1. Started and maintained a successful tech news blog and managed to differentiate himself from the sea of monotony
2. Starred Nike commercial
3. Hosted events for General Motors – he ain’t stammering Stammy
4. Interned at Yahoo!
5. Started his own web company, Skribit – a great original idea which has taken off nicely (look in bottom right hand corner of this page) and most importantly
6. Interviewed by Tivate.com – nice plug huh? .

Stammy is a nice easy-going guy with a positive attitude. The most difficult thing about him is pronouncing his last name (Stam-uh-tee-you), hence the nicky Stammy. In this interview, Paul talks about his accomplishments, shows us his work desk, reflects on his public speaking skills and admires his idol Steve Jobs (with quote!).

[interview]

The Interview

[twitter::Stammy]

Name: Paul Stamatiou (Stam-uh-tee-you) a.k.a Stammy
Age: 21 years old – from Houston, Texas
Occupation: Blogger, entrepreneur, techie, programmer, public speaker

What challenges did you face in your line of work, and have you ever felt like giving up?::

I have three “lines of work” – being a student at Georgia Tech, writing on PaulStamatiou.com and working on Skribit.com. The biggest challenge is time management and just finding the time to get everything done. [pqr]I’ve never felt like giving up but I’ve had to re-prioritize things from time to time to get it all done[/pqr]. In the past few months Skribit has been growing considerably and a lot of my time has gone into developing for it.

The other challenge deals with information overload and management. Lots of email, news to keep up with and so on.

What does your work environment look like?::

I recently moved into an apartment by myself, which is a huge change from living in dorms and in an off-campus house with several roommates. It’s a lot easier to allot time to get work done without being distracted or having the urge to jump in on a game of Mario Kart Wii with my roommates. The best part of my work environment at home is the fiber Internet connection. It has changed the way I do things and I now rely more on online storage.

What do you consider your greatest failure and why?::

Hrm, that’s a hard one. I’d say not having gotten into programming sooner. I didn’t start really tinkering with web development until I started my blog in 2005. Prior to that I only had a bit of Java experience from a high school course and another computer science class during my freshman year in college. I know a few people my age that are just incredible developers and it makes me wonder what could have been if I had gotten into software much younger, instead of teaching myself to solder and build circuits. I spent my first year at Georgia Tech working towards a computer engineering major until I finally decided I was more interested working closely with the Internet.

What do you consider your greatest achievement and why?::

My greatest achievement is by far having maintained and built up my blog for 3 years to the point it’s at now. My blog has helped me meet many interesting people and learn from them. People at Yahoo! found me from my blog and got me my summer internship, Nike found me from my blog and put me in an online Nike commercial, General Motors found me from my blog as well and has flown me out to various car events. The Internet excels at aiding people in finding others with similar interests and my blog has tapped right into that.

How have you thrived despite negative comments from others?::

I take it all as constructive criticism. You gotta make your haters your motivators haha.

Who (and or what) inspires, motivates you?::

It is hard to pinpoint what inspires or motivates me as there are so many sources. I always pay close attention to others in my field to see how they’re doing things and what they’ve done. In the last year or so I have really embraced the startup culture. While I don’t exactly follow it to the letter, I love reading about it and things like Paul Graham’s essays. It has really shaped the direction I take when working on Skribit.

Do you have any favorite quotes, pictures, internet links that you would like to share?::

My favorite quote comes from Steve Jobs. It definitely aligns with the way I feel when working on new projects.

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

One of my favorite pictures is of Steve Jobs at home in 1982. It shows his different style of thinking.

What are the most important things you have learned in your life so far?::

Whenever I start a new project [pqr]my goal is being able to look back on it and say that it was worth doing[/pqr]. Nothing feels better than getting things done and while I don’t live by the whole GTD craze, I enjoy being productive and having something to show for it. My blog is a great example of that and now it’s like a personal portfolio and resume. I only have so much time in my life, barring the long-awaited invention of some eternal youth potion, so I might as well make it count.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?::

I would say that I am good at getting my point across, whatever that may be. I was an editor on my high school’s yearbook staff and now with my blog I seem to have honed my communication skills. Although I will admit I make for a crappy public speaker and I generally talk very fast (see my Nike commercial for reference).

