Ray and Sally Strackbein

These self-described "nerds"-they met on the Internet-worked in the computer and high-tech arena when computers took up a lot of space, before there was an Internet.  Both have philosophy degrees, which makes them more than just gee-whiz techies but rather two people who think seriously about the implications, uses, and meanings of technology and how they affect individuals, businesses and larger entities like cities and towns.

They've made a career and a big success out of showing people how to fit technology into their lives, how to communicate with machines and each other, the best ways to use the Internet and really make it work for you to advance and market businesses.

Ray Strackbein often thinks in big terms and big pictures: "Once," he said, "I was giving a presentation to the powers that be, commercial and political, in a small town outside of Seattle. Used to be a logging, fishing kind but now they were thinking of going into fiber optics to attract businesses and create jobs. They were already conducting business on the net in a successful. So I told them they had to think about the implications-what would happen to the town if you brought in new business-and whether they were willing to accept the disruption, the change in size and all of that, as opposed to continue doing what they were doing but maybe a little more effectively. See, the thing about technology, it's not just using it but understanding the implications."

The Strackbeins give highly focused and motivational talks on using the Internet, gaining credibility on the Internet and creating websites that works and the do’s and don'ts of websites that are effective for individuals or small businesses.

Ray Strackbein's topics focus on connections-between business and technology. That can range from small businesses to start-ups to towns. He talks about strategic planning for small businesses, what executives and owners should know about technology for small businesses, connections and communications. "I learned something early on," Ray says. "It wasn't enough to be a nerd. I needed to learn about communicating, about the social and political aspects of technology."

When the Strackbein's call themselves "nerds", you think of colorless, pale people hooked to their computers. That's not them. They also happen to be warm and funny, two qualities that makes them connect with people when they speak to large and small audiences. They also have unique life experiences-Ray Strackbein started out as a radio and television engineer, then became a disc jockey in the small town of El Centro, California, where he grew up.

Both of them had high tech careers of different sorts and gravitated naturally toward becoming speakers and translating their feelings about connections and networks between people and technology, business and technology, into popular speeches, workshops and engagements.

Together or separately, Ray and Sally Strackbein can make you understand technology, how it can help you succeed, and how it changes everyone's lives. That's a good thing.