Warren King

Technology coordinator, Port City Community Church

Warren King is, as he describes it, the “head computer nerd” at Port City Community Church. He is the guy making sure everything from printers and iPads to web servers and streaming hardware runs smoothly, plus “anything else that crunches numbers and runs on electricity.”

“I love technology and being able to make technology useful for people,” King says. “I say it like this, ‘If I’m doing my job well, the technology becomes transparent and just works for the purpose to which it is being tasked.’”

When he’s off the clock, King uses technology to express his passion for art. “I absolutely love ZBrush [pixologic.com].”

To stay up-to-date on tech trends and issues, he checks out a mix of tech reviews and news sites: MacRumors.com, Tomshardware.com, Inc.com, technologyreview.com (out of MIT), CGChannel.com (geared toward entertainment artists) and Wired.com.

And to inspire his creative side he frequently checks out learnsquared.com – an “online school focused on story driven digital art creation” – blender.org and blendernation.com – “two of the best sites for news and updates on Blender 3-D software.”

For podcasts, he recommends Story Grid (“I love story and exploring narrative”); The Collective Podcast (“Saucy language warning!”); and, of course, The ZBrush Podcast (“The developers of the software are transparent and fun to listen to.”)

On his reading list: “Steven Pressfield is my current favorite writer. He writes a lot about being creative and doing the work to make a story become something someone else can interact with.” King recommends Pressfield’s "The War of Art."

Among his current gear, he’s been impressed with his iPad Pro. “The ability to take notes and interact with the Apple Pencil makes for a seamless transition from note taking, sketching and productivity applications. The platform is cost effective too as a primary device for general productivity – read laptop replacement.”

And King lists designer Syd Mead as his digital hero. “He is a ‘futurist,’ and his ideas and artwork inspire me to explore possibility and to look at technology with excitement and optimism. He has been a ‘futurist’ since the 1960s and has been involved in numerous industries including automotive, film and video games.”