I write two weekly blog posts about the emerging independent music industry for GigHive.com, a networking community for indie musicians and industry pros of all types.

October 2009 – Present

I got involved with GigHive in the fall of 2009. The founders were looking for a knowledgeable blogger who could quickly research and produce engaging posts about relevant industry trends. The site launched officially in December, and since then, our focus has been getting the word out to the indie music community and driving traffic and new membership to the site.

Since beginning to work with GigHive, I have:

• Produced two in-depth posts per week on indie music news, as well as DIY career-building strategies.
• Organized and implemented GigHive’s first digital compilation album release – Hark to the Buzz!
• Arranged and conducted interviews with industry experts.
• Driven site traffic using social media and cross-promotional link building campaigns.
• Built relationships with other significant sources of indie music news and information in order to solidify GigHive’s presence in the online music community.

Visit a directory of all my Buzz posts here.

I do a lot of writing on request or off-the-cuff that I tend to forget about as soon as it goes live. I’ll try to post links to my random fits of guest blogging here, so check back for new stuff every once in a while!

Why I Don’t Own A Car

I wrote this post for Go Green and Save the World, a blog by Mr. Sam Jones, whom I met when he contacted Hotcards on behalf of Bacchus Press in the interest of doing a link exchange. It’s always great when you meet someone new online and there are various different ways in which you can help each other!

I worked with Enigma Networks to bring clarity, accessibility, and style to their existing website through a complete content rewrite.

December 2008

Enigma Networks is a Canadian IT and IP solutions provider run by the often shockingly savvy Joseph Funari. The goal of this project was to develop fresh site content for these network-building professionals that was both technical enough to appeal to IT experts, and friendly enough to appeal to non-technical business owners.

To up the ante in terms of the variety and dynamism of the content, I developed the concept of having quotations at the top of each page. Nothing new, you might say. However, the uniqueness of this format lies in that the quotations highlight common IT problems experienced by businesses, and are then followed up in the main body text with the solutions offered by Enigma Networks. By drawing the eye instantly to a negative on each page, you effectively surprise the viewer into reading on.

I was engaged on a contract basis by Toon-FX to develop a blog/online graphic novel to be used as a marketing tool for their software product.

April 2008 – November 2008

Toon-FX is a software company creating technology that allows users to turn photos, videos, and online chat sessions into really cool cartoon images. To promote their software, Toon-FX hired me to create comic book-style characters who would blog about their crazy adventures, using Toon-FX to tell their stories. I built and maintained Wordpress blogs, Facebook accounts, and MySpace accounts for two characters – a teen eco-warrior, and a zombie cheerleader.

This project also involved:

• Writing epic adventure stories for each character.
• Taking a creative director position in the development of photos and video used in the project.
• Working closely with digital image artists and web developers to create effective visuals for the marketing materials.
• Using social media networking to connect with Toon-FX key demographics.

I write feature articles, often 3-part series, for SonicWeekly.com, an ezine geared towards musicians and other recording industry professionals.

August 2005 – Present

Way back in 2005, two very cool cats, Jethro Ruthrauff and Esther Reyes, interviewed me about getting on board with their project – creating an online music resource for musicians. Most of their writers were based in LA, as are they, and they were uncertain about working with a writer long-distance. But since we began working together, we’ve not only put together some great writing by collaborating online, we’ve also had the opportunity to meet up and get to know each other, thanks to our mutual love of travel. And now that Jethro and Esther have begun focusing entirely on their project, look out for Sonic Weekly going great places!

Since beginning to work with Sonic Weekly, I have:

• Developed feature-length articles and interviews on relevant topics affecting musicians today.
• Found my own interview sources and conducted interviews with artists all over the world via email and phone.
• Worked closely with an editor and met tight deadlines on a regular basis.

I write a daily blog, provide SEO-targeted web content, and develop social media presence for Hotcards.com, a printing and design house based in Cleveland, OH.

January 2006 – Present

At the beginning of 2006, Columbus Woodruff, CEO of Hotcards.com, came to me with a proposal. He wanted Hotcards to be more than just another online storefront. He wanted his printing website to be an industry hub, and a resource for anyone seeking information about printing, print design, and direct mail.

Since beginning to work with Hotcards in 2006, I have:

• Developed and driven daily traffic towards the Hotcards blog, which covers topics relevant to politics, the environment, the economy, and other areas both relevant to the printing industry and of interest to the layman.
• Regularly developed fresh content, such as product articles, how-tos, and a print dictionary, and worked within the company CMS to put it up on the website.
• Assisted in the development of marketing materials online and in print.
• Employed social media and networking (Twitter, Technorati, community-based news aggregators, relevant online printing communities) to drive traffic to Hotcards.com.

In a recent interview, CEO Columbus Woodruff attributed Hotcards’ ability to weather the recession to its strong web presence.