years later, and a few more gray hairs and a few great jobs later, and today I’m finally able to share that I’m back with About.com, starting a newly created role as Vice President of Social Media and Community Strategy.

I’ve always had a soft spot for this company since the old days, and it’s refreshing and reassuring to see the place get some love and opportunity after IAC purchased them last August. The opportunity to help millions of passionate users connect with topics and content created by thousands of passionate guides through social media is huge, and I’m really excited to be a part of the team looking to help bring About back to some great things.  (And a quick thanks to Neil and Scott and the whole team for the opportunity.)

You can read more about some of the other new changes here on TechCrunch, and if you’d like to come join us, we’re hiring.   A lot.    Tell them I sent you!