This section should give you a brief overview of what history and practical knowledge I have that I could bring to both of these positions. To properly handle this job, you'll need someone who has experience . . . .

As you may know, I ran a newsletter for Star Trek fans since 1987. It was a fairly simple publication, but it was still one that I put out singlehandedly--I had no regular staff. I did all of the layout myself, all of the editing, all of the proofreading -- I even did some of the writing and, occasionally, some of the artwork.

During the course of that seven years, I had to solicit articles from a diverse group of people who all had other interests and commitments, from school to careers. And I didn't have the incentive of getting paid to persuade them to write for me, either; I had to just talk them into it as best as I could.

Of course, working with amateur writers means having to learn how to edit their material into something publishable. I learned all kinds of ways to nurse an article to health--everything from carefully checking each word to making sure the entire flow of the piece worked as a whole.

It all took time, effort, dedication, and a lot of love. And I think it's paid off. You don't have to take my word for it, though; you can ask Sean Lamont about the work I did for him, helping to proofread the magazine he was working with: NeXT In Line, a magazine for users of the NEXTSTEP operating system. You can ask Neile Graham about the work I did for her editing the book she was helping to produce for the Center for Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Washington. Or you could even ask our own Lydia Kinata about the volunteer efforts I put into proofreading SSC's latest catalog.

I really feel that this is the kind of experience you don't get from sitting in a classroom, or from reading a book (although I've read lots of books about editing and graphic design); in a lot of ways, I don't even think it's the kind of experience you can get from a job. It's the kind of experience you can only get from deciding what you want to do--and doing it.

The Internet is big news these days. Articles about the 'Net are common front-page fare for magazines like Time and Newsweek, and magazines especially about life on-line have sprung up everywhere.

So it's not surprising, then, that there's a whole new breed out there who heard about the Internet and thought it might be something good to get into, and are learning as much about it as they can.

But then there are those of us who were already here.

I don't think this position needs someone who only got interested in the Internet and the World Wide Web just because they heard it was the Latest Big Thing; they may understand how the 'Net works, or at least, the programs and protocols that make it function, but it's not likely that they'll understand the people that make the Internet a real place . . . let alone that they'll understand what will appeal to those people.

The other problem with this kind of person is that they'll more than likely have their eye out for the Next Big Thing . . . .

Actually, I think you need--if you'll pardon my hubris for a moment--someone like me. Someone for whom the Internet is home; someone who's here for the long haul, for whom the World Wide Web still feels like an innovation. Who has a grasp of its enormous scope, and its even greater potential.

I've been using the Internet since 1989, and have been interested in pushing it to its limits ever since I started out. So it was only natural, then, that I taught myself HTML and made my first web page as soon as I heard about the Web, in late 1993. Pretty soon, most of my friends had web pages, too, and I didn't think anything of it.

And then, major corporations started getting web pages . . . and I started to realize that my little toy had grown up, overnight, into what could be the next major form of mass media. And I had the tools to work with it.

I haven't been satisfied with making simple web pages. I've been making mailto forms and imagemaps for over a year, and I've started to install my own Common Gateway Interface scripts to add more functionality to my pages--I've even started to teach myself Perl so that I can make my own scripts.

With this page as an example, I hope you can see I've taught myself to make a web page that's simple, straightforward and professional; if you've looked at my own personal web page, then you know I can even design web pages as art.

I've also learned to make pages to other people's specifications; along with Renée Montoure, I put together a set of web pages for ServNet customers--pages intended as help files to guide them in making their own web pages. Renée and I wrote the content and designed the pages under the direction of Sonja Jo Krenz-Bush, one of ServNet's admins. If you'd like to see these pages, you'll find them here. Keep in mind, please, that I'm not entirely happy with these pages, myself; I wasn't able to do all the polishing I would have liked before the ServNet admins decided they were happy with them just the way they were.

And I've taught myself how to quickly make web pages that are efficient, useful tools. You can talk to Lydia again about this one; she seemed very impressed with the index for prodinfo I put together in a couple of days in my spare time, mainly because I thought it needed to be done and I had the ability to do it quickly and well.

In short, I've learned how to make my pages quite readable, from my extensive print background; I've learned how to make them visually appealing, creating my own images using a variety of tools including CorelDraw; and I've learned how to make them quickly and on-demand. Aside from the deadlines I was under to produce the ServNet pages, I'd like to point out that I also put together this set of pages in my spare time in the past two weeks--while I was working full-time, planning and holding a wedding, and leaving the country for a weekend; in other words, when I had as little free time as possible.

I can guarantee that, as your webmaster, creating high-quality web pages on demand won't be a problem.

They say it's better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.

I realize that there will be a number of disadvantages associated with hiring for this position someone who is already an employee of SSC; but I'd like to ask you to take a moment to consider the advantages.

A brand-new employee in this position will not only have to learn the requirements of this particular job, but they'll also have to become familiar with SSC itself; with how we work, with who we are, how we function as a group, and with how we want to present ourselves to the world.

If I may say so--I don't think we have that kind of time. The Web is a volatile medium with a short memory; it won't wait patiently while a new person is trained, while we get back up to speed -- it will keep growing and changing. And we'll get left behind. Unless we have someone ready to step into that job today.

I believe I'm the person you need. While I've only been with SSC for a short while, I already feel like I fit in, like I belong here. I feel I understand the company well enough to be willing to be our spokesman for the millions of readers of the World Wide Web.

Make no mistake; I could happily work in order processing for years to come, just to be part of this company. But I really feel it would be a waste of the skills I bring with me to this company--an inefficient use of the resources you have at your disposal, if you will--not to use me in a position like this.

I hope you'll agree with me by the time you finish reading this. For now, please go ahead and read what I think of the current WEBsmith web pages, and see what opinions my experience has led me to.