I hope you find them useful. Thanks for your interest.

To my great distress, Chris Messina and Tantek Çelik attended the talk. I had been nervous already, but now I had a total fangirl fit. I wanted to exclaim, "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!" (I didn't.)

Tantek pointed out Google's use of Rich Snippets using the hReview microformat. Google is now using microformats for recipes, people, video and events — and even has a form to test how your microformatting will look on Google.

Google's implementation is beautiful — and I might have never connected the rich snippets with microformats on my own. The last time I played with microformats was 5 years ago ... I need to get back in there.

Webinars & Workshops:
June 16, 2009: Using Social Media for Disaster Response and Recovery
2009: Usability: The Road to Informed Decisions (Jared Spool, UIE)
February 2009: Usability in a Search-driven World
December 11, 2008: Business Analytics with Google Analytics
2008: Can You Get to the Point? (presentations)
2008: Next-Gen Catalogs
March 2006: Writing for the Web (Ann Wylie, Wylie Communications)
September 2004: Learning PHP and PHP & MySQL at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention
2003: Web Accessibility in Mind Training (WebAIM)

Summary

altPortland (1995-current)

• Added new material or revised/revisited older material on a daily basis
• Interviewed people to find out what material they'd like to see
• Analyzed search results to improve search engine optimization
• Determined new topics to write about from search queries
• Created the first non-commercial guide to Portland
• Administer site on an Apache server
• Hosted 24,000 visits a month in 2006

Washington County Cooperative Library Services (4/2008-current)

• Write and edit copy for the web
• Lead efforts to blog as an organization
• Lead efforts to use a Content Management System
• Implement social media campaign
• Introduce usability testing
• Improve search results
• Tweak System Administration in library catalog (Polaris) for more usable results
• Train staff in writing for blogs and website best practices
• Create database-driven websites
• Provide customer support via email and phone

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (11/1999-4/2008 )

• Improved search results for products and services using site architecture, improved web site design, metadata and cataloging, finding aids, work-arounds for search engine blindspots, and a thesaurus incorporated into a new Search Engine Appliance
• Found, championed, and installed superior search engine to upgrade web site
• Trained staff in search engine optimization, web design/interface issues and standards-compliant XHTML and CSS
• Managed the Laboratory's web sites over 6 domains and 22,000 pages
• Increased web developers knowledge of usability, and universal accessibility issues
• Created and maintained database-driven web sites using ASP and PHP
• Administer site on an IIS and Apache server

Oregon State University Portland Center (6/95-10/99)

• Created, maintained, and updated four web sites on the OSU Portland Center and the OSU Web Publishers Cooperative Learning Group
• Co-lead OSU Web Publishers Cooperative Learning group (1997-1998)

Publications

• NWREL Insider (2004, 2006)
• Option Magazine (1987-1992)
• Current Magazine (Ann Arbor) (1987-1989)
• The Ann Arbor News (1988-1989)
• Michigan Daily (1984-1986)

Education

Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

• Master of Science in Library and Information Science, 2004
  Coursework included Indexing and Abstracting; Online Information Systems; Information Organization and Access; Interfaces to Information Systems; Cataloging and Classification I and II; Representing and Organizing Information

Residential College, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

• Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and International Studies. May 1986.

Continuing Education

• Please see the Continuing Education Page

Professional Affiliations

• Please see the front page

Summary

altPortland (1995-current)

• Added new material or revised/revisited older material on a daily basis
• Encourage the use of multi-modal transportation by offering google maps, bus route information, and bike routes on new daily reviews
• Extended the capability of commercial content management system (Movable Type)
• Interviewed people to find out what material they'd like to see
• Analyzed search results to improve search engine optimization
• Determined new topics to write about from search queries
• Created the first non-commercial guide to Portland
• Hosted 24,000 visits a month in 2006

Tales of Slow Brave Athena (2004- current)

• A personal blog about movement, commuting, and exercise

Experience

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (11/99-current )

• Worked with content experts to write and edit web copy, and to better market their products, services and organization
• Established web sites that achieve organic search engine listings, making information finding easier for the user
• Maintained extensive knowledge of Internet technologies by reading articles and blogs, and participating in web email lists
• Worked frequently and successfully in team settings to achieve organizational goals and objectives
• Synthesized data into text and graphics
• Worked in multiple deadline/shifting priority/multi-tasking environment on a rigorous production schedule
• Managed the Laboratory's web sites over 6 domains and 22,000 pages

