Family Projects for Smart Objects

John Keefe is the Senior Editor for Data News at public radio station WNYC in New York. The team infuses the station s journalism with data reporting, investigations, visualizations and interactives that are both useful and playful. These range from hurricane-tracking maps to do-it-yourself kits to help predict a cicada emercence.Keefe previously led WNYC s news operation, developing its election coverage and breaking news capacity. He is an adjunct instructor in the Journalism + Design program at the New School and is an Innovator in Residence at the West Virginia University Reed College of Media. Keefewas an adviser to News Challenge winner CensusReporter.org.Much of Keefe's professional work is focused on building useful, playful things for New Yorkers. On the side, he loves building useful, playful things for his family, himself and just for the fun of it -- often with friends who, together, call themselves Team Blinky. When he realized there just wasn't enough making in his life, he committed himself to making something new every week. While he hasn't quite held to that pace, he's managed to make a lot of new things, learning about electronics, sensors and coding in the process."