About

Michael Johnston is a technology leader who began his career with a 4K TRS-80 in 1978, an experience that taught him the value of doing more with less – much less. In the 30 years since then, he has served in a diverse range of technology disciplines, including software developer, system administrator, technology entrepreneur and, most recently, as architect and leader of the team that developed and deployed one of the world’s largest TV search engines.

His technology vision has often led him to be well ahead of the adoption curve. In 1988, he founded one of the earliest public access Internet service providers in the New York City area – a full half-decade before the Internet would begin its rapid ascent to the forefront of the technology industry. In 1993, he founded one of the first full-service Linux distribution and support organizations, a forerunner of RedHat Software. Beginning in the mid-1990s, he led the team that developed firm-wide digital document management systems at Bear Stearns at a time when such systems were in their infancy. Since then, he has continued to push the envelope.

From 2004 to 2008 he was at Critical Mention, an NYC-based venture-backed startup,  where, as VP of Technology,  he led the design, development and deployment of Critical TV,  a massive, distributed platform that simultaneously records, indexes and makes searchable – in real-time -  the contents of more than 1,000 television channels throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. As perhaps the most comprehensive effort of its kind, Critical TV continues to be widely used by Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and private enterprises around the world.

Michael lives in New York City where he provides technology consulting services to a variety of clients in media and e-commerce. He can be reached at mj@thewellrunsite.com.

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Michael Lyman oversees all technology aspects for the Two Little Hands Productions, the home of Signing Time, including e-commerce, CRM, fulfillment, and accounting systems. His expertise includes SEO, CPC, affiliate marketing, e-mail marketing and landing page optimization. Before joining Signing Time, Michael worked with e-commerce startups reminderband.com and ifrogz.com as the technology and web marketing director. His passions are web marketing, instructional design,  technology and … sailing.