Oregon State University Portland Center (6/95-10/99)

• Created, maintained, and updated four web sites on the OSU Portland Center and the OSU Web Publishers Cooperative Learning Group
• Provided in-person and phone reference using print and online sources on Oregon State University, the Oregon University System, and the city of Portland
• Co-lead OSU Web Publishers Cooperative Learning group (1997-1998)

Oregon State University Extension Service (5/93-6/95)

• Performed reference duties on home economics issues, multiple calls daily.
• Managed over 50 volunteers: coordinating training, orientation, and staffing several information hotlines

Publications

• NWREL Insider (2003, 2006)
• Option Magazine (1987-1992)
• Current Magazine (Ann Arbor) (1987-1989)
• The Ann Arbor News (1988-1989)
• Michigan Daily (1984-1986)

Awards

• Hopwood Award, non-fiction. November 1981.

Education

• Master of Science in Library and Information Science, 2004

Residential College, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

• Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and International Studies. May 1986.

Continuing Education

• Writing for the Web (Ann Wylie, Wylie Communications, 3/2006)
• WebWise 2004: Sharing Digital Resources (Institute of Museum & Library Services, 2/2004)
• Web Accessibility in Mind Training 2003
• IA Summit: Information Architecture "Making Connections" (ASIS&T, 3/2003)

1. Breakfast on the Bridges (Friday, May 26):
If you've moved on up to the Eastside, and you use the Broadway or Hawthorne bridge to cross the Willamette, do I have some deluxe news for you.

The last Friday morning of the month is Breakfast on the Bridges, which is just a little bit of love in the form of coffee in a real cup and some pastry. Stop, say hi, have a sip and a nosh, talk to your fellow cyclists. Isn't life great?

Are you getting out of bed early yet? C'mon people, we're not out here for our health. Obviously. Look, we've got coffee, pastries, and cream. All the social lubricants needed for early morning fun. Think of it as a cocktail party for the nocturnally challenged.

http://shift2bikes.org/breakfast.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/trorb/BikeTV/iMovieTheater142.html

2. Pedalpalooza (June 8 - June 24)
In 2002, Portland was the host for Bike Summer, a month-long celebration of bicycling. Some of the folks involved thought it was so much fun that they couldn't let it rest. In 2003, there was Mini Bike Summer, and well, it just never stopped.

Pedalpalooza is two-plus weeks of bike fun. Wanna do a long ride and learn about transportation policy? Check. Do you need three donut crawl rides or several taco-burrito rides, or even some pub crawls? A parade? Moonlight rides? Another breakfast, this time on an overpass? A bike fair? Opportunities to speak Spanish while riding? To not ride but watch films about riding--or ride in for an outdoor movie? Find the best thai noodles via bike? Ride through public water displays? Go on an Urban Adventure Ride (like the Dead Freeways ride or the Sullivan Gulch Tour)? Do a century on a kid's bike, zoobomber stylee? Explore Portland's Architecture and Urban Design?

Sorry, I got carried away. But I didn't even scratch the surface. There's an awful lot of fun to be had. Don't miss it.

http://www.bikesummer.org/2002/
http://shift2bikes.org/pedalpalooza/pp2006.php

-- vj (who hopes it'll dry up before quittin' time)

Hey, so May is National Bike Month. The League of American Bicyclists say so, so it must be true. I like to look at it as a warm up for the Bike Commute Challenge. But as you know, there is a

Bike to Work Day celebration, tomorrow, Wednesday, May 17! Aka Free food at Pioneer Courthouse Square!

All new bicycle commuters are eligible to enter a drawing for special prizes.

Festivities at the Square start at 7:30am and run til 9:00am, including guest speakers, prize drawings, and a light continental breakfast.