What are you goals for the future?::

My main goal for the near future is leading Skribit to success and being able to work on it full-time upon my graduation. Basically, just having a job I actually enjoy.

[sources]

PaulStamatiou.com – tech news/reviews/guides [Online Blog]

Skribit: Blog Topic Suggestion Application [Creative Venture]

“Paul Stamatious’s Yahoo Internship”- inju on Flickr [Online Image]

“Paul Stamatiou”- Laughing Squid on Flickr [Online Image] (LaughingSquid)

[/sources]

[/interview]

• Interview with Noah Kagan – The Amusing Entrepreneur
• Interview with Saul Colt – Marketing Magician
• Interview with Neil Patel – Internet Marketing Guru
• Interview with Jimmy Wales – The Knowledge Benefactor
• Interview with Rob Malda a.k.a CmdrTaco – Tech News OG

[pqr]Rob gives insight into what’s really his greatest achievement[/pqr], the future of slashdot, why I should read RTFM (or FAQ) and what treasures lie near his workdesk. Enjoy!

[interview]

The Interview

What are your nicknames and why did you receive them?::

My nickname is CmdrTaco and is discussed extensively in the FAQ which you should consider reading before you interview people

Me: Whoops, got me there. Well I knew that his nicky was the CmdrTaco but I just ask because I ask.

What items do you always carry with you?::

iPhone, Gameboy, Car Keys, 1gb usb thumbdrive

What challenges do you face in your line of work, and have you ever felt like giving up?::

Some days it’s very difficult finding news worth sharing. I really want Slashdot to have the best possible content, and some days there just isn’t any news worth sharing. So I feel obligated to shine a turd just to give people something to read. August is the worst.

What does your work environment look like?::

I don’t have any pictures available. It’s fairly clean and neat most of the time, except when co-workers kids come and move all of my stuff. I have a pet snake in a cage (his name is Col. Tubesnake). I have a 23″ flatpanel screen, and old windows machine that hasn’t been on in 2 years, a giant jar of marbles and a shelf of Dungeons & Dragons books and an array of action figures. It’s all very exciting.

What do you consider your greatest failure and why?::

I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.

What do you consider your greatest achievement and why?::

I’m very proud that Slashdot has lasted 10 years and continues to maintain true to the original spirit that made it popular at the dawn of the popular internet. But if I’m honest, [pqr]I think my 9 month old is a bigger achievement[/pqr].

Who (and or what) inspires, motivates you?::

I’m inspired by the news I post. I see people doing innovative and exciting things in their fields of expertise, and I’m motivated to try to take Slashdot to a higher level as well.

What are the most important things you have learned in your life so far?::

Read the fine print. Pay attention to the details. Know your limitations, and hire people to do the things you can’t.

Do you have any favorite quotes, pictures, internet links that you would like to share?::

umm… read www.xkcd.com. It’s genius. Every link I ever find that I like, I post to Slashdot, so its not like I have a special private cache of awesomeness for you.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?::

I’m fairly OCD- whatever I obsess on gets my full attention, usually to the exclusion of almost anything else. Which means I can accomplish a lot, but let stuff slip through the cracks that is not my current obsession.

What are you goals for the future?::

To complete and launch a fully ajax enabled version of Slashdot, and to get the Offtopic Idle section of slashdot (idle.slashdot.org) to a ready state and try to fill it with the best things on the net.

What are some weird things that people might not know about you?::

I have no sense of smell.

[sources]

“Rob Malda – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia” [Online]

“The Taco’s Site” [Online]

“Slashdot – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia” [Online]

“Scott Beale / Laughing Squid” [Photo]

[/sources]

[/interview]

• Interview with Noah Kagan – The Amusing Entrepreneur
• Interview with Leah Culver – The Social Networker
• Interview with Craig Newmark – The People Person
• Interview with Zack Domes – Disciple of Simplicity
• Interview with Alexis Ohanian – Leader of the Alien Social Revolution

He truly is, along with his site, an enigma of sorts. How can a site that is free be so successful? How can someone so successful remain so generous and down to earth? Craig’s mentality is far different than what is the norm – something we all can imitate.

