My blog n'at

Thanks for taking the time to find out a little bit more about me that you may not see in the blog postings. I started this site out of a need to organize all of my online projects back to one central point. As you can see there is only a blog right now. Eventually I plan on having my sites fully integrated so that you can have a complete understanding of what it is I do.

Originally from Erie PA and currently a resident of Pittsburgh, I have been a web developer/designer since 1995, multimedia since 1998 and new media since 2006. What’s the difference? They’re all a basic progression. Multimedia/New Media mesh together. I have always worked on distributing audio and video for the web but now I’m producing content to be played back on devices other than your home computer. For more information on new media click here.

I am the co-host/producer/creator of a podcast called Should I Drink That?(SIDT). We review craft beers in a way to encourage and educate the high volume beer drinkers (Bud, Miller, Coors) into trying something different than your boring yellow fizzy drinks. Since the start of the show in May of 2006, SIDT has gained national recognition as one of the premiere craft beer podcasts produced today. In 2007 and 2008 we were honored by the podcast community by being named a finalist on the Podcast Awards in the Food & Drink category. We were featured on an episode of Torrents which airs on G4 Tech TV, appeared in the July/August 2008 issue of DRAFT Magazine and have been interviewed in countless articles relating to craft beer and New Media. In September of 2009 we passed the 500,000 download mark for shows we’ve produced and are featured in the March 2010 issue of Pittsburgh Magazine. You can also find me as the new Pittsburgh Craft Beer Examiner on examiner.com

Along with SIDT I also consult on various podcast/vidcast projects, write the coding and content for musical group The Clarks and give talks on “Grassroots podcasting and how to market your show on a limited budget” at conferences. I was the co-writer for a quarterly craft beer column in Flavor magazine aptly named “Should I Drink That?”, currently being interviewed for a book on Social Media due out later this year, contribute to a father’s blog along with Visit PA’s Savvy Grouse, heavily involved with the Pittsburgh New Media community who bring you the world famous Podcamp Pittsburgh and co-produced a walking tour of downtown Pittsburgh used by Visit Pittsburgh.

When I’m not busy with work and podcasting I like to spend time at home with my wife, cooking, watching hockey, playing curling/hockey/softball/bowling, finishing my degree in Interactive Media Design and helping out with the March of Dimes, Cystic Fibrosis and Muscular Dystrophy Association where I was honored in 2007 as one of “Pittsburgh’s Most Wanted” and the proud daddy of my son, Teaspoon.

Douglas in the news:
Robert Morris University’s Twitter Communication Project (ETC Journal – May 2010)
Locals enjoy ‘checking in’ with Foursquare (YourNorthHills.com – May 2010)
Location, location, location–not everyone catching Foursquare fever
(Sewickley Herald – April 2010)
Featured Beer Blogger: DOUGLAS DERDA (Drink with the Wench – March 2010)
Beer Hear! (Pittsburgh Magazine – March 2010)
Links Worth a Look (I Heart Pgh – February 2010)
PodCamp Pittsburgh 2009: Wrap up (PopCity – October 2009)
Sewickley resident helps organize event focused on new media (Sewickley Herald – September 2009)
Self-Guided Walking Tours (Pittsburgh G-20 Summit – September 2009)
Students create multilingual guide (Pittsburgh Post Gazette – September 2009)
Pittsburgh Making A Good Impression On Visitors (KDKA 6pm broadcast – September 2009)
Schools turn to new media to make contacts (Beaver Co. Times – August 2009)
KDKA talks to Spoon about Obama Beer Summit: VIDEO (KDKA 5pm & CW 10pm broadcast – July 2009)
Experts Weigh In On White House Beer Summit (KDKA.com – July 2009)
Loud, well-behaved hockey horde descends on downtown for parade (Beaver Co. Times – June 2009)
Penguin Devotion (Hockey & High Heels – January 2009)
Bloggers to unite under common threads at conference (City Paper – July 2008)
Should I Drink That? They’ll tell you (Beaver Co. Times – July 2008)
Erie Native Brews Up Fun In His Hometown (Outside Erie – July 2008)
The Craft of Chugging (Draft Magazine – July/August 2008)
Pittsburgh Pirates #103 (ESPN the magazine – April 2008)
Is your craft beer in jeopardy? (Flavor Magazine – Spring 2008)
Bringing Iron City back to glory days (Beaver Co. Times – Oct. 2007)
Who knew beer and podcasts go together? (Go Magazine – Oct. 2007)
Reaction to Penguins Town Hall for Ticket Holders (Post Gazette – Sept. 2007)
Internet Superstars to Attend PodCamp Pittsburgh 2 (Aug. 2007)
Worldwide Phenomenon PodCamp Returns to Pittsburgh (June 2007)
Sigmon’s Solo CD is New Smart Pop Rock for Hungry Adult Audience (Sept. 2006)
Volunteer’s “jail time” pays off for MDA (Cranberry Eagle – Sept. 2006) no link
Will ‘moblogs’ mean mo’ money? (CNET Apr. 2004)