I doodle. A lot. As I sit in meetings, as I watch TV, pretty much whenever I’ve got a pen and some paper. Sometimes I scribble and see something in the mess, sometimes I set out to draw something specific. It’s something I really enjoy and I thought I’d start posting them here. I’m fortunate enough to have some of my doodles published at Smart Brief’s SmartBlog on Social Media. I’ve also started a Zazzle store where I make my doodles into t-shirts and coffee cups. If you like the doodles, leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.
I’m a social media professional. I know that’s a weird thing to say, but my day job is for a Fortune 500 company working on the social media team. I deal with technical aspects of Facebook, Twitter, Google and other APIs that we use for a variety of mashups in our social media efforts. I’m incredibly fortunate to get paid to stay on the cutting edge of emerging media.
I design web sites. I ask questions like “who is this site for?” and “what do you want them to do?” and “how will you know if the site is a success?” I find out what kind of information people want on their site and help them organize it so the “who” and find the “what” and get on with the “doing.” I sketch the interface with pencil or pen and then mock it up in Photoshop. I slice it up and mark it up with HTML and CSS. I make it do nifty stuff with javascript.
I program web applications. If a site connects to a database, I’ll write the asp, php or rails code that makes it go and test it to make sure it works.
I do search engine optimization. When the site is up, I make sure that title tags sync with body copy and the headline. I make sure anchor text contains your most important keywords. I’ll help you install Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools and show you how they work and what they’re telling you.
I turn it up to 11. When the computer is away, I plug in my iPod and crank up some Slayer, Slipknot or Lamb of God. Nothing beats machine-gun double-bass drums (in my opinion, anyway). Sometimes I grab my guitar and make noise. It’s fun. I’m not great, but it doesn’t matter. Johnny Ramone was a crappy guitar player but he made up for it with attitude.
Thanks for stopping by!
