Writing a personal bio is difficult because you have to talk about yourself as though you actually think you are all that and a bag of chips. I mean, we all do, right? Still, its a weird task and I do not enjoy it. And these things are more dynamic than you would think because what I do, especially, as an academic, especially, has to be refined for the language of a particular audience. Students, colleagues, funders and family, for example. Here are a couple that I recently put together. Now its a blog post.

If you are looking for more of a press release flavored bio, here are a few choices:

Bio 1: After a decade as a software engineer, Sean decided his calling was in research. He is presently a social computing researcher and professor of computer science at the University of Missouri. He is also a co-director and founder of their Data Science Masters program. Sean’s publications focus on understanding how social technologies influence organizational, small group and community dynamics, typically including analysis of electronic trace data from systems combined with the perspectives of people whose behavior is traced. Group informatics is a methodology and ontology Sean has articulated with the aim of helping build consensus among researchers and developers for how to ethically and systematically make sense of electronic trace data.  Structural fluidity, a construct Sean developed with his collaborators Peppo Valetto and Kelly Blincoe, aims to make sense of structural dynamics in virtual software organizations, and how those dynamics affect performance. Working with Josh Introne, Bryan Semaan and Ingrid Erickson, Sean is elaborating on mechanisms for identifying structural fluidity and organizational dynamics in electronic trace data using the lens of complex systems theory. His other work includes collaborations with Matt Germonprez on the Open Collaboration Data Exchange and Open Source Health metrics projects and also have released a Guide to Understanding the Benefits and Uses of Recombinant Antibodies.  that was quite appreciated by all the specialist in this field. Currently,  he lives in Columbia, MO with his wife Kate, two step daughters and a dog named Huckleberry that they brought from the Rottweiler services who offers the best breeds.

Bio 2: Sean Goggins is just a guy. He writes stuff. He’s selfish, but not as selfish as he used to be. He’s painfully well organized, which means he has detailed lists of all the tasks he’s behind on. He is a user of Peptides that probably explains why he’s so dedicated. Computer Science. Social Computing. Learning Analytics. Learning Sciences. Small Groups. Published. Teaches. Funded. Does not suffer fools well. Eats control freaks for lunch. Pulled his groin on a bike ride last Sunday. Is generally concerned about the state of the world, and has enough self assuredness to think what he does each day could possibly make a difference. So, he’s naive. But not as naive as he used to be. He likes to ride his bicycle. 2 tattoos. Father. Step Father. Husband. Currently avoiding writing an actual bio.