I have been building websites for over 13 years, while working mostly for startups, based in San Franciso and New York.
I was born in a small village in Northern Pakistan, with little memory of the place after my family moved to England when I was 4 years old.
I developed an interest in computers playing video games as a child, and began working with computers my senior year in high school, building and supporting PC's for a small company in London, having built a couple of shareware utilities prior to that.
After graduating from the University of Hertfordshire with a degree in Computer Science, and working at Oracle for a few months, I was offered a job that required moving to San Francisco. I jumped at the chance, having wanted to live in the USA for a while.
I entered the USA just as the Internet bubble was developing, and was taken on a wild and crazy ride, from the joy of working for a company that was valued over $100M flush with cash featured on many magazines and in news shows, thru to Chapter 11 filings and being job-less.
I have worked mostly for startup companies (yes I am glutton for punishment) ever since and have found myself living in metropolises such as San Francisco, New York, and Boston.
I have developed many websites in languages ranging from Java, ASP, and PHP or simple HTML files. Some of these websites received millions of visitors a day, whilst other receive just a handful, I enjoy working on both equally. I am particularly interested in the collection and display of information in the online world.
Had I been raised in the USA, I'm sure I would have played baseball. Instead I grew up playing soccer and cricket. This hasn't stopped me being a big NY Yankees fan, even before I moved to the USA.
Since mid 2005 I have been a fulltime employee of AREA 17, an interactive agency with offices in New York City and Paris, France. I have learned a great deal from my colleagues (past and present) at AREA 17, as I hope they from me. My role as Technical Lead allows me to be involved in all phases of website development, something I enjoy very much. It also allows me to work with team members of all other departments in the company, something that is not always possible in an agency.
I currently live in Clifton Park, NY (just north of Albany) with my wife Robin and 2 daughters.
Photo by AREA 17.
