About Jeff Hester

If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” – Zig Ziglar

This blog is about nothing, or more accurately, nothing in particular. I have no target audience. There is no business focus. My goal is simple; to share what I think is notable, amusing, or otherwise worth your time and attention. You may disagree, but it doesn’t really matter. And while this is not a personal blog, the more you read, the better you’ll know me.

I often focus on social media, online communities and knowledge management, but this blog has been around since 2003. It’s changed, and will continue to evolve.

Who is Jeff Hester?

I am an author, speaker, community-builder, inciter of collaboration, unapologetic geek, avid hiker and one-time classical guitarist.

I have helped successfully deploy a third-generation knowledge management system for a Fortune 500 firm, performing usability testing and developing the user experience. Knowledge management (KM) is usually the buzz-word laden domain of high-priced consultants, but I had the pleasure of working with a team that really understands KM and produced measurable results. I’ve taken from what I’ve learned and consulted with organizations from Buffalo to Abu Dhabi, and from Thousand Oaks to Navi Mumbai.

I believe in the power of online communities to unite people and affect positive change. I’ve helped build such communities from scratch, including an online forum for user-to-user messaging support with over 41,000 members, a hiking website awarded one of the Ten Best Outdoor Blogs by USA TODAY with over 70,000 unique visitors monthly, and an annual hiking challenge that has grown from 172 to over 11,000 registrants in ten regions around the United States.

Want to learn what it takes to build successful online communities in your organization? Let’s talk.

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Publications

AutoCAD 3D Design & Presentation

New Riders. Out of print. Published in 1991, this was the very first book to cover 3D Studio. I co-authored this book with my friend Michele Bousquet, whom I first met through the online Autodesk community hosted on Compuserve, back in the days before the Internet.

This book went on to be published in German, Chinese and Portuguese.

A Guide to Multimedia

New Riders. Out of print. Remember “multimedia?” It sounds so archaic today, but back in the days of Windows 3.1, many people didn’t even have sound cards for their PCs. I co-authored this book with Victoria Rosenthal.

Inside AutoCAD Release 12

New Riders. Out of print. Inside AutoCAD was at the time, the bible for AutoCAD users. At the time, 3D features were expanding and evolving rapidly, and I contributed several chapters to this update.

AutoCAD: The Professional Reference

New Riders. Out of print. I was a contributing author once again. As you may have guessed, I was really into CAD for many years, with a slant toward 3D.

There are two key takeaways from this list of publications:

1. I was really, really into AutoCAD.
2. None of them are in print anymore (at least, not these versions). Fortunately, there’s always Abe Books.

Speaking Engagements

I’ve spoken at more conferences than I can remember. Here’s a partial list of my public speaking engagements, in reverse chronological order.

• 2017 Outdoor Bloggers Summit, Bentonville, AK
  Monetizing Your Blog With Events, Coaching and Courses
• 2016 JMT JAM, Santa Barbara, CA
  The Theodore Solomons Trail: An Overview
• 2012 Knowledge Management and Innovation, Moscow, Russia
  Building Blocks for KM Success: Proven Strategies for Driving Business Performance
• 2012 KMWorld, Washington D.C.
  Engaging for KM Success: Build, Maintain, Outperform;
  Communication and KM Practice
• 2012 Knowledge Management for the Oil & Gas Sector, Moscow, Russia
  Measuring and Monitoring the Value of Knowledge Management
• 2011 KMWorld, Washington D.C.
  The Future of Knowledge Management: A Vision for 2020
• 2011 WordCamp OC, Orange, CA
  Building an Intranet with WordPress
• 2011 APQC KM Conference, Houston, TX
  The Future of Knowledge Management: A Vision for 2020
• 2009 Ignite LA, Los Angeles, CA
  A Secret World: Communities Behind the Firewall
• 2005 PlantSuccess NorthEast, Philadelphia, PA
  Knowledge Without Boundaries: Leveraging KM Across Time, Space and Community
• 2005 APQC Knowledge Transfer Session, St. Louis, MO
  Using Communities of Practice to Drive Organizational Performance and Innovation
• 2003 KM World, Santa Clara, CA
  Strategies for Building and Sustaining Successful Communities of Practice
• 1999 A-E-C Systems, Los Angeles, CA
• 1998 Autodesk University, Los Angeles, CA
• 1998 Daratech Internet/Intranet Strategies, Los Angeles, CA
• 1997 Daratech Internet/Intranet Strategies, Los Angeles, CA
• 1997 3D Design Conference, San Francisco, CA

Got any questions for me? Want to know more?

I would like to hear from you — what you like, what you’d like to know, or what you’d like to see more (or less) of. Leave a comment and I’ll fill in those gaps.

You can also find me online at LinkedIn, Facebook, and on Instagram as @jeffhester, @theSoCalHiker and @SixPackOfPeaksDiscovery.