Vermont Business Magazine/Digital Vermont/February 1996
by George Soules

Interactive multimedia is the glamorous sister in a growing family of graphical computer applications. Multimedia is the combination of text, photographs, full motion video, and stereo sound within a single program. Interactive means you interact with the program using a mouse or touch- screen to control what you see and hear. Well-crafted interactive multimedia software stimulates the senses and entices users to explore, discover, and learn.

Companies of all sizes are producing and selling interactive multimedia CD-ROM titles for education and entertainment. Topics range from art to zoology and everything in-between. Elkwing productions in Waitsfield recently released "Tying Flies for Trout." One feature of this CD lets anglers choose a fly from a panel of color photographs to play a narrated video showing how to tie it. This kind of CD is great fun, but is only one example of the technology.

Going after bigger fish is IBM in Burlington. They want to convince people that the PowerPC is a better performer than the Intel Pentium processor. IBM demonstrates the chip's performance by running identical software packages side by side on two computers, one using a PowerPC, the other a Pentium. The demonstration is done with an interactive multimedia program.

Both IBM and Elkwing needed assistance with their multimedia endeavors. Few companies have the right combination of technical and artistic skills to do the job well in-house. Where did they get help? In digital Vermont, of course. The United Nations, Harvard Business School, and our own State of Vermont got it there too. From a converted barn on the side of a road in Fayston, population 851.

Boasting two ski areas (Mad River Glen and Sugarbush's Mt. Ellen), but no general store, gas station, or post office, Fayston seems an unlikely source of some of today's best and most innovative multimedia productions. That is until you meet Tom Tafuto, president of Applied Imagination Inc, otherwise known as AI.

Tafuto is one of those rare individuals blessed with a talent for blending artistry with technology to present information in attractive and functional ways. His products have been showcased in media journals and demonstrated on the PBS show Computer Chronicles. It's no wonder the corporate world regularly knocks on his rural Vermont door.

Surrounded by Macs, PCs, sound and video equipment, Tafuto told me that he first used a computer in 1986 while in Kenya doing a semester abroad as an English Writing major. His first software creation was a book of his own poetry accompanied by music.

After returning to his home in Brooklyn, Tafuto developed the Big Apple Stack, an interactive layered road map of New York City. It gives a visual tour of the Big Apple from the safety of a Mac. Though he had written the program for fun, it caught the attention of Apple Computer who later asked him to develop other interactive multimedia applications to help promote Macintosh sales.

In a few short years, AI developed a solid reputation for first rate multimedia work, but Tafuto wanted to live in Vermont where he had gone to high school in the early 1980's. Making the decision to move was tough so he and his wife wrote two lists; one of reasons for staying in New York, the other for moving to Vermont. The New York list had just one item on it, but it was a big one: "unparalleled opportunity." Nevertheless, they left for the Green Mountains in 1992.

The move did not hurt AI which is not run like a traditional corporation anyway. It has no formal business plan and does no marketing. Word of mouth referrals are the source of most jobs. Tafuto explained that once he gets an opportunity to show his work to a potential client, a contract usually ensues. Somehow opportunities keep coming and AI is busy but, there have been problems too.

Over the years AI has been taken advantage of by other companies and by government agencies as well. Some of Tafuto's work has been stolen, jobs have gone unpaid, and he's been threatened with unfounded lawsuits. Energetic, but soft-spoken, Tafuto seems to take it in stride, knowing that he has played fair and confident that in time, things work out for the best. He says that by putting his own integrity first and setting a precedent of fulfilling his obligations, he builds trust with his clients.

To help avoid problems, Tafuto suggests being clear up front when drafting agreements---be clear about what you need and what you will deliver. Also, make sure to document your intentions and understandings in writing so you'll have something to point back to if disagreements arise later.

Every small business owner eventually faces problems similar to AI's. If you don't handle adversity well, your own negative reactions can act as an emotional roadblock to productivity. At these times, Tafuto says he tries to get out of his own way as much as possible and tap into the energy that is around him.

Tafuto sets an excellent example for all of us in small business. Treat your customers the way you want them to treat you and don't let your emotions prevent you from doing a good job. Oh, and remember to have fun too. Check out one of the new recreational interactive multimedia CDs. Fly tying anyone?