About Dan

Last updated March 23, 2022

Dan Hon is an expert on technology and its role in society. Most recently, he has been doing groundbreaking work transforming government and digital services.

Dan is a keynote speaker on government digital services and technology in society. His writing has been published in the MIT Technology Review and Wired Magazine.

Dan is on Twitter (@hondanhon) and Mastodon (danhon@dan.mastohon.com), and can be contacted at dan@verylittlegravitas.com.

He has been writing Things That Caught My Attention, a newsletter, since 2014.

The ebook Things That Caught My Attention, Volume 1 collects the best 45 essays from the first 50 episodes of the newsletter.

Short affiliation

Dan Hon is Principal and founder at Very Little Gravitas, a strategy consultancy, and former Editorial Director at Code for America.

Highlights

Lead strategy consultant for Vision 2023, California’s Statewide Strategic Technology Plan.
Co-designer and an instructor for Digital Fundamentals for Public Impact at the McCourt School of Public Policy.
Led the creation of the State of California’s first digital service, the Child Welfare Digital Service, the subject of a Harvard Kennedy School case study.
Co-Chair of the Code for America Summit, bringing together civic technologists, public employees and technology companies to make government work in a digital age (2020, 2019, 2018).
Keynote speaker, published writer on technology, design, government and ethics (MIT Technology Review, Wired, Web Directions).
Creative Director at Wieden + Kennedy for Nike, Facebook and Coca-Cola.
Co-founded Six to Start, a digital game design and storytelling company, winning Best Experimental and Best of Show (2009) and Best Game (2010) awards at SXSW.
BA Law (Cambridge University), MSc. Software Engineering (University of Liverpool).

Selected experience

Vision 2023: California’s Statewide Technology Strategic Plan

Lead strategy consultant for the California Department of Technology’s Vision 2023, the state’s three year technology strategic plan.

Worked directly with CDT’s Chief Strategist, the State CIO and CDT Director, and the Deputy State CIO and CDT Chief Deputy Director.

Digital Transformation Consultant, Product Strategist, State of California (2016 - 2020)

Worked directly with the Secretary, California Health and Human Services Agency; Secretary, Government Operations Agency; state Chief Information Officer and director of the California Department of Technology; Director, California Department for Social Services; Director, Office for Systems Integration.

Strategic direction: advised oversight and project management offices on the procurement, development and deployment of large-scale technology systems and legacy system modernization and replacement projects, application of product and service strategy.

Product strategy and digital services: worked with state agencies and departments to enable iterative delivery of digital service products that meet user needs.

Harvard Kennedy School cases:

Editorial Director, Code for America

Worked directly with the Executive Director developing organization policy and strategy.

Produced RFP review of Child Welfare legacy system modernization and replacement.

Creative Director, Wieden+Kennedy Portland

Co-Creative Director for Facebook’s first global brand campaign. Worked closely with Facebook leadership to understand the client environment and develop briefs addressing brand sentiment. Directed traditional and interactive creative answers to client briefs.

Creative Director on Nike, Sony, Coca-Cola and Kraft accounts.

Selected writing and interviews

Writing

Wristwatch heart monitors might save your life—and change medicine, too; in print as Your Heart On Your Sleeve. MIT Technology Review, March/April 2019. Topics: emerging technology, healthcare, ethics, quantified self.
No one’s coming, it’s up to us, January 2017, based on O’Reilly Foo Camp talk. Topics: technology and society.
Google Can Buy Nest, But It Can’t Buy Our Trust, Wired.com, January 2014. Topics: ethics, technology.
Fitness by design, Domus, November 2011. Topics: emerging technology, healthcare, ethics, quantified self.

Interviews

Why is it so hard to build government technology?, MIT Technology Review, March 2021. Topics: government, service design, digital services, technology procurement, COVID-19.

Selected speaking engagements

Government digital services

Code for America Summit Co-Chair (2020, 2019, 2018) and advisor (2021)
Code for Canada Orientation Week: Guest Seminar (2018, 2017)
Transforming Government Communication and Content, Web Directions Transform, 2016

Games and play

Picnic (The Games People Play, 2009; Everything You Know About Transmedia Is Wrong, 2010)
SXSW Interactive (2013, 2009, 2008, 2007)

Design

Computer, Stop: Why Star Trek only goes so far and we need to try harder than science fiction, IXDA Interaction 20
Juvet Agenda Convening on Artificial Intelligence (2017)
O’Reilly Foo Camp (2017, 2015)
The Empathy Gap, O’Reilly Design Conference (2016)
Keynote speaker, How Interactive Design (2015, 2014)
An Internet for Humans, Too, Web Directions South, 2014

Selected talks

Computer, Stop: Why Star Trek only goes so far and we need to try harder than science fiction at IXDA Interaction 20, 29.9MB PDF

Awards, professional memberships and affiliations

Awards

SXSW Interactive Best Game (2010)
SXSW Interactive Best of Show (2009)
SXSW Interactive Best Experimental (2009)
Wired UK Wired 100 (2010)
The Webby Awards: Peoples’ Voice, Corporate Social Responsibility, Best Use of Online Media (2012)

Professional memberships and affiliations

Juror, Interaction Design Association Student Charette, 2020
Juror, Interaction Design Association Awards, 2018
Member, British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Former Fellow, Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce

References on request

Government references

Marybel Batjer, President, California Public Utilities Commission; Secretary, Government Operations Agency, State of California
Mike Bracken, Partner, public.digital; former Executive Director, U.K. Government Digital Service
Tom Loosemore, public.digital, former Deputy Director, U.K. Government Digital Service
Jennifer Pahlka, Founder, Code for America
Michael Wilkening, Special Advisor on Innovation and Digital Services in the Office of the Governor, State of California

Headshot

2470 pixel color headshot