Author: Linda Stone

Widely recognized as a visionary thinker and thought leader, Linda Stone is a writer, lecturer and consultant focused on trends and their strategic and consumer implications. In 2006 alone, articles on her work appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, The Economist, The Boston Globe and hundreds of blogs. Since March 2006, she has spoken at the ETech conference, GEL, the Collaborative Technologies Conference, the Hidden Brain Task Force for the Center for Work-Life Policy, and to executives at Edelman and at McDonald's. In June 2006, she was invited by Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi to speak to the Medici gathering of positive psychologists, an invitation-only gathering of leaders in this field. Previously, Stone spent close to twenty years as an executive in high technology. In 1986, she was persuaded to join Apple Computer to help "change the world." In her 7 years at Apple, she had the opportunity to do pioneering work in multimedia hardware, software and publishing. In her last year at Apple, Stone worked for Chairman and CEO John Sculley on special projects. In 1993, Stone joined Microsoft Research under Nathan Myhrvold and Rick Rashid. She co-founded and directed the Virtual Worlds Group/Social Computing Group, researching online social life and virtual communities. During this time, she also taught as adjunct faculty in NYU's prestigious Interactive Telecommunications Program. In 2000, CEO Steve Ballmer tapped Stone to take on a VP role, reporting to him, to help improve industry relationships and contribute to a constructive evolution of the corporate culture. She retired from Microsoft in 2002. Over the years, Stone has been recognized by Upside Magazine as one of the Upside 100 Leaders of the Digital Revolution and by I.D. Magazine as one of the I.D. 40. She was featured in John Brockman's book, THE DIGERATI, which described her as a visionary both within Microsoft and to the industry at large. Stone served a six year term on the National Board of the World Wildlife Fund and is currently on the WWF National Council. She is an advisor for the Pew Internet and American Life Project and the Hidden Brain Drain Task Force for the Center for Worklife Policy, and is on the Advisory Board of the RIT Lab for Social Computing. In 2002, she was recognized as Outstanding Regional Volunteer of the Year by F.I.R.S.T., Dean Kamen's non-profit dedicated to inspiring young people in science and technology.