Billy Watterson

Freelance Writer

United States of America

Hello! I live in Providence Rhode Island where by day I run Beat the Streets Providence - a 501c3 starting scholastic wrestling teams in order to inspire at-risk youth - and by night I write about the things that interest me - crazy cool people, technology, policy, and my own strange fictions. In my free time I enjoy playing the ukulele badly, fishing, backpacking, climbing, surfing (again badly), and pretending I am alternatively Indiana Jones and/or a Jedi.

Portfolio

Opinion

Post-
12/04/2014
wrestling with defeat

There is a scene in the new movie Foxcatcher, a biographical drama about wrestling, that really stuck with me. Mark Schlultz, a professional wrestler who has just lost in the opening round of the Olympic Trials, retreats alone to his room and breaks down. He seethes and boils until he explodes.

providencejournal.com
08/24/2016
Billy Watterson: Ancient lessons on dealing with immigrants

Here is a history lesson worth considering: There is nothing wrong with letting in the barbarians at the gate - as long as you don't treat them poorly.Consider the army that felled Rome.This army began in Northern Europe - an area which at the time was not so different from today's Syria, unstable and constantly at war.

Post-
09/17/2014
the adventures of billy bean

Billy Bean is someone I could never forget. An anomaly in a world where people drift into and out of our lives like fleeting thoughts. They leave just a little bit faster than they come. Billy Bean is someone who didn't, someone who instead walked into my life, walked out, and ...

Tech Writing

The Next Web
09/03/2016
The pen is not mightier than the robot

I have always assumed - which of course makes me an ass - that my chosen career path as a writer was safe from our robot overlords.

The Next Web
05/05/2016
The IoT and the 20 ninjas in your refrigerator

"Okay." He paused as turbulence sent the plane suddenly rising and falling like a rollercoaster. "How long have you had your refrigerator? 10 years, 20 years, God knows." He answered his own rhetorical question. "Now imagine this. Imagine you had a computer for 10 years, 20 years and you never updated it.

The Next Web
10/21/2016
Is Zuckerberg onto something? Why you should tape your webcam

In the past I've tried to emulate Mark Zuckerberg. Become a billionaire, celebrity, philanthropist, wear a sweatshirt or t-shirt everyday, drop out of college and don't have to go to class anymore, what's not to like? Sadly, for the most part, it hasn't worked out so well for me.

Motus Blog
12/30/2015
How Autonomous Vehicles Will Impact Fleet Management

Every company from Google, Delphi, Mercedes, Tesla, Nissan, Apple, to most recently Uber has been working on bringing the first self-driving car to market. Already, self-driving cars have made the trip from New York to San Francisco. Google cars without steering wheels or brakes have cruised the streets of Silicon Valley.

Motus Blog
02/18/2016
The Internet of Cars: How IoT is Impacting the Mobile Workforce

"The Internet of Things" (IoT) is the network of physical objects embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity collecting and exchanging data - or in layman's terms, the growing number of everyday objects that we have connected to the web, including: watches, thermostats, glasses, televisions, speakers, microwaves, light-switches, and everything in between.

The Next Web
06/21/2016
7 ways custom apps make you more productive

I use apps for everything. Maybe it's the millennial blood coursing through my veins or a general desire to accomplish as much as possible while doing as little as humanly possible, but when I want to accomplish a task or do something more effectively I go searching in the app store.

Motus Blog
11/25/2015
Zen and the Art of the Mobile Worker

"The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there." ― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values In the classic American novel, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the unnamed protagonist and his son ride on motorcycles across the country.