"I often pass up a daily newspaper when I'm on the road, but I always read NewsScan. In fact, NewsScan is the only email newsletter sent directly to the email address I use for my client communications and personal email -- the address I check obsessively when I travel, even before I listen to voicemail.
I'm a repurposed writer and editor, an early adopter of desktop publishing who stumbled onto the Net in the 1980s when I was working at Princeton. By the early 1990s, I was able to combine my experience in graphic design, marketing and PR with my interest in the Internet, and developed a consulting practice focused on estrategy, Web design and development, and content management -- working primarily in the education and not-for-profit sectors. I founded mStoner in November 2001 with a number of colleagues -- I'm blessed to work with really smart, talented, and dedicated people.
My job is the vision thing, business development, firm marketing, and making sure that projects are begun with a sound strategic footing. Right now, I'm thinking a lot about the enduring value of news, feature stories and other "content." While our clients can't charge for the content they generate (or at least for much of it), I believe it has significant long-term value. I've seen some interesting data lately about how content lives on through the miracle of the Net as it becomes part of databases and is easily searchable -- we need to be able to help our clients develop great content, use it effectively on their Web sites, and distribute their content appropriately and in ways that yield the greatest impact for them.
I'm also trying to learn as much as I can about how the Net can facilitate community. Many of our clients have numbers of people who have strong affiliations with them. How can a powerful Internet presence broaden and deepen these affiliations -- and maybe help others develop closer ties? I'm also interested in exploring how expectations (for affiliation, for interaction, for service) change once a community is highly connected via the Net. For example, how will the expectations of alumni change once broadband is a reality -- will they expect to play a larger role in day-to-day life of universities or have a greater voice in campus governance? And, how can we help our clients anticipate and manage some of these expectations?
Personally, I'm on the verge of realizing a long-time dream. I've lived in congested areas for years and have longed for more open space, fresh air, and trees. I'm about to move to Vermont where my wife and I own a house on a dirt road about 5 miles outside of Woodstock. We begin reconstructing this house in October, with plans to move into it sometime mid-2003. My business HQ will remain in Chicago, which means that I'll return often to America's most livable city, but have my real roots --and my home -- in the country.
When I'm not working, I like to eat and cook -- I like fresh, well-prepared food from all countries and good wine to go with it! I'm a voracious reader. David McCullough's biography of John Adams and Ursula K. LeGuin's Wizard of Earthsea trilogy are next on my list. I also enjoy music: I've got >2500 songs and tunes on my PowerBook, ranging from traditional Irish music to jazz, Mozart, Vivaldi, and African drumming. Right now, I'm listening to a lot of bluegrass (Patty Loveless, Dolly Parton, Ralph Stanley) and rediscovering some of the music I listened to in the 1970s, like old-time American music. I'm also an avid runner."
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