Portfolio

Writing

Ongoing at present

• Tech Universe — a daily column (weekdays) for the NZ Herald, since early June 2010.
• MacTips — one, sometimes 2, new Tips each week since 1999 for users of Apple products. In June 2009 I added a YouTube channel too. Most, but not all, Tips include a video.
• KnowIT — my blog. I’ve been blogging since around 2000, though things moved around a bit before settling here. As of November 2011 there are around 2,900 posts.

Completed

• CommunityNet Panui. — I wrote 2 articles per month for community organisations about the Internet from October 2000 to November 2011.
• Book: WordPress 2: Visual Quickstart Guide with Maria Langer, Peachpit Press, 2006.
• Informit interviews
  • Fractal Documents Tell Infinite Stories: An Interview with Dan Brown.
  • HTML5: The 900-Page Gorilla with a Wide Ensemble.
  • Up Late with CSS3, and Loving It!
• August 2010: I wrote Developing a Website for a Department of Internal Affairs publication (35,000 words, published early 2011).
• July 2010: I rewrote Chapter 12 of the Community Resource Kit, for Department of Internal Affairs (11,000 words, published early 2011).
• For NZ Herald
  • Webstock 2010 interview with Adam Greenfield: Cheap as chips — your networked chair.
  • Webstock 2010 Scott Thomas session report: Branding a President — the art of ‘gut feeling’ design.
  • Webstock 2010 Shelley Bernstein session report: Amplifying the community’s voice.
  • Webstock 2010 Eric Ries session report: Start out with a ridiculous idea.
• Customizing WordPress: series of 16 articles at Peachpit, 2008.
• Book, ebook and website Webguide: Connect your community — A guide for community groups, iwi groups, and not-for-profit organisations, 2006. (The site has become defunct since it was passed to new caretakers.)
• Groupings — the Webguide blog (2007 & 2008, since handed on to a new author and the website seems to have died).
• KnowIT ebook: How to backup your WordPress website, 2009.
• KnowIT ebook: How WordPress is put together, 2009.
• Help files for an internal web application at CreativeNZ — 30,000 words in total, 2008. This was a major piece of work that involved stepping through a secure online application, testing different scenarios and creating Help text in plain language. The finished Help files totalled more than 30,000 words and represented several hundred hours work spread over many months.
• Extensive rewrites of web text for Te Puni Kōkiri, 2008.
• NZAID, 2005 — I was contracted to design a format for the Programme pages on the NZAID website and then to write the text. This was a major writing job for which I interviewed managers, researched and then wrote plain language text. The pages have since been edited and updated considerably by others.
• Good Practice Funding helps public servants follow good process in funding community, voluntary and Maori organisations. I rewrote materials originally supplied for print. The site has surely been updated and rewritten since my work in around 2005.
• Just Next Door is a resource intended for secondary school Geography students. I carried out major editing on one of the drafts in around 2005.
• Macguide magazine, 2005–2007 — I contributed regular Newbies Guide and PowerUp articles. See the full list of articles.
• Wise-Women Tutorials:
  • Using the .htaccess File.
  • Spell it Out.
  • Getting Started with Cascading Style Sheets.
  • Using Element Display For Layouts, Links & Lists.
• Digital Web Magazine:
  • What’s happening? A new look at Web pages.
  • Capture a Screencast with a Mac.
• About This Particular Mac:
  • ATPM 12.02 — Pod People: Proud to be a Pod Person.
  • ATPM 12.03 — Review: Path Finder 4.0.2.
  • ATPM 12.07 — Web Accessibility: The Clayton’s Web.
  • ATPM 12.09 — Web Accessibility: RapidWeaver: A Useful Tool in Need of Sharpening.
  • ATPM 12.10 — Web Accessibility: Nvu: Impressive and Powerful.
  • ATPM 12.11 — Web Accessibility: PageSpinner 4.6.3: Quirky and Erratic.
  • ATPM 12.12 — Web Accessibility: SeaMonkey 1.0.6.
  • ATPM 13.03 — Web Accessibility: The Flip Side of the Coin.
  • ATPM 13.04 — Web Accessibility: What Browsers Can Do.
  • ATPM 13.05 — Review: Digital Photography Expert Techniques, Second Edition.
  • ATPM 13.05 — Web Accessibility: What Browsers Can Do, Part 2.

Training and Speaking

Engage Your Community

I’ve taught more individuals, courses and workshops than I can possibly remember or list, but here are some recent items.

• Workshop for REAP Conference, May 2011: lightning roundup of current tech; overview of iPad 2.
• Workshop on behalf of Wellington ICT for community organisations, Wellington, April 2011: FFS: write well for the web!.
• Presentation on behalf of Wellington ICT for community organisations, Wellington, April 2011: Is it tomorrow already?
• CreativeTech, 2010 — I presented a session called Fifty Mac Tips.
• Wellington Regional Council, 2010 — I ran a series of customised training courses for Wellington Regional Council, teaching community organisations and taxi operators how to work with the new Snapper-based Total Mobility Card.
• Workshop on behalf of Wellington ICT for community organisations, Wellington, May 2010: First, Fast, Effective Text: writing for Web Readers
• Panelist for Bloggers predict 2010 and Bloggers predict 2009
• WordCamp New Zealand 2009: presented a session on From There to here: Building Communities with WordPress
• University of Hawai’i at Manoa Pacific New Media Outreach program, 2008 — I created and taught 3 courses over a weekend in Honolulu about WordPress: WordPress Explorer, WordPress Adventurer, WordPress Intrepid.
• Engage Your Community conferences, 2008 and 2009 — I was the Keynote speaker at 4 Mini conferences in Hamilton, Wellington and Rotorua. I also presented workshops at each.
• Mac eXpo, 2004 in Auckland, New Zealand — I presented a session for Mac users.
• Victoria University of Wellington Centre for Continuing Education, November 2001: The Web for Everyone: Accessible Web design (with Robyn Hunt, Accease)
• Wellington Community Education Centre — I taught numerous adult education classes for around 7 years. Topics included:
  • Computer Confidence for Women
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • Pagemaker
  • Introduction to Computing

Websites

• Client website: DogKnows
• Client website: Running Away From Me

Other

I was part of the founding organising group for Webstock 2006 and 2008.

For around 6 years I was the Web Maestro for Communitynet Aotearoa.

In the mid-90s I provided helpdesk support to Mac users for Actrix networks.

From around 1984 to 1994 I worked variously for the Adult Reading and Learning Assistance Federation (ARLA, now Literacy Aotearoa) in various roles, the Porirua Language Project as ARLA Co-ordinator and tutor trainer, and the National Resource Centre for Adult Education and Community Learning as Co-ordinator.

From around 1977 to 1984 I taught German, English and Computer Studies to adolescents at Ashburton College.

In 1976 and 1981 I travelled and lived overseas in Düsseldorf, Germany and Edinburgh, Scotland.

See my Testimonials page and About Miraz page. Contact me.