[interview]

The Interview

[twitter::craignewmark]

Name: Craig Newmark
Born: December 6, 1952 (age 55) Morristown, New Jersey
Occupation: Craigslist.org

What are are your nicknames and why did you receive them?::

No nickname, but people now kid me that I can go around with only the single name “Craig”.

What items do you always carry with you?::

Phone, pedometer, wallet, keys, the usual.

What challenges do you face in your line of work, and have you ever felt like giving up?::

For the most part, customer service is okay, but sometimes people are pretty abusive. No interest, though, in giving up.

What does your work environment look like?::

What do you consider greatest failure and why?::

In the past, taken far too long to get out of denial.

What do you consider your greatest achievement and why?::

Craigslist, it has helped a lot of people.

Who (and or what) inspires, motivates you?::

• Leonard Cohen
• Barack Obama

What are the most important things you have learned in your life so far?::

Treat others like how you want to be treated.

Do you have any favorite quotes, pictures, internet links that you would like to share?::

• “Brevity is the soul of wit.” – Shakespeare
• “If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise, they’ll kill you.” -Oscar Wilde

What are your strengths and weaknesses?::

I’m persistent, but try too hard to be funny.

What are you goals for the future?::

Enough sleep.

[sources]

“Craig Newmark (cnewmark)’s photos- powered by SmugMug” [Photo]

“Craig Newmark – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia” [Online]

[/sources]

[/interview]

• Interview with Neil Patel – Internet Marketing Guru
• Interview with Noah Kagan – The Amusing Entrepreneur
• Week 1: What I’ve learned so far
• Interview with Zack Domes – Disciple of Simplicity
• Interview with Rob Malda a.k.a CmdrTaco – Tech News OG

[interview]

The Interview

[twitter::justinhernandez]

Name: Justin Hernandez
Born: July, 14 1982 (age 25) Pearl City, Oahu (Hawaii)
Occupation: Professional Dreamer

What are are your nicknames and why did you receive them?::

• Skeezicks – an old school word meaning trouble maker, ruffian. I chose this name when I started cracking proggies in high school.
• Transphorm – shortened form of my business name.
• Strum – short for nerdstrum, given to me by my friends. I don’t think the nerd part has anything to do with intelligence.

What items do you always carry with you?::

My cellphone, keys, Ducti Wallet, Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip Medium, Peppermint Chapstick, and satin (it calms me).

What challenges do you face in your line of work, and have you ever felt like giving up?::

Some challenges I face is customers that don’t know what they want. It’s always a struggle to be a good communicator, something that I’m still working on. It’s essential to have good communication in business – with clients and co-workers.

What do you consider greatest failure and why?::

I feel like not getting married has been my greatest failure. I know there are worst things in life, but this had me made me the saddest.

What does your work environment look like?::

Here’s my laptop Henrietta in my room (specs) and desktop Bessie in the living room.

What do you consider your greatest achievement and why?::

Tivate.com. Because I’ve built everything myself from the ground up. From getting hosting at Slicehost (a VPS where you have to do everything from the ground up), coding and hacking wordpress, to teaching myself CSS and Gimp (this is the first site I’ve ever designed) – I’m proud of what I’ve done here. I don’t have enough to pay someone else so that’s why I did it myself. I’m kind of a perfectionist so it took a year and a half to finish.

Who (and or what) inspires, motivates you?::

People who know who they are. People who are cool under pressure and not afraid to lead. I’m most inspired by everyday people who thrive despite hardships. I think about those who are mentally or physically disabled from birth defects, accidents, violence or war; and despite their condition, they continue to set and accomplish goals. It’s amazing because they face so much opposition yet they don’t conform and set limits on themselves. While, we as “normal” people face minor opposition and so readily give up. What motivates me the desire to take care of my friends and family. I could never be rich because I would give all my money away . Haha. Also the desire to help others and meet interesting people motivates me.