Group Ride Locations:
Duniway Park in SW
SW 6th Ave & Sheridan St
googlemap: http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=Sw+6th+Ave+%26+Sheridan+St,+Portland,+OR
trimet: http://trimet.org/go/cgi-bin/plantrip.cgi?to=Sw+6th+Ave+%26+Sheridan+St
bike route: http://tripplanner.bycycle.org/?bycycle_region=portlandor&bycycle_fr=&bycycle_to=Sw+6th+Ave+%26+Sheridan+St

Wallace Park in NW
NW 25th Ave & Raleigh St
googlemap: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=NW+25th+Ave+%26+NW+Raleigh+St,+Portland,+OR+97210
trimet: http://trimet.org/go/cgi-bin/plantrip.cgi?to=NW+25th+Ave+%26+NW+Raleigh+St
bike route: http://tripplanner.bycycle.org/?bycycle_region=portlandor&bycycle_fr=&bycycle_to=NW+25th+Ave+%26+NW+Raleigh+St

Arbor Lodge Park in N
N Bryant St & Delaware Ave
googlemap: http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=N+Bryant+St+%26+Delaware+Ave,+Portland,+OR
trimet: http://trimet.org/go/cgi-bin/plantrip.cgi?to=N+Bryant+St+%26+Delaware+Ave
bike route: http://tripplanner.bycycle.org/?bycycle_region=portlandor&bycycle_fr=&bycycle_to=N+Bryant+St+%26+Delaware+Ave

Grant Park in NE
NE 33rd Ave & US Grant Pl
googlemap: http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=Ne+33rd+Ave+%26+Us+Grant+Pl,+Portland,+OR
trimet: http://trimet.org/go/cgi-bin/plantrip.cgi?to=Ne+33rd+Ave+%26+Us+Grant+Pl
bike route: http://tripplanner.bycycle.org/?bycycle_region=portlandor&bycycle_fr=&bycycle_to=Ne+33rd+Ave+%26+Us+Grant+Pl

Laurelhurst Park in SE
SE 39th Ave & Stark St
googlemap: http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=Se+39th+Ave+%26+Stark+St,+Portland,+OR
trimet: http://trimet.org/go/cgi-bin/plantrip.cgi?to=Se+39th+Ave+%26+Stark+St
bike route: http://tripplanner.bycycle.org/?bycycle_region=portlandor&bycycle_fr=&bycycle_to=Se+39th+Ave+%26+Stark+St

Group rides leave promptly at 7:10am and arrive at Pioneer Square by 8:00am for the start of the celebration.

Event Location:
Pioneer Square, 715 SW Morrison St., Portland, OR

If you haven't used Trimet's trip planner (http://trimet.org/go/cgi-bin/plantrip.cgi) and/or Bycycle's trip planner (http://tripplanner.bycycle.org/), they can be a lot of help. Both can be a bit fussy about addresses, and Bycycle, being a volunteer effort, sometimes gives you some crazy advice. But as long as you know your neighborhood, you'll be fine with bycycle.

*********

Now, for your friends, lovers, spouses, etc, etc, there is also a Bike to Work Celebration for folks who work in the Lloyd District. It's happening Friday the 19th. More info is here: http://www.ldtma.com/bike.htm

Friday, May 19th, 7:30-9:00 AM, Oregon Square Park

Help us kick off the summer cycling season by riding your bike to work on Friday, May 19th, national Bike to Work Day. And just to get the day (and the summer!) started off right, your TMA Bike Committee is hosting our traditional Bike Commute Day party.

Where: Oregon Square Park, NE Holladay between 7th and 9th

When: 7:30-9:00 AM

What:

* Evan Manvel, Executive Director of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, to speak at 8 AM
* Rebecca Webb, KINK radio host, to speak at 8:30 AM
* Complimentary continental breakfast
* Cool door prizes
* A chance to connect with your fellow Lloyd District cyclists
* Free chair massages courtesy of East West College of Massage
* TriMet demonstration bike rack

Here's to more cycling more of the time! vj

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• breadcrumbs help usability, and provide another clue where in the web site they are
• Headers are used to distinguish important information
• meta data in several formats is provided
• the FOP Catalog and the regular Catalog of Products are cross indexed

• The content is freshly added or revised 5 days a week
• It frequently includes links to other organizations (which might be useful to our users but also increase the credibilty of the site)
• It uses plain language that users are likely to search on
• The title and headings give search engines a way to differentiate what's most important from what's important
• There is enough text on the page for search engines to see it as a page of substance
• photos and graphics are used to interest humans—but things that need to be found by a search engine are in text

This is an example of how to get a lot of data on one page; it allows users to search, or to drill down using the front page categories, or the topics.

This page was created in 2001, with the Information Architecture done by myself and my assistant.

The top left hand corner has an ad tracker so we can see how many click-throughs there are (and assemble data for how useful linking here is)