This is currently an outline of sorts. I’d like to develop the top half of the topic as something I could put on the front page of maiki.xyz, with the second half being fun talkgroup-specific info (such as gaming contact info).
What is useful information to have on the front page of an informative webpage about my ethical technology services?
These are the kinds of things I would expect to see!
@tim, I put something up on the site (Building a boring website - #6 by maiki).
Taking a look at it, what would you recommend me adding to the site? I’m accepting any feedback, and definitely need help in this area. 
One reason I’m keeping a technical tasks log is to uncover my activities, such as Technical tasks log, maiki - #6 by maiki. I feel like that update contains valuable information, if I can present it in a way that is understandable to someone looking for such a thing.
I can write a few paragraphs for each service or thing I do, and that might work as landing pages and links to share with folks interested.
BAM
Thanks! I’ll spill out some words for each point, and then see what can be done with them. (This is a much easier process, by the way!)
For over 20 years I’ve provided technical support, training, and strategy services for companies and individuals working in:
I’ll sure I left some industries off (I’m not going to mention law enforcement, because I will no longer work with law enforcement [I worked at a police station in my teens, and my next job was at the city providing tech support to my former colleagues]).
A list:
Hey, that’s an okay list!
Looking good man.
FWIW this kind of content would be freaking excellent for a project-y post on your site.
shoot you could even make a tag here and take that + your user, get the json page for it and just dynamically import!
I was just telling @susanmagnolia about this! Here’s my plan:
While it’s rambling, The curious ecosystem of interi publishing - maiki - talkgroup is a high-level overview of what I’ve been doing, but having arrived at half a decade of forum posts I realized it wouldn’t be going back into a single bucket at interi.org. And because I need work now, I’m focusing the machine on maiki.xyz. So that means working on this content and soliciting feedback is happening.
After I wrote that bit about the auto-translation I thought, “wow, this is great!” But I wrote it because I had to get it out of my head. I understand that, um, phenomenon now. It’s like, I’m making decisions, and “work” is framed in a way where no one is engaging with the those decisions I’m making, and they get obscured over time (I talked about “beginner’s mind” at Webmaking 101 - maiki - talkgroup, this is a way for me to practice that).
What I am not proficient at is writing marketing copy. I can easily adapt my writings to marketing copy, but I can’t produce my writings with that intent. Know thyself.
Have a note here, a late night realization that I build platforms for clients.
I have over 20 years experience of designing, building, and maintaining digital platforms for businesses, community organizations, and government agencies.
For sure, you could go fancy with logos if you have them.
Here’s my front page today (https://maiki.xyz/):
Still got more to add, but that’s the MVP to start reaching out to folks for more work, so when people click on links there is something there.
Inspirations:
I was fussing around with this a bunch, and WordPress kept getting in my way. Today WordPress is a tool for visually laying out a website. Whereas I am a wizard that uses text. So I updated the site:
That has all the information I’ve ever needed to get hired, plus all the stuff that isn’t my email address.
And now I can just type up these little project descriptions and publish, because now I type rsync -uavh public/ maiki.xyz:maiki.xyz/ to publish, and this works for me.
And at the end of the day, it is my job to find the best tool for the project…
Okay, I’ve got a basic site up, enough to not be confusing when I tell people a URL…
Anyhow, during this process I realized I wasn’t going to develop that site into destination, rather just a quick informative single page on how I work, because that is the only purpose. What I mean is: all my actual work is done in other folks’ inboxes. Once I’m working they don’t even think about that site, so it really is for a single purpose: to inform the visitor on their way to hiring me.
