Glenn Somodi (Idea Hamster)
Idea Hamster, Creative Director, Partner
He is a proud graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. His paying job is as a partner at EYEMG.com, LLC in Akron, Ohio, a website development company.
He has a patient wife whom he met at Ohio University in 1989. He also has three beautiful children that are his favorite creations. His coworkers include three cats and a dog – a Siamese tabby named Nala, a Chantilly-Tiffany cat named Coco, a Maine Coon named Josie, and the loudest coworker is Beckham, a Yorkshire Terrier. All five share office space for the entire workday.
Glenn Somodi is an award-winning American author, and Olly and the Spores of Oak Hill is his first book of a series of adventures.
Interesting Facts
- Started working on computers at 11 years of age - first computer was a Texas Instruments TI-99/4a
- Won the national choral award, but gets stage fright singing in front of people
- Co-directed a student summer theater group
- Always thought he would be a movie director like Steven Spielberg or George Lucas
Big Goonies and Star Wars movie fan - Worked on his high school yearbook team, often adding illustration and designing layouts
- President of the student American Advertising Federation chapter at Ohio University
- Directed a weekly local television show, Friday's Live, in college
- Was an advertising student when advertising layout changed from conventional paste-up to desktop publishing
- Worked in Manhattan as an Intern and lunched with Ally Sheedy of The Breakfast Club and delivered cold coffee to Jane Curtin of Saturday Night Live
- Minored in Spanish at Ohio University, managed the Spanish edition of the Kmart Suan Juan newspaper inserts right out of college
- Learned to use the first Macintosh computer (Mac Classic) to do logo design and desktop publishing
- First resumé was animated and interactive, and was distributed on a 3.5" hard disk
- Joined an advertising agency, Malone Advertising of Akron, Ohio, in 1993 to teach their art directors how to use desktop publishing systems
- Set up one of the first broadcast-quality desktop video editing suites (Avid Media Suite Pro) in an ad agency in northeast Ohio
- Built web pages for Compuserve and America Online (AOL) before the World Wide Web was popularized
- With the introduction of the World Wide Web, started an interactive company, InVision, in Akron, Ohio. Created interactive disks, CD-Roms and Websites
- Created over 200 websites in his lifetime, for companies like Ford Motor Company, Audio-Technica US, Nordson Corporation, and many children's hospitals
- Married for almost 30 years and has three children - oldest daughter, Kylie, is a speech pathologist in the schools in the Dayton area. Middle child, Chase, is a physics undergrad/material science engineering Phd student at Texas A&M. Youngest daughter is Brielle, a marketing strategist for student engagement at Bowling Green State University.
- Partner in EYEMG, a web development shop and data center, for over 20 years
- Likes to write, paint with watercolor, create miniature dioramas, and create book cutout art
- Enjoys working on set designs for high school plays
- Coached boys club soccer teams
- Helped coach both boys club and girls Junior Olympic volleyball teams
- Was in the cub scouts as a child, and volunteered in the Civil Air Patrol (Air Force Auxiliary) as an adult
- Was the Civil Air Patrol commander of the Great Lakes Region Ohio 219 Medina Skyhawks composite squadron
- Created the 75th anniversary logo for the Civil Air Patrol - a patch worn by many in the Civil Air Patrol
- Loves to have pun wars with his family over texts
- Debut book has won several awards and accolades: 2023 Silver Book Award (Readers' Favorite International Book Awards), 2023 Page Turner Award (Best Book - Middle Grade Children's), 2023 International Book Awards (Finalist), The BookFest Award Winner (Third Place).
- Loves to play any sport but especially pickleball, volleyball, racquetball, dodgeball, and soccer
- Has been working toward creating a series of moving Christmas-themed dioramas to display as a show around the holidays