Joseph Wayne Matheny (born December 24, 1961, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American writer and transmedia artist who has created works using alternate reality gaming and transmedia storytelling methods.
[1] He holds patents for prediction, recommendation and behavioral analysis algorithms and software design.
[2] He is a published author of screenplays, white papers, technology, sci-fi, marketing and gaming books.
He is probably best known for the avant-garde work Ong's Hat, which has been called the proto-Alternate Reality Game.
[1][3] Ong's Hat is often cited as the first ARG on many lists of alternate reality games.