Chris Messina is a well-known advocate of the open web, starting as a leader of the community marketing of the launch of the popular Firefox web browser in 2004. He is a board member of the OpenID and Open Web Foundations, and plays an instrumental role in advancing OAuth and safer online computing. A frequent speaker at technology conferences such as Web 2.0 Expo and SXSW, he has been quoted in The New York Times, Business Week, LA Times, Washington Post, ReadWriteWeb, and Wired. In 2008, Chris received the Google Open Source Award recognizing his community work on initiatives like microformats. He also co-founded the coworking and BarCamp communities, and is credited with introducing hashtags on Twitter. He currently works at Google as an Open Web Advocate and resides in San Francisco.

Short version (50 words)

Chris Messina is a San Francisco-based advocate of the open web, known for advancing such communities as Spread Firefox, BarCamp, coworking, and technology initiatives such as OpenID, OAuth, Activity Streams, hashtags, and microformats. He is on the board of the OpenID and Open Web Foundations and works for Google.

Testimonials

“A well known advocate for open source, and one of the voices behind OAuth ... Messina has a history of thinking beyond where we are today and proposing concrete ideas that can be acted upon immediately.” -Louis Gray, Keep A Close Eye on Chris Messina for the Web's Future

“Chris' shepherding of the Barcamp movement has changed the world.” -Alexander Muse, CEO, Big in Japan

“Chris is the guy with the vision. He, more then anyone, helped us define a vision for what Flock should be all about, and was then able to articulate that vision to the world and get people excited about it. It's an amazing talent.” -Bart Decrem, Founder and CEO, Flock, Inc

“Chris needs no introduction. He's the pragmatic visionary testing the hypotheses that aver a more sovereign, interoperable and innovative Web. It's extremely likely that you don't know how much *you* need him to succeed.” Rob Lord, Co-Founder of Winamp and Songbird

“How does Chris Messina always manage to have the best ideas about the most interesting work two years before the rest of us? I have no idea and I don't care. The ability to harness the future for the benefit of others and not simply yourself? That's a cowboy I want to ride with.” - Kevin Smokler, CEO, Booktour

“Chris has turned out some amazing and elegant designs for our events that have made them stand out as professional affairs. His visual genius is matched only by his genteel nature. A true friend, visionary, and thinker.” David Weekly, Founder and Chairman of PBWorks (formerly PBwiki)