Hardcore geek, technology innovator and advocate
Greater Los Angeles Area
- Current
-
- VP of Technology at Warner Bros. Records
- Owner at BlackRimGlasses.com (Self-employed)
- Owner at Murmurs.com (Sole Proprietorship)
- Past
-
- Teaching Associate at University of California, Santa Barbara
- Manager of Online Community Development at Freedom Communications
- Webmaster at The Orange County Register
- Education
-
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- University of California, San Diego
- Recommended
-
1 person has recommended Ethan - Connections
-
209
connections
- Industry
- Music
- Websites
Ethan Kaplan’s Summary
I'm a former academic, a former newspaper webmaster and a present day technological evangelist and innovator. For the past 15 years, I've been operating at the forefront of old media's emergences into the new, including the print, broadcast, academic/art and now music businesses.
I am a geek in every sense. Music, media, technology. I enjoy being labeled as such.
My specialty in business seems to be orchestrating radical transitions of business models, technology, engineering, staffing, infrastructure and business development.
Ethan Kaplan’s Specialties:
New technology acquisition and integration, product design, project management, media/cultural theory
Ethan Kaplan’s Experience
-
VP of Technology
Warner Bros. Records
(Public Company; 201-500 employees; Music industry)
June 2005 — Present (3 years)
I run the technology division of the company, which is entirely focused on the external facing aspect of our technological innovation. This means anything on the web, consumer electronics, digital services, research and development into emerging platforms and just over-all geekiness. We are one of the few strict technology divisions in the music business.
I am basically a startup-type CTO in a music company. -
Owner
BlackRimGlasses.com (Self-employed)
(Self-Employed; Myself Only; Internet industry)
April 2005 — Present (3 years 2 months)
This is my blog. It is decently popular.
-
Owner
Murmurs.com (Sole Proprietorship)
(Sole Proprietorship; Myself Only; Music industry)
April 1996 — Present (12 years 2 months)
I have run Murmurs.com, the world's largest site for the band R.E.M. in a kind of/sort of collaboration with the band since I was 16 years old.
-
Teaching Associate
University of California, Santa Barbara
(Educational Institution; 10,001 or more employees; Fine Art industry)
September 2002 — June 2005 (2 years 10 months)
I was a teaching associate in the art department at UCSB, teaching classes on digital art, conceptual theory, punk music history, post-structuralism/modernism and tactical media.
-
Manager of Online Community Development
Freedom Communications
(Newspapers industry)
1999 — 2001 (2 years)
I worked in various areas during the dot-com era, mostly doing technology development and online community development.
-
Webmaster
The Orange County Register
(Privately Held; 5001-10,000 employees; Newspapers industry)
June 1995 — September 1997 (2 years 4 months)
I was the Register's first webmaster when their site launched. I was 16 at the time.
Ethan Kaplan’s Education
-
University of California, Santa Barbara
MFA, Digital Art, 2002 — 2005
My specialty in the art department was applying conceptual art, art theory and media theory to the realm of digital art and computers in general. That included sociology, linguistics, spacial theory and even higher-dimensional math.
- Activities and Societies:
- Teaching Associate in Digital Art and Critical Theory
-
University of California, San Diego
BA, Visual Art, September 1997 — June 2001
Additional Information
Ethan Kaplan’s Websites:
Ethan Kaplan’s Interests:
Music, movies, popular culture, technology, gadgets, microcode and esoteric theory.
Ethan Kaplan’s Groups:
gnomedex, twitter
Ethan Kaplan’s Honors:
NSF grant while in school.
Ethan Kaplan’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- job inquiries
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