Ya’ll want to see an entire website you can read from source? Check it:
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>maiki, remote technologist for hire</title>
<link href="https://maiki.xyz/css/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
</head>
<body>
<main>
<header>
<h1>maiki, remote technologist for hire</h1>
</header>
<p>Hiya! I’m maiki (they/them), ethical technologist and developer for hire. I have over 20 years experience simplifying complex systems for folks.</p>
<p>My clients have included Hachette Book Group, Impact Hub, Center for Investigative Reporting, Automattic, City of San Jose, Calif., City of Dublin, Calif., Alameda County Transportation Commission, Metropolitan Transportation Commission and others. I’ve worked with publishing houses, journalism teams, food cooperatives, cannabis companies, international franchises, government agencies, type foundries, bicycle coalitions, colleges, and individuals.</p>
<p><a href="mailto:hello@maiki.xyz">hello@maiki.xyz</a></p>
</main>
</body>
</html>
That means I can add a whole lot to this page before it even began to load slow for anyone. My idea is to create a series of sections, each explaining some aspect of myself or work that assists. Here are ideas:
Each heading will also be anchored, so I can send folks a link like https://maiki.xyz/#contact or https://maiki.xyz/#for-hire and it would go to the section I’m directing them to.
Next step is to add a service or for hire section, so I can ask friends to share it without them having to explain that part.
Move San José (https://movesanjose.org) – a digital engagement platform for the City of San José’s Department of Transportation (DOT) Planning, Policy, and Sustainability division. It is WCAG-ready and multilingual, with onsite surveying, publishing, subscription, and analytics services (data is not shared with any third parties). I designed the platform and coordinate teams of project managers, City partners, and translators as website manager.
Dublin Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (https://dublinbikeped.org/) – public feedback site for updating the Dublin Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. I designed the site, which includes geo-based public feedback and discussion with corresponding online map.
Reading that I realized I was listing features, rather than benefits.
MSJ - allowed DOT PMs to pivot successfully from holding in-person meetings with the community, by creating a virtual space that was accessible to as many devices, bandwidth, and languages as possible, and collected over some large number of answers from the public (I forget what it is, but over 40,000). It allowed DOT staff to continue public outreach during the pandemic.
DBP - allows folks in Dublin to leave their feedback pinned to an online map, for feedback down to a sidewalk square. Each bit of feedback starts a conversation, where we moderate comments from the public. Everyone, the public and city employees, can see where the feedback is on the map, allowing transparent discourse on how the Plan should be updated.
Hmmm, maybe this section have sub-sections where I go into a bit of detail, up to a few paragraphs… and I already see how some visuals might assist in this instance.
Added some contact info and rearranged the page to accommodate:
maiki, remote technologist for hire
Hiya! I’m maiki (they/them), ethical technologist and developer for hire. I have over 20 years experience simplifying complex systems for folks.
Contact
For one on one discussion, including hiring me, please email hello@maiki.xyz.
To publicly collaborate join me at https://v2.talkgroup.xyz/.
For secure messaging and calls connect with me over Snikket/XMPP at xmpp:maiki@chat.v2.talkgroup.xyz.
Experience
My clients have included Hachette Book Group, Impact Hub, Center for Investigative Reporting, Automattic, City of San Jose, Calif., City of Dublin, Calif., Alameda County Transportation Commission, Metropolitan Transportation Commission and others. I’ve worked with publishing houses, journalism teams, food cooperatives, cannabis companies, international franchises, government agencies, type foundries, bicycle coalitions, colleges, and individuals.
I added a few items that I’m about to expand on, but I thought it was cute to mess around so saving a snapshot here (which is surprisingly easy, giving it is all text!):
maiki, ethical technologist for hire
Hiya! I’m maiki (they/them). I provide ethical technology services.
Email me at support@maiki.xyz for support requests or to start a new project.
Services
WordPress Expert
Web Development
Platform Management for Organizations
Website Recovery
Tech Support for Individuals
Recent Projects
Move San José—platform management and editorial coordination
Dublin Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Update—public survey tool with “pinned” map feedback
Survey Street—community engagement platform built in collaboration with Winter Consulting Group
Experience
I have over 20 years experience simplifying complex systems for folks.
My clients have included Hachette Book Group, Impact Hub, Center for Investigative Reporting, Automattic, City of San Jose, Calif., City of Dublin, Calif., Alameda County Transportation Commission, Metropolitan Transportation Commission and others. I’ve worked with publishing houses, journalism teams, food cooperatives, cannabis companies, international franchises, government agencies, type foundries, bicycle coalitions, colleges, and individuals.
Oh snap! Unicode emoji! Whaaat?!