“Holy shizzle sticks! This guy must be close to 157 years old to have done all this stuff.”
-The Dalai Lama
Author & Publisher
September 2012 to present
Available Now: One Hour Guide to Great Web Copywriting (Sept 2013)
A General Betrayal: The Sufferings and Trials of Carlotta Frances Roddey
BIG BYTE BOOKS is the premier publisher of long-lost, out-of-print, historical works. Over 300 rare American Civil War books (memoirs, diaries, letter collections), scores of others on the American Indian Wars and other genres that include Indian captive narratives, true crime, and the Little Bighorn, all with updated introductions and annotations.
Sabatical
July to September 2012
Responsible for getting out of bed every morning (or not) and deciding which cardinal direction toward which I should point the headlight end of my Harley.
Director of Digital Marketing
June 2010 to June 2012
Responsible for the direction, processes, and client interaction standards for a design firm that included digital marketing as a separate division. My team managed nearly 50 clients ranging from small to medium-sized businesses. The client base included e-commerce sites, microsites, financial services websites, and other industry websites. I was directly involved in analysis and optimization of client sites, web copywriting, marketing copywriting, and direction of a rapidly growing team.
Proficient with
- SEO PowerSuite
- Google Analytics
- Google Webmaster Tools
- Google Website Optimizer
- Google Adwords
- Google Adwords Editor
- Google Analytics
- Google Places
- Microsoft adCenter
- Microsoft adCenter Desktop
- Bing Webmaster Tools
- Bing Business Portal
- Open Site Explorer
- HTML, ASP, PHP, WordPress, DotNetNuke, Magento, Joomla, Drupal
Focus was also on new proprietary tools and commercial tools for SEO, including IfByPhone.com, Wordstream, and BrightEdge.
Writing, Editing, Project Management — Microsoft
Microsoft Portfolio
September, 1994 – March, 2009
More than sixteen years experience in technology as a content publishing lead, lead writer, project manager, and software tester. Shipped more than fifteen software titles. Other writing and editing credits include Web content, blogs, magazine articles, and museum exhibits.
- Commended for leadership abilities
- Recognized leader in cross-group collaboration
- Expert at researching technical and historical content
- Expert at scheduling and coordinating large-scale projects with multiple writers
- Experience in researching geopolitical, legal, and localization issues
Project Manager, Content Publishing Lead, Writer
Microsoft Game Studios: Xbox and PC games and related content
May 1997 to March 2009
(Software Test Engineer, September 1994 to May 1997)
In addition to writing and leading a team, was responsible for determining what content went into the products, technologies used to produce the content, and to coordinate reviews (technical, ESRB, legal, geopolitical). Was one of a few people that initiated a program to tap into immense and vibrant Flight Simulator community. Worked with Localization teams in Europe and Asia. Our content won STC awards and was cited by reviewers as exceptional.
- Consistently managed schedules and content development to delivery on time and under budget
- Determined and implemented best technologies for delivering content in-product
- Standardized content and delivery systems across products to save time and money
- Saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in localization costs through content recycling between versions of products
- Used expert knowledge of legacy material to prevent serious problems related to porting content from Flight Simulator over to Microsoft ESP, saving time and money in lawsuits
- Helped develop the community program for the products in ACES studio
- Mentored writers and editors to successfully integrate them into the team
- Often corrected errors and rewrote content for marketing team
Producer/Writer
January 2005—2009
Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA) required a new Web presence to increase visibility for their work and to help them raise money. As they had a limited budget and no expertise in design and development, they asked me to manage the project entirely.
AERAWEB http://www.aeraweb.org
Producer/Writer
Areas of responsibility: all aspects of production and writing
- Exceptional Web site delivered on time and within budget
- Meticulously researched and gathered bids for design and development
- Hired excellent design firm and worked with them through entire process of design and development to save AERA money
- Was crucial liaison between developer and archaeologists to finalize the design
- Brought expert skills as researcher to specialized archaeological data
- Wrote and delivered over 25,000 words on schedule in ten months
AERABLOG http://aerablog.wordpress.com
Producer/Writer March/April 2009
Areas of responsibility: all aspects of production and writing
- Sold organization on the benefits of blogging to reach their audience
- Raised organization’s visibility with blog I created on WordPress
- Brought expert knowledge and professional writing skills to Egypt for five and a half weeks while writing blog
CARAVAN SERAI TRAVEL http://www.caravan-serai.com
Developer 2013
Areas of responsibility: all aspects of development
- Installed WordPress on server
- Built out site
- Exported old blogspot blog and imported into WP
ANCIENT EGYPT EBOOKS http://www.ancient-egypt-ebooks.com
Developer 2013
CIVIL WAR EBOOKS http://www.civil-war-ebooks.com
Developer 2013
Freelance Writer
1997 to present
Specialize in writing technical content, user interface text, Web content, magazine articles, copywriting, rewriting other writers’ content, and editing. Bring expert knowledge to writing about science and technology. Have the experience and sensibilities to write for a global audience.
