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Nathaniel
Borenstein

    

nsb@...
...mimecast.com
...netpos.com
...guppylake.com

I'm a scientist/programmer/inventor/entrepreneur who has been involved in Internet-related innovations since 1980, specializing in e-mail technology, human-computer interaction, and electronic commerce. Journalists have called me an "Internet Guru" and "a geek's geek, " among other things. I have largely focused, in my career, on taking new innovations and driving them, collaboratively, to become successful products.

I specialize in building consensus in diverse groups, and I enjoy translating between different perspectives, particularly between software development and business strategy.

Since June 2010 I have been working as Chief Scientist for Mimecast. Previously (2002-2010) I was a Distinguished Engineer for IBM/Lotus ().

I have two blogs, one for work and one for other stuff, though I often cross-post the former on the latter.

You Might Know Me From...

  • My standards work. Among other things, I'm co-creator of MIME, the Internet standard multimedia data format. My old barbershop quartet is featured in the first-ever MIME message.

  • My entrepreneurial ventures. I co-founded First Virtual Holdings in 1994, which became MessageMedia and was ultimately swallowed up by Doubleclick when the Internet bubble burst, and NetPOS.com in 2000.

  • My software projects (notably metamail, Safe-Tcl, and the Andrew Message System), which have been used by millions.

  • My writings, which include three books, three patents, and numerous journal articles and Internet RFC documents.

  • My social activism (if you're sure you want to know).

    • What Else Might You Want To Know?

  • Questions that people frequently ask me

  • Questions that people ought to have asked me

  • My three books from the 90's

  • My life in academia

  • My relatively traditional CV

  • Other stuff I've done

  • My pithiest quotes in circulation.

  • My favorite magazines

  • Some of my favorite links

    • If You Want To Know More Than This, You're A Stalker

    In 2009 I moved from my home in Ann Arbor, Michigan () to live more or less full time at Guppy Lake, in northern Michigan ().


    Stan Borenstein, 1925-2006

    My wife Trina and I are (mostly) empty nesters; our four daughters and two granddaughters are scattered across the country at any given moment. I have three brothers:

  • Eliot is a hoity toity academic at NYU
  • Seth is an AP journalist periodically attacked by nut jobs.
  • Joe is a contractor/investor in California.

    • My Meyers-Briggs type is very strongly ENFP:

    Like most of us, I too rarely reflect on how lucky I am.

    Friends don't let friends use HughesNet.