What have you learned so far in your life?::

1. There are more people who will tell you that you can’t do something than those who say you can
2. [pqr]Fear plays a huge role in our lives[/pqr] and can dictate what we do or don’t do
3. Kindness is never the wrong thing (learned this the hard way)
4. I talk too much
5. The chef that makes “Cinnamon Toast Crunch” has no idea that he puts all that cinnamini goodness in there, because adults 1/3 of his age can’t even see it
6. Money is a terrible measure of success
7. A job is a job and it is not your life
8. I figured why the heck the “Quaker Oats” guy is always smiling. Wanna know why? Try eating Quaker Oats every morning for a week and you’ll be smiling too. Haha
9. Life is what you make it, so make it fun
10. You have to believe in yourself and know who you are. If you expect others to constantly believe in you or define who you are, you will be miserable

Do you have any favorite quotes, pictures, internet links that you would like to share?::

Quotes:

• “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
• “For myself, I am an optimist – it does not seem much use being anything else” – Winston Churchill
• “Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm” – Winston Churchill
• “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope” – Helen Keller

Pictures:

Here’s one. Looking at the situation, we all know that the odds are overwhelming. Just try telling her that.

Links:

• But they did not give up – Great stuff
• I did something nice – WoW Forums
• Little Superstar – I can watch this everyday, it always makes me laugh

What are your strengths and weaknesses?::

Strengths:

• Optimistic
• Nerdy
• I love a good joke, or even a bad one
• I express myself well
• 10% Sherlock Holmes reasoning power
• I know who am I (most of the time)
• I can laugh at myself

Weaknesses:

• Talk to much
• Analyze too much
• Think too much
• Procrastinate
• I don’t like to do things I’m not good at. So I’ve held myself back from learning how to surf, skate, snowboard. I’ll change – eventually.
• Too chubby – man since being a computer guy, and turning 21 I picked up weight. I’ll lose it – tomorrow.
• Stutter – I kind of like this one. Though I get accused of being drunk when I haven’t even had one drink. I’ve also ruined joke deliveries thanks to the stutter.
• Retreating hairline. I say retreating because it’s giving up positions on my forehead and building forts on my upper back. Twenty-five is such a magical age.
• Play around too much, not serious enough sometimes

What are your goals for the future?::

1. Learn python
2. Go snowboarding
3. Learn to surf – I know I live in Hawaii, sheesh!
4. Travel the world
5. Finish up two other websites that are in my head
6. Learn to type with the dvorak keyboard layout
7. Find my inner-adult
8. Get back into preaching full-time (pioneer)
9. Get better at the “big poppa” handshake. You know that big “sup dog” handshake with the pop. I can’t always get the pop so I practice – seriously.

What are some things that people may not know about you?::

• I’m a born and raised Jehovah’s Witness
• I suffer from long nose hairs
• Self-diagnosed Gerascophobic
• I love satin
• Making poop is one of my favorite pastimes
• Stained glass freaks me out
• The feet are the best part on a girl
• Like everyone else I have ADD
• I use to hack xbox dlc content packs for the website torrent-lab.com ( I just cracked the SHA1 hash checks)
• I’m a huge computer nerd
• I analyze too much
• I love popping blackheads (zits)
• My pointer finger was made for my nostrils
• I collect pens and pencils
• I stutter really bad sometimes
• I love associating things with smell
• If I didn’t tweeze I could be a mascot for McDonalds with my hairy golden arches (unibrow)
• Huge Sherlockian. Jeremy Brett was / is the best Sherlock Holmes ever. When you hear the word ‘praytell’ – you know a good story is afoot!

[/interview]

• Interview with Noah Kagan – The Amusing Entrepreneur
• Interview with Jimmy Wales – The Knowledge Benefactor
• Interview with Leah Culver – The Social Networker
• Interview with Tim Brownson – The Goal Specialist
• Interview with JEMi – In Her Heels