We’re still growing leaps and bounds here at BLASTmedia and have been on the lookout for an exceptionally talented individual to be our Director of Business Development. We are very lucky to welcome Harrison Painter to the BLAST family!

Harrison is an Indy-native and a social media expert who has spent most of his career working in Los Angeles as a communications expert to the stars. He was on the cutting edge of social media before most people knew what Facebook was. Learn more about Harrison:

Nicknames: People usually just call me HP. My wife has been known to call me a few things, but that would probably need to be censored for this post. (Hi Tiffany, you’re the best!)

Husband points +1

Interesting Facts About Harrison:

• I served in the Navy during the Desert Storm era, and lived in the Silicon Valley area in California during that time.
• I am a huge fan of the Grateful Dead; been to well over 100 shows all over the country.
• I live my life like I’m starring in a movie. This helps me get through some of the difficult parts; they become easier to deal with when you know the hero always comes out on top. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, I don’t do nude scenes.
• I have been married for over a decade, have 2 daughters, 3 dogs and 1 cat.
• My favorite cereal is Fruity Pebbles, and I love intimate performance art.

Favorite Social Media Platform: That is a tough one, as I love them all for different reasons. Some folks will say I have a short attention span, and that fits right in with Twitter. I really enjoy the fast and furious 140 character blasts (<– see what I did there) that it offers. It has also helped to connect me with a lot of amazing people. So let’s go with…wait…look a squirrel!

Interesting Tweeps: A couple of folks I really respect in the space are Scott Monty, the head of social media at Ford Motor Company, and Bob Burg, author of The Go-Giver. These are two of the people that really inspired me in the digital business world.

Favorite Bloggers: Me! Have you had Coffee with Harrison yet?

Favorite Source For Social Media News: Few sites can come close to Mashable, they are just on top of everything. Alltop is another great place for news as well, and I visit ReadWriteWeb every day.

Philosophy: My philosophy is simple: Create value for others, care about the people you connect/work with, and always make sure to be moving forward. I am not an expert, but a constant student always hungry to learn more. I focus more on solutions than problems, and maybe that is just my updated version of the glass half full. There are few shortcuts in life and business, and success is only achieved through hard work. Life is short, so just make sure to love what you do and hug your wife and kids often!