My name is Niall Kennedy. I live and work in San Francisco in what some people consider the extended "Silicon Valley" of technology change and innovation. My work focuses on integrating businesses with the latest web technologies and ecosystems: fast, intelligent websites that take advantage of modern browser technologies; a social web aware of how people consume and share content away from your own properties; and a network of data APIs connecting specialized services with your focused applications. I have been creating websites since 1993, convinced the freedom of information and ease of use of this new communication medium will change the way we interact with the world around us.
I have operated as an independent consultant since 2006 under my corporate entity: Hat Trick Media. We specialize in providing the technical expertise, strategy and implementation businesses need to stay competitive on the ever-changing Web. Over the years my work has involved rethinking online payments for a major credit card company, managing online video platforms for startups and large incumbents, designing software experiences for Internet-connected televisions, and relaunching a well-established media company's online properties for a market of digital natives. I created a startup business intelligence tool, Startup Search, in 2007 to better inform journalists and investors about the facts behind growing web technology businesses using data collected from over 50 APIs. In 2006 I created an annual conference covering the emerging "widget" industry opening social networks, mobile phones, and large Internet portals to third-party content powered by widget APIs. I am a contributor to HTML5 specification in web storage and video, OpenSearch, OpenSocial REST APIs, Firefox, YSlow, WordPress, and other open-source software and specifications.
Past jobs include building a web aggregation platform for Microsoft's Windows Live division, indexing the real-time web at blog search engine Technorati, crawling the eCommerce Internet and collapsing results into normalized product listings and pricing at PriceGrabber.com and Nextag, collecting and analyzing data from traditional "dark data" institutional investing markets of private real estate and venture capital, and developing search ranking and notification systems for NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers.
I have dual-citizenship between the United States of American and the Republic of Ireland; both passports come in handy while traveling internationally. I enjoy photography, a hobby that pays for itself thanks to many paid licensing deals each year. I am a foodie, typically found drinking good espresso in the morning or wandering a new city in search of its unique dishes.
I attended UCLA on a soccer scholarship and later went on to assist the coaching staff of the United States men's national team, the San Jose Clash and Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer, and as head coach of amateur adult teams in and around San Francisco. I am a national-level coach accredited by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and United States Soccer Federation.
In 2009 I started making my own wine, a Pinot noir.