Profile

Bio: Curtis Franklin, Jr. has been writing about technologies and products in computing and networking since the early 1980s. Curtis is a freelance writer who contributes to a number of technology-industry publications on subjects ranging from small business computing ane mobile enterprise applications to personal productivity devices. In his publishing career around networking, Franklin has worked with network infrastructure equipment ranging from consumer cable modems to carrier-class 10-Gigabit core switches. He has tested and reported on categories of hardware and software that forward and direct packets, that shape traffic to best utilize existing resources, that move packets across various physical media, and that secure the traffic flowing through the network. Most recently, Curtis was a Senior Analyst in the InfoWorld Test Center. Curtis has been a free-lance journalist writing and podcasting for titles including Dark Reading, Business VoIP Report, and Interop. He was formerly podcast evangelist and community editor for TechWeb. Prior to beginning the post in podcasting, he was Senior Technology Editor for Network Computing and Secure Enterprise magazines. In his podcasting position, Franklin produced, edited, or created hundreds of podcast episodes across more than a dozen CMP titles. He has taught scores of journalists the ins and outs of creating winning podcasts, worked with business management to establish successful business applications of podcasts, and been a frequent speaker and commentator on the role of podcasts in the modern media mix. Curtis began his on-line publishing career in 1986 when he was hired to coordinate special events for BIX, the electronic component of BYTE magazine. Since that time, he has worked on publications merging the best aspects of print and broadcast with on-line bulletin boards, CompuServe, CDs, Notes, the web, blogs, and now, podcasting and . His career has included senior and executive editorial positions at BYTE, Circuit Cellar INK: The Computer Applications Journal, VARBusiness, Solutions Integrator, ITWorld.com, Internet Week, Network Computing, and Secure Enterprise. As a writer, his articles have appeared in scores of publications including Computer World, InfoWorld, Network World, CIO, and HowStuffWorks.com. Curtis is the author of hundreds of magazine articles, the co-author of three books, and has been a frequent speaker at computer and networking industry conferences across North America and Europe. His most recent book, The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Podcasting (with co-author George Colombo), was published by Que Books. When he’s not writing, Curt is a painter, cook, and multi-instrumentalist musician; and is active in amateur radio (KG4GWA), scuba diving in the springs and tropical seas of Florida, and in the Florida Master Naturalist program.