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 After
taking my first Internet class in 1995, I was hooked. Back
then, before Netscape or Internet Explorer were available,
sending a receiving e-mail and joining a newgroup was a
big deal. Once I began to receive David Letterman's Top
Ten List daily, I believed a new industry, and this new
form of media would become the wave of the future. I then
switched my education path and became a journalist. Through
text and pictures, I could then tell a better story... on
the Web.
In 1996, I was then accepted into NewsPort
— the nation's first Multimedia Journalism course —
while enrolled at San Francisco State University. After
a rough screening process, I was hand-picked to join the
flagship course and continued on to create a site entitled,
"The
World's Most Popular Place to Die." I became familiar
with video, audio and imaging programs, while coding the
entire site.
 The
following year, I created Orchard's Outback where I practiced
building a web site with Frames, and sharpened my HTML code.
Since SF State gave each student 2 MB of space on their
server, I figured I should use it to promote
my sports journalism articles which ran in the school
paper every Tuesday and Thursday.
Early along, I knew I had a skill I could
put to good use. Better still, I found a career in something
I enjoy and at the same time help other companies prosper.
I started OrchardWeb.com in 1997 where I design, build and
manage websites for clients. You can view OrchardWeb.com's
published websites
to see the many different ways we've helped our clients
with their Internet needs.
My quest to learn and continue to develop with this industry
has also turned into a full-time job.
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http://www.gartner.com
Mar. 1998 – Aug. 1999
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Shortly after I graduated college
with a BA in Journalism, I was hired as a Web Author
for Gartner Group Inc.
(NYSE: IT), the industry leader in information technology.
My first project was to take the existing Dataquest
website (an acquisition), and migrate it into the
GartnerGroup architecture, style, look and feel.
Other projects I headed or assisted
on while working at GartnerGroup included: GartnerGroup's
Symposium/ITxpo '98; GartnerGroup's ITJournal; and
GartnerInstitute.
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http://www.infogear.com
(acquired by Cisco Systems)
Sept. 1999 – Jun. 2000
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Being a distant team member at GartnerGroup,
I was unhappy with my growth potential. So, just after
I married my wife, Nancy, in June of 1999, I decided
to find another job, pereferably one closer to my
home. A great opportunity came up for me at InfoGear
Technology, Inc., just one stop light away
from my house. :)
As the Webmaster and Graphics Designer,
my role was loosely defined, but I always focused
on making the web experience better. The first two
goals were to overhaul the external website and make
sure it displays properly on the iPhone — a web
phone which was our flagship product.
Along the way, I also worked on many projects involving
our @ppliance services program (our iPhone portal).
I created many of the customized buttons and UEI interfaces
for our clients.
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http://www.cisco.com
Jun. 2000 – present
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Cisco Systems
Inc. (NasdaqNM:CSCO), one of InfoGear's primary
investors, must have liked what we were showing them.
While we were en route to becomming a public company,
Cisco made an offer we couldn't refuse. Shortly thereafter,
we were acquired.
During InfoGear's move into Cisco, I transfered into
the parent organization, Small & Medium Line of
Business. Along with still being able to focus on
the SMB market, I've been able to assist and manage
a wider range of products and marketing programs.
I must say one thing about Cisco too, although it's
a *big* company, the speed at which we've been able
to do projects and the work we do on a daily basis
is just as exciting as it was in the start-up environment.
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