I’m Matthew VB. VB is short for my very long Dutch last name Vanden Boogart (try learning to spell that as a kid, right?) – and was a nickname for a while in college. Matthew, well, that’s my first name – you can call me Matt if you want. I call myself Matt and always write Matthew. You know what I’m talking about if you have a name that can be shortened. I’m originally from Wisconsin (my dad is from northern Wisconsin — where there are more Vandens then Smiths) and after a few hops around the Midwest I’m now in our nation’s capital (that’s Washington, DC, in case there was confusion on which country I am from…and technically I live in the DC metro area). Here’s a bit more about me.
I’m have 3 college degrees and enjoy learning new things. I have a true entrepreneurial spirit and am working on starting my own business in the DC metro area (in my free time). On the side I am a web developer with a few websites floating out there in the tubes. I tend to have more ideas than time to execute them – but it’s fun to think them up and plan them out.
I’m also a wanna-be researcher. I did some cool research around Facebook in 2006 for my masters degree and have enjoyed reading technological/sociological-type of research. I’m think there’s some cool stuff from back in early internet days that is worth reading and I try to share my thoughts on that when able.
My day job has been for the past few years as a government contractor doing online communications & technical project management (mainly launching new web initiatives). I’ve worked for the Department of Justice and Department of Defense – both are pretty different from each other. In the past 6 months I’ve also spent more time doing communications and marketing; managing the messages coming out of our office through our various electronic mediums. I have a huge interest in government technology, especially around the world of Capitol Hill. Prior to gov’t life I hopped around academia working for a few universities across the country. I learned a lot from working at various universities - especially around the area of organization management and human resources. I also learned/developed many of my management philosophies from my time working on campus.
That’s a bit about me. Thanks for reading. Cheers.
