Consultant

July 1995 - December 1997

Summary: I was a successful full-time consultant based in Washington, D.C., and Toronto until I accepted a full-time permanent position as a Web strategist. I don't do much consulting now, but I am still very interested in:

• Speaking at professional conferences.
• Conducting training for journalists.
• Writing about online media.

My areas of interest are multimedia storytelling, content, navigation, structure, and usability. I come at this from the angle of an editor and a journalist, not a technologist (although I am very comfortable with technology).

What Made Me Different from Other Consultants?

1. I was a journalist and editor for 12 years.
2. I was part of the group that put The Washington Post online in 1994.
3. I have experience in print design (page layout, type specifications, and so on).
4. I have experience in user interface design, which encompasses much more than the graphics on a computer screen; the focus is on how computer users perceive a system to work.
5. My strongest interest is in hypertext systems and how they differ from print media.
6. I have been experimenting with content presentation and structure on the World Wide Web (not just coding HTML) since 1994.

Why Did I Quit?

I came from an editing background, and much of my consulting practice turned out to be in training -- which meant lots of travel (see the Engagements page). I enjoyed that, but it also began to get tiresome. Travel also cut into my own learning time, and one always needs to learn new tools and technologies in this business.

What Did I Do As a Consultant?

• Web Site Design and Information Architecture
• Internet and Web Training
• Advice for Newspapers
• Hypertext Conversion
• Web Editing Services
• Articles and Speaking Engagements