Michael Tchong is an American entrepreneur best known for his startups MacWEEK, Atelier Systems, CyberAtlas and ICONOCAST. Whether as a startup entrepreneur or author, Tchong is always pushing the innovation envelope. His FAST Company columns have delved into such topics as "The Need for More Drag and Drop" and "Why Fast Is In Retail Fashion." Tchong's ability to propel innovation is evident in Vegas Seven article, entitled "Silicon Vegas?," published in November 2010. As a ReadWrite innovation columnist, Tchong has contributed such articles as, "Why Aren't There More/Better Software Design Tools?" and "Innovating The Email Inbox - Without Deleting All."
Career
Since 2003 Tchong has focused his talents on trendwatching and public speaking, while authoring his first book, Trendscape 2004. In November 2003, the UK's Telegraph labeled Tchong "the most influential trend-spotter in America." Prior to that, Tchong founded ICONOCAST, which was acquired by Imagine Media in January 1998. Imagine Media's CEO was Chris Anderson, the founder of the TED conferences. In January 1999, Imagine Media spun off Tchong's Internet marketing newsletter as ICONOCAST Inc., while retaining a minority interest. In June 1999, at his first Internet marketing conference, called Web Attack!, Tchong enlisted noted basketball player Dennis Rodman to lend excitement to the online marketing arena. For his second Web Attack! Internet marketing conference, Tchong hired Broadway producer Marvin Krauss to help produce a mock Broadway musical, dubbed "King.com." Always a positive force in technology, Tchong launched a campaign on April 3, 2001 to save the Internet, called "Back the Net." In May 1996, Tchong joined I/PRO, a start-up focused on the nascent industry of website traffic auditing, after the company acquired his CyberAtlas website. I/PRO subsequently sold CyberAtlas to Mecklermedia in August 1998. In 1992, Tchong founded Atelier Systems, which developed a new concept in contact management, called Hello. In 1987, Tchong founded MacWEEK, which was later acquired by Ziff-Davis. Tchong has been quoted by or appeared on such media as Adweek, BBC News, Business Week, The New York Times, San Jose Mercury News, Tampa Bay Times, and USA Today.
