Mike Johnston

Current

Co-Founder at Storybook Anytime
Freelance Web Developer, Internet Consultant & Technology Evangelist at MikeJSolutions

Past

Director of Engineering at Millions of Us
Founder at MajikWidget
Director of Interactive Services at Abovo Group

Founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Soholaunch
Founder and Vice President at The About Time Group

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Mike Johnston’s Summary

During my career I have founded, created and sold successful, web-based, companies and applications. Most notably I innovated the very first, browser-based, drag and drop web site builder in 1999 and recently, served as Director of Engineering for the team that lead the US content development for the Sony Home virtual world initiative on Playstation 3.

My core talent is being able to easily bridge the communication gap between engineering, creative and business.

I am passionate about Social and Casual Gaming. I recently created and launched "Reef Life", a family-friendly social game (built in Flash) on the Facebook platform.

I have successfully worked on large-scale projects for such clients as Sony, Nike, Google, Turner Broadcasting, ADP, AT&T. I have also been recognized by Adobe as a featured developer for my work on my Adobe Air product called "Sam's Interactive Reader."

Mike Johnston’s Specialties:

Core Technology: Actionscript 3.0, PHP, MySQL, Facebook Platform, W3C XHTML [web standards], CSS, Javascript [AJAX], Adobe Air. Core Business: Internet Business & Social Media Strategy, Social Gaming, User Interface [UI] & User Experience [UX] Design

Mike Johnston’s Experience

Co-Founder

Storybook Anytime

(Privately Held; Entertainment industry)

May 2007 — Present (2 years 7 months)

Storybook Anytime is an interactive entertainment company focused on creating family-friendly social games. We develop immersive social games that are fun (and safe) to play online with your friends and family.

"Reef Life", is a social game for Facebook® that is a fully immersive underwater world. As you play, you make a life for yourself on the reef while working your way up to becoming a whale (http://becomeawhale.com). The experience can be shared with your friends as you help each other care for your fish and enjoy the hidden treasures of the reef.

We also produce, "Sam's Interactive Reader," an Adobe® Air™ application that introduces the fun of reading and learning to children ages 3-9. It is featured in the Adobe Air Marketplace as a Staff Pick and has been used as a featured case study by Adobe at the Max Developers conference in Milan.
Freelance Web Developer, Internet Consultant & Technology Evangelist

MikeJSolutions

(Information Technology and Services industry)

March 2004 — Present (5 years 9 months)

Work to evangelize standards-compliant, user-friendly web sites using XHTML, CSS, PHP and MySQL. I have created and implemented delivery process, methodology, brand and sales strategy for clients. Built online marketing strategies, user interface designs, information architecture plans and requirements for medium-large scale internet applications. Have worked with local marketing and interactive agencies on projects for Earthlink, Intellisync [acquired by Nokia], Marketworks, Friedman's Shoes, City of Smyrna and the Technology Association of Georgia. Directly worked with Fortune 500 companies such as Turner Broadcasting and ADP to develop and create extra-net web applications.

In 2007, worked exclusively with Radius 3, a U.S. web site production center for the worlds largest web site franchise company [WSI], to manage product development and indirect channel operations. Facilitated brand strategy, direct sales strategy, project delivery methodology, and a detailed corporate growth strategy.
Director of Engineering

Millions of Us

(Online Media industry)

November 2007 — February 2009 (1 year 4 months)

Millions of us is an interactive-social media agency. The company specializes in a broad range of services from virtual world and massive multi-player online game [MMOG] development to social media strategy and execution. During my tenure I created, implemented and managed the development processes for a team comprised of both local and off site engineering resources [including limited off-shore].

I was responsible for the technical specification, development and delivery of large scale projects for our clients. These included back end development for Second Life customer projects, custom flash-based virtual worlds, and most notably- content and mini-game development for the Sony "Home" initiative on Playstation 3.

I had the pleasure of working on significant projects for clients such as Coca-Cola, Cisco, Dreamworks SKG, Fox, Google, National Geographic, Nike, Sony Playstation, Warner Brothers, and Toyota.
Founder

MajikWidget

(Privately Held; Internet industry)

May 2006 — December 2007 (1 year 8 months)

MajikWidget provides “necessary widgets for blogs”. Widgets are mini-applications that add fun and interactivity to a web site or blog. MajikWidget was sold to a private company in December 2007.
Director of Interactive Services

Abovo Group

(Privately Held; Marketing and Advertising industry)

July 2004 — January 2005 (7 months)

Worked with clients and sub-contractors to create and deliver web sites, flash product demos, corporate and trade show videos, email marketing campaigns, and online ads. Developed an email marketing campaign for ADP that increased conversion from 3% to over 22% in under four months. Architected and developed web site projects for companies such as Glenayre Electronics, SCI Systems and Terranova Forrest Products [acquired by Masisa].
Founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Soholaunch

(Partnership; Computer Software industry)

January 2000 — February 2004 (4 years 2 months)

Architected and developed the first browser-based web site builder and content management system [CMS] leveraging PHP and MySQL. Product featured ground-breaking [for its time] features such as a drag-n-drop page editing and a WYSIWIG word processor. The product was [and still is] marketed through global hosting companies. Worked directly with Web.com and Via Networks to develop custom provisioning systems for the product through Sphera and Ensim platforms. I retain ownership of the product code and have licensed use to Soholaunch and Radius 3 respectfully.
Founder and Vice President

The About Time Group

(Partnership; Computer Software industry)

February 1998 — December 1999 (1 year 11 months)

Created software products EZCheck2000 and PCFix2000 to address Y2K PC re-mediation. Grew company to over $2M in revenue in less than one year. Product was used by companies such as AT&T, Lucent Technologies, CSX railways and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Appeared in numerous industry magazines and television programs, including "The Computer Chronicles" and "Business Week" as an expert in my field.

Additional Information

Mike Johnston’s Websites:

Mike Johnston’s Interests:

Social Gaming, Casual Gaming, Facebook Application Development, Rich-Internet Application Development, Virtual Worlds, Virtual Goods, User Interface Design, Graphic Design, Social Networks, Mac OS X, Photoshop, Flash, Twitter, Social Media, Product Development, Photography, Cycling, Hawaii, and Boating

Mike Johnston’s Groups:

Web Standards Group (webstandardsgroup.org), Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (AiMA), National Association of Photoshop Users, NO!SPEC, Flickr!, Atlanta IT Alliance, Save The Net!, Center for Biological Diversity