James Zetlen

Technical Design Consultant

“Technical Design Consultant” is one of those odd, impenetrable titles; my real job is to know about every aspect of Convio’s online products, and also the current best practices and trends in the nonprofit marketing industry as well as the web technology industry as a whole. I help to talk to Convio clients and users who have difficult needs or interesting questions, and help them come up with innovative and/or advanced ways to use our tools. My technical background is very diverse: I’ve been a webmaster, a copy editor, a graphic designer, a salesperson, a computer repairman, a cab driver, and maraca player at Lincoln Center.

My philosophy on technology is simple: the ideal technology should be “neutral”, like a good pair of speakers or a well aligned steering column. It should let you accomplish your ends, rather than force you to focus on the means. It should impart none of its own quirks to what you want to do; it should not impinge on the vision that you have. This is obviously an ideal to which to aspire, not a goal I can accomplish with every technology or every product. But that’s my attitude.