Bob Alberti: "Go Your Own Way" - Part 1

Stayin' Alive in Tech

Bob Alberti epitomizes what this podcast is all about: stayin’ alive in the often unforgiving world of technology. In the backdrop of Minnesota, which Bob calls the “Silicon Valley before there was Silicon Valley,” he started (and lost) two separate tech companies, developed the world’s first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMOPRPG), and helped create a foundational internet search program that paved the way for the ones we use today.

While that sounds exciting, those milestones were not without plenty of losses and hardships along the way. In this first of two episodes with him, Bob is candid about what it’s like to be one of the builders of the internet we use today, why developing cutting-edge tech innovations is not always guaranteed to make you rich, and how Al Gore really did play a big role in creating the World Wide Web.

You’ll also hear Bob recall what it was like using chat rooms, email, and multiplayer network games in the 1970s, and how things really aren’t that different 50 years later.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• GamBit Multisystems
• Solid State: Minnesota's High-tech History—A program from Twin Cities PBS documenting how Minnesota was once the global epicenter of computing. It’s free to watch!
• Sdf.org — A real, living, working example of a Gopher server you can still use today
• The generation you may have never heard of, Generation Jones
• Ringworld, by Larry Niven
• “After 32 years, dad is now grad,” article featuring Bob in the Minneapolis Star Tribune
• “Sorting through electronic keepsakes: Sentimentality has turned many of our computers into ‘the new attic.’" from the Star Tribune

MUSICAL INSPIRATION FOR THIS EPISODE ON SPOTIFY:

Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac

ABOUT THIS PODCAST

Stayin' Alive in Tech is an oral history of Silicon Valley and technology. Melinda Byerley, the host, is a 20-year veteran of Silicon Valley and the founder of Fiddlehead®, a digital marketing intelligence firm, based in San Francisco.

We really appreciate your reviews, shares on social media, and your recommendations for future guests. And check out our Spotify playlist for all the songs we refer to on our show.