23 August Meet the Staff: Ted Hattemer, Technology Strategist August 23, 2017 Meet the Staff Meet the Staff, Ohio Arts Council, Operations and Public Affairs, Technology Strategist, Ted Hattemer 0 He's the glue that holds the Ohio Arts Council’s (OAC) office together when all things technology go wrong. Doing it all while wearing the sweetest dress socks in the office, Ted Hattemer is the OAC’s Technology Strategist. A OneNote enthusiast and Jamaican music lover, Ted answers a few hard-hitting questions. Q: Where are you from? I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and I went to a performing arts high school in downtown Cincinnati. So, I’ve been involved in the arts my whole life. Q: What types of arts have you been involved with? Theatre and performance, but I haven’t been involved in any shows since high school. Q: Did I see that you are in a band? Yes, I play drums, bass, and guitar. Q: Does your band travel? We used to, but we stopped traveling when people got a little older. Back in the ‘90s, we had shows all over the country. Q: Where’s the coolest place you’ve ever performed? We got to play on the stage at First Avenue in Minnesota, where Prince first played and recorded part of "Purple Rain" and did some of his greatest performances. Q: You went to college at The Ohio State University (OSU) to study English, so how did you make your way to being the technology strategist at the OAC? I graduated in ’91, and my first couple jobs out of college were in editing because of my English degree. And, believe it or not, the web didn’t have a home when it was first invented. The web was invented in ’89, but it didn’t have a graphic interface until ’93. When the first program came out that you could actually look at a web page through a browser window, people at universities got really excited about all the ways they could use this. I was with the College of Agriculture at OSU as an editor and over a weekend learned how to put up a web server and throw together a bunch of web pages. I showed it to my boss on Monday, and I became the first web coordinator for the college. Q: Are you working on any major projects at the OAC right now? We’re looking at reviewing all the old legacy databases and whether we need to resurrect them and figure out how to have a new home for that data. Q: What does being a part of the Ohio Arts Council mean to you? Watching the board pass out grant money to organizations all over the state is inspiring to me. It’s the lifeblood to some of those folks to stay in business and keep serving their constituents. Q: How has your relationship with art developed over the years? I have three kids, and all three of them are involved in the arts in one way or another. My daughter, who is 24, is a visual artist. My two sons are both involved with theatre, and they both play multiple instruments. So, it’s something that is being passed from one generation to the next. Q: Is there something from which you draw inspiration, like a piece of art or music? Jeff Regensburger, who lives in South Clintonville. He painted both paintings in my office. I like knowing the person who painted them. As far as music goes, I still like things like The Grateful Dead, but I also like punk rock. Q: So, is that what’s on your Spotify/Pandora/Apple playlist right now? I have Apple Music, and yes. I still listen to vinyl music, too. Q: Do you have a favorite social media outlet you like to use? I use Facebook to interact with people I really do know. And I use Twitter to interact with people all over the country, so I use both of those. Q: Do you have a favorite account you like to check in the morning as a daily inspiration? I have Net Vibes. It’s like an old-school dashboard. You take RSS feeds from all these different websites, and you can scan headlines. It’s kind of my default page. This is like how the web used to be — there were a lot of services like this back in the '90s. So, it’s just RSS feeds. You can just find a feed and copy and paste it in. It’s the equivalent of Hootsuite for social media. This is just for published content on bigger platforms. Q: Is there something of which you’re most proud, either in your personal life or your professional life? My kids. Q: What do you do when you’re not here in the office? I play music, try to catch up with friends, or hang out with my kids. Q: You’ve traveled with your band, but have you traveled anywhere else? My kids and I went to the beach last year. My mom’s parents came over from Ireland in the ‘20s, so that makes me part Irish. In the '90s, I got to visit my grandparents’ farm in Ireland. It was beautiful. ABOUT THE OHIO ARTS COUNCIL The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Connect with the OAC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or visit our website at oac.ohio.gov. ### Article by Kayla Draper, 2017-18 Social Media and Events Fellow Comments are closed.