“Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not”. Robert Kennedy

I know, I know he was paraphrasing George Bernanrd Shaws play Back to Metuselah (1921). It is still a great quote. He uttered those words at a speech given at the University of Kansas in 1968.

What is it to dream? Is it wishful thinking, if so, then how does it explain nightmares. Is it thoughts or vivid imaginations? Or are dreams just ideas cloaked in our desire to create or to utilize our gifts for the benefit of others.

For the benefit of others.

I am always amazed at the things I learn when I speak to volunteers. They say the most amazing things, when asked why they are volunteering? Some are looking for acknowledgement for their volunteer acts. Which is why any good event rewards their Volunteers with brightly colored T shirts that distinguish them from paid part time employees and staff. Some say they believe in the overall goals of the event or organization. Some are getting the day off and or their boss is volunteering. Well not the majority answer  this way.

It sets them apart.

What sets people who are experts or skilled in their field apart from the rest? They can write scholarly articles, teach a course, write a book or simply offer a meager blog post. Yes I went there. How can OSINTers show they are adept, adroit, deft, savvy, skilled, clever, well practiced, you get the idea. Well, NobleNerds allows for OSINT practitioners to demonstrate their skills and do something good and of benefit at the same time.

Taking Publicly Available Information, analyzing it then pivoting, sometimes in a completely new direction then  analyzing again. Repeat, repeat, repeat. You now know how OSINT investigations sometimes work.

OSINT practitioners never stop dreaming of new areas to collect data. Or tools, methods, and scripts that allow for collection of data. They dream of new ways of penetrating human barriers. They study human behavior in order to Social Engineer access, passwords, intelligence, and gain cooperation.

Great dreamers make for good OSINT.