Focus Magazine of SWFL Hot Summer Looks

Talk Nerdy to Her Katie Linendoll is an Emmy Award winning TV personality, writer, tech expert and global tech consultant. She’s a writer and contributor to the TODAY show, a regular contributor to CNN, and recently finished a series on innovation for Huffington Post. We asked her to tell us about how she got her cool job, and to fill us in on what she’s been working on lately. Here’s what she told us, in her own words: I’ve been immersed in technology my whole life. I even attended computer camp long before computers were cool. As a kid, I got into it because it was fun for me. I earned my networking certificates before I graduated high school and went on to receive my bachelor’s degree in information technology new media from Rochester Institute of Technology – I’m proud to have been the only girl in most of my classes! Still, I never could have predicted the quick explosion in things I once considered “Jetsons”-like gadgets—like smart phones and wearable technology—not to mention the insatiable consumer interest in those gadgets. I’m grateful that technology has become so deeply ingrained in retail and pop culture, because that has allowed me to follow my passion, and carve a career doing what I love most: becoming an on-air tech expert, global tech consultant, tech reporter and more. I got my start with ESPN’s SportsCenter, and won an Emmy for my work at age 22. A few years later, I received another Emmy nomination for my work as tech host on A & E’s We Mean Business. Over time, I’ve served as host on All Access Weekly on Spike TV, where I interviewed dozens of celebrities, including Norman Reedus, Jim Carrey, Rob Zombie and Ethan Hawke. I have also had the opportunity to write for dozens of publications, including ESPN the Magazine, ESPN.com, Marie Claire, Shape Magazine, CBS.com and more. Thanks to my tech and media back- ground, I’m able to research, produce and create all of my own segments. I’ve participated in media projects with Dell, HP, Hyatt, IBM, Cadillac and Lincoln, leading speaking engagements across the country. And I’ve held a job I never thought I would: serving as a technology host at HSN, where I was responsible for more than $20 million in sales for the network (I’m great on dates—I can fill a lull in two seconds!) Today, I’m a writer and contributor for the TODAY Show, I regularly contribute to CNN and I recently completed filming a series on innovation for Huffington Post. Thanks to my job, I have the opportunity to explore the technology stories that truly fascinate me. Looking back at the stories I’ve covered, there are days when I feel like I’m living in a dream. I think back to when I introduced Google Glass to the St. Louis Rams for ESPN, exploring the implications that the augmented reality perspective could have for the NFL and fans. Then there was the time I got to visit NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and Mars Yard. It was like I’d summited one of the seven summits of nerd-dom. Other career highlights include jetpacking over the Pacific Ocean, traveling to Kenya to see, firsthand, how technology is helping eradicate illiteracy in the poorest parts of the world, and learning to spearfish in order to hunt the invasive lionfish in the Atlantic Ocean, surrounding Bermuda, for a CNN story I produced. I have to say, I feel incredibly blessed to be able to continue following my passion in the tech world, and to have been lucky enough to make a career out of it! FOCUS of SWFL 2014 103

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