- Teach webinars on writing for the web
- Blog: SEO Data: Sign of the Times (March 12, 2012; Gravitate blog)
- Blog: Kill Your Pages (January 26, 2012; Gravitate blog)
- Guest blog: I Do This Because (May 30, 2011; No Map. No Guide. No Limits)
- Article: Crowds in Seattle Take to the Streets (February 7, 2011; Seattle Post Globe)
- Article: Out of Egypt (February 11, 2011; Seattle Post Globe)
- Guest blog How to Court Failure (August 30, 2010; 2createawebsite.com)
- Guest blog: Calculating Risk (October, 2009; No Map. No Guide. No Limits)
- All aspects of design and production for brianvhunt.com
- Have written content for numerous client sites and blogs
- Reviewed books for Discovering Archaeology magazine (1998-2000)
- Content for Seattle Art Museum’s Web site Egypt: Gift of the Nile (1998)
- Wrote KMT magazine article “The Death of Tutankhamen: A True Story?” (Fall 1998)
- Co-author “Rod Influence On Hue Scaling Functions”; Vision Research, (November 1997)
- Content for the American Research Center in Egypt newsletter (NW chapter)
PC Games and Related Content
Microsoft ESP v. 1.0 and 2.0 Simulation Platform (2.0 cancelled)
Content Publishing Lead, writer, Subject Matter Expert
Areas of responsibility: All written content
- A recognized leader in cross-group collaboration
- Re-purposed Flight Simulator content for ESP v. 1.0
- Assisted in legal review and acted as subject matter expert during development
Train Simulator 2 (cancelled)
Content Publishing Lead, writer, Subject Matter Expert
Areas of responsibility: All written content (Learning Center, vehicle specs, mission scripts, UI text)
- Reduced costs by standardizing content production across simulation products
- Responsible for and tracked all content deliverables
- Worked with game designers to develop mission scripts
- Worked with UX team to develop new user interface design
- Worked with Web team to plan strategy
Flight Simulator 11 (cancelled)
Content Publishing Lead, writer, Subject Matter Expert
Areas of responsibility: All written content (Learning Center, vehicle specs, mission scripts, UI text)
- Responsible for and tracked all content deliverables
- Worked with game designers to develop mission scripts
- Worked with UX team to develop new user interface design
Flight Simulator Acceleration
Content Publishing Lead, Writer
Areas of responsibility: All written content (Learning Center, vehicle specs, mission scripts, UI text)
- Responsible for and tracked all content deliverables
- Worked with game designers to develop mission scripts
- Member of the Leads team
Flight Simulator X
Content Publishing Lead, writer, Subject Matter Expert
Areas of responsibility: Written content (Learning Center, vehicle specs, mission scripts, UI text)
- Participated in feature development
- Responsible for and tracked all content deliverables
- Created tracking system for content deliverables
- Member of the Leads team
Other PC titles worked on:
Flight Simulator 5
Flight Simulator 2000
Flight Simulator 2002
Flight Simulator 2004
Flight Simulator Acceleration
Combat Flight Simulator 1
Combat Flight Simulator 2
Combat Flight Simulator 3
Dungeon Siege II
Age of Empires: The Asian Dynasties
Baseball 3D
Basketball
Xbox 360 Games and Related Content
Halo Wars
Content Publishing Lead, Writer
Areas of responsibility: Written content
- Wrote voice over scripts
- Planned and ran content kick-off meetings in Dallas
- Presented planning at localization meetings in Dublin, Ireland
- Established and drove content publishing schedule toward on time delivery
- Returned to lead responsibilities for ACES Studio before Halo Wars was completed
Education
Bachelor of Arts: Psychology, University of Washington
Private pilot