Biography
Michael Branson Smith is a web artist and associate professor of Communications Technology at York College, The City University of New York. He holds an MFA from Tufts University, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and an MS in Chemistry from the University of Chicago (admittedly, a strange combination). MBS presently spends a lot of time creating animated GIFs, particularly with a nostalgic eye or by remixing with artists and friends. He regularly teaches a course on digital storytelling inspired by the DS106 community. He is also a multi-media producer of industrial work principally for not-for-profits – including video, artwork, and design.
MBS works on special projects for the CUNY Academic Commons, a home-grown academic social network built with the open-source tools WordPress/BuddyPress. He contributes to regular discussions on the current status and future direction of the site’s development plan. As well as reflect on the project including the inherent values of Commons and its importance to CUNY.