Me, personally
I was born in Queens, New York City, but I’ve moved around a lot — Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia…. These days I’m living in an old (olde?) farmhouse on a chunk of acreage in a small town in Upstate New York.
I make my living as a writer, editor, website builder, and general messaging handyman.
I love science and history, and I spend way too much time diving down odd rabbit holes and mumbling to myself.
Other stuff I like
Fountain pens, good keyboards, thunderstorms, Diet Dr Pepper, small inns in dark forests, Duluth Trading, Ball jars, sriracha sauce, Terry Pratchett books, radio.garden, backpacks, MMORPGs, Darn Tough socks.
Want to know more? ➭ Click here for way (way) too much info.
Me, professionally
Warning: This section will probably come across as a bit … braggy. Sorry about that. But on the off chance someone’s looking for a freelancer with my particular set of skills, I wanted to put them here instead of a click away.
My thing is the presentation of information: making any topic clear, interesting, and sometimes fun — because that’s how you get people to pay attention and understand it.
I’ve got more than 25 years’ experience in communications and marketing: from creating magazines and developing Web sites to writing articles, being social, crafting press releases, and creating marketing material.
(Some of) the jobs
- PR guy and internal publications creator for a small hospital in Brooklyn and a small college on Long Island
- Staff editor for PC Magazine (mid ’90s)
- Editor and columnist for Internet World magazine (late ’90s, when the Net was new)
- Radio and TV talking head about the Internet for a whole lotta shows — the big ones being “Good Morning America,” “Today,” and “60 Minutes.”
- Launched and edited B2B magazines on insurance and technology
- USA Today columnist
- Business and technology reporter for the Roanoke (Va.) Times
- Communications/editorial director for the Virginia Association of Realtors, the Georgia Pharmacy Association, and the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding
And my work’s appeared in National Underwriter, CNET, the Blue Ridge Business Journal the Columbus Dispatch, Kiplinger’s, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Smart Money magazine.
Accumulated skills
When you work for small companies, you have to learn how to wear lots of hats.
- Writing and editing, natch (Chicago/AP styles; Chicago is better)
- HTML/CSS/PHP coding (I really need to learn JavaScript)
- WordPress until my eyes pop out
- Non-linear video editing (more fun than it sounds!)
- Photoshop (making stuff and editing photos)
- Design with InDesign (skill level 5-6/10; aka “good enough”)
