Acknowledgments
Firstandforemost,myenduringthankstomycurrentandformerstudents,whocontinuetoinspire,impress,andteachmemore
thanIthoughtpossible.It’sdeeplyrewardingtoseesomanyformerstudentsreturntocampusasexecutivespeakersandtohostvis-
itingstudentsattheirownfirms.Servingasyourprofessorhasbeenmygreatestprofessionalprivilege,andIamgratefulforsuchan
extraordinary opportunity. Keep at it and continue to make us all proud!
Thanksalsotothemanyalumni,parents,andfriendsofBostonCollege,whohavesogenerouslyinvitedmetobringmystu-
dentstovisitwithandlearnfromthem.Theexperiencesthatyou’veprovidedtoushavebeennothingshortofastonishing.Wewere
presentatthelaunchoftheiPhone.We’venotonlymadetwice-a-yearpilgrimagestoSandHillRoad,OneInfiniteLoop,Hacker
Way,andTheGoogleplex,butmanyofourformerstudentswerefundedandmentoredbytheVCswe’vevisitedwith.Nameatech
firmmakingwavesandwe’vealmostcertainlygotanalumnusthere,andwhenasked,they’veuniformlyopenedtheirofficestoshare
insightwithourstudents.TheEastandWestCoastleadershipoftheBostonCollegeTechnologyCouncilhaveplayedaparticularly
importantroleinmakingthishappen.FromBangaloretoBoston,GuangzhoutoGhana,SeoultoSiliconValley,you’veprovidedmy
studentswithworld-classopportunities,enablingustomeetwithscoresofCEOs,seniorexecutives,partners,andentrepreneurs.
You’vepositivelyimpactedlives,shapedcareers,andhelpedmakeouruniversitystronger.MystudentsandIremaindeeplygrateful
for your commitment and support.
AtremendousthankstomystudentresearchteamatBostonCollege.Inthisupdate,theworkofKaitlinArdiff,TiffanyLiu,and
BranickWeixhelpedkeepourbookthemostcurrentavailable.PrioreditionsbenefitedfrominputfromRootulPatel,KellyPeder-
sen,MichaelLapointe,AbhinavArora,MujtabaSyed,PhilGill,Xin(Steven)Liu,andKathieChang,whoatvarioustimessped
thingsalongandhelpedmefillthisprojectwithrich,interestingexamples.Youhaveallbeensokindtotoleratemyconstantand
unreasonable requests.
IamalsodeeplygratefultomycolleaguesatBostonCollege.Myformerdepartmentchair,JimGips,isnotonlyaconsummate
mentorandeducator,ascreatoroftheEagleEyesandCameraMouseprojects(cameramouse.org)hehasgivenvoicetocountless
peoplewithdisabilitiesworldwideandisthesinglemostimpactfulresearcherthatIknow.Tremendousthanks,aswell,tomycur-
rentdepartmentchair,RobFichman,forhisunwaveringsupportofthisproject;tomyBCISDepartmentcolleaguesJerryKane,for
helpingshapethesocialmediasection,andSamRansbotham,forguidingmethroughtheminefieldofinformationsecurity(Jerry
andSambothholdNSFCAREERgrantsandareMITSloanManagementRevieweditorsforSocialMediaandBigData,respect-
ively);toBC’sMaryCronin,BurcuBulgurcu,PeterOlivieri,andJackSpangforsuggestionsandencouragement;andtothemany
administratorswhohavebeensosupportiveofthiseffort.AllenLi,MariosKokkodis,PeterSterpe,andShannonProvost—Ihope
thetexthelpedmakeyourstartatBCabiteasier.AndXuanYe,welcometotheteam!AspecialthankstoBCProfessorGeorge
Wyner,whohasprovidedextraordinaryguidance,encouragement,ideas,andfriendship,allofwhichhavekeptmemotivatedon
suchahigh-demandproject.I’msoluckytoworkwithsuchbrilliantandcaringfaculty.IhopeyouknowhowverymuchIappreci-
ate you all.
I'malsogratefulforthefolksatFlatWorld,whocontinuetowearthewhitehatswhileofferinglow-cost,highlyinnovativelearn-
ingproducts,challengingindustryconventions,andhelpingstudentsandfacultyworldwide.VickiBrentnallhasbeenanespecially
understanding,highlyskilled,andrapidlyrespondingstewardofthiswork.Thankyousomuchforkeepingthingsontrackand
makingthefinalproductstronger.AlastairAdamandJohnEielson,I'mexcitedaboutyourstewardshipofFlatWorldandlookfor-
ward to great things to come.
I would also like to thank the following colleagues who so kindly offered their time and comments while reviewing this work:
<Donald Army, Dominican University of California
<David Bloomquist, Georgia State University
<Teuta Cata, Northern Kentucky University
<Chuck Downing, Northern Illinois University
<John Durand, Pepperdine University
<Marvin Golland, Polytechnic Institute of New York University
<Brandi Guidry, University of Louisiana
<Kiku Jones, The University of Tulsa
<Fred Kellinger, Pennsylvania State University–Beaver Campus
<Ram Kumar, University of North Carolina–Charlotte
<Eric Kyper, Lynchburg College
<Alireza Lari, Fayetteville State University
<Mark Lewis, Missouri Western State University
<Eric Malm, Cabrini College
<Roberto Mejias, University of Arizona