Today, I celebrate my one year anniversary of working for Blazie Technologies. Truth be told, I had been providing feedback on the BT Speak Pro as a volunteer beta tester while I was still an employee at Comcast working as a product manager. Of course, I was not able to talk about the BT Speak in those days as it was still very much a secret project but I was thrilled to help test what would eventually be a brand new device, similar to the Braille ‘n Speak for the modern age.

The original Braille ‘n Speak was also a major part of my life. After buying a BNS Classic in 1989, I used it professionally in two different roles to help me manage data, along with using it as my only computer for managing contacts, creative writing and going online. I soon realized that I’d love to work for the company that developed it. I was in contact with Blazie Engineering fairly often, submitting bug reports and sometimes answering questions from other users on their bulletin board system, a type of online service that many of us engaged with before the Internet became a thing.

In 1991, my wish came true and I worked for Blazie Engineering primarily doing tech support as well as writing some of the user documentation, software beta testing and continuing to answer users’ questions on the BBS, later doing so on the first Blazie mailing list. Sounds remarkably like the job that I have now. 😀 Even in those early days, I wasn’t looking enough at the big picture. I didn’t view that role as the potential start of a career. I was a lot younger then and pretty much saw it as a cool job to have, which I admit it was. However, it did launch my career in this field, for which I will always be grateful to Deane and Bryan Blazie for making the decision to hire a very inexperienced, young and sometimes rather headstrong, starry-eyed kid.

After being one of those who was impacted by layoffs at my previous employer in October of 2023, I eventually started getting more involved with testing the BT Speak and an eventual opportunity opened to make my role with Blazie Technologies more formal, which I gladly accepted. I would like to thank Bryan and Deane Blazie, along with other members of the Blazie family, for giving me this opportunity and allowing me to be a part of an exciting and innovative project.
@BTSpeak@TweeseCake.social #BTSpeak
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Celebrating My First Anniversary Working for Blazie Technologies

Celebrating My First Anniversary Working for Blazie Technologies Today, I celebrate my one year anniversary of working for Blazie Technologies. Truth be told, I had been providing feedback on the B…

^{Thoughts from David Goldfield}