Fred StutzmanThoughts about information, social networks, and privacy

Research Biography

Fred Stutzman is a doctoral candidate and teaching fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library Science. Advised by Dr. Gary Marchionini, his dissertation looks at how people use social network sites for support during a life transition. He is also interested in the decisions people make when constructing their online identities. Fred holds a BA in Economics, and a graduate certificate in quantitative methodologies from the Odum Institute for Research in Social Sciences.

Prior to graduate school, Fred worked in technical and management roles for Ibiblio.org, The Motley Fool, and Nortel Networks. He is the co-founder of ClaimID.com, a social web identity management system, and the designer of Freedom and Anti-Social, the productivity applications. Fred has consulted with top organizations, including the Pew Internet and American Life Project and MacArthur Foundation, and the presidential campaigns of Wesley Clark, John Kerry and John Edwards. His work has been featured in the Economist, New York Times Magazine, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Wired Magazine, Newsweek Magazine, Slate Magazine, Salon Magazine and on NPR.

Professional Biography

Fred Stutzman is a creative professional who employs original research and analysis to identify and build solutions for emergent socio-technical issues. His design work has been celebrated in the world’s top forums, including The Economist, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The New Scientist.

Professional Experience

Prior to graduate school, Fred worked as Director of Technology and Project Manager for ibiblio.org (2001-05), Systems Engineer and Project Manager for The Motley Fool (2000-01), and as a Co-Op for Nortel Networks (1998-2000).

As an entrepreneur, Fred is responsible for the development of the productivity applications Freedom and Anti-Social. He is also the co-founder of ClaimID, a social web identity management hub with over 125,000 registered users.

Select Consulting and Advisory Experience

Fred has helped a number of firms, political campaigns and grant-funded academic projects understand how to engage their audiences with social network sites. Example clients include the presidential campaigns of Wesley Clark, John Kerry and John Edwards and the HASTAC/MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Competition.