Virtual 1893 Chicago World’s Fair
June 15th, 2012 by ColleenWhen I was tasked with creating a virtual event demo for INXPO’s (then new) VX Platform, it was right after reading Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I was entranced by the history of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair (also known as the Columbian Exposition and The White City) and decided to make a virtual event version of the 1893 World’s Fair.
I had a lot of fun researching the history of the event and getting images for its virtual counterpart. When visiting the Art Institute over the course of this project, I even had the serendipitous opportunity to see an art installation (Jitish Kallat’s Public Notice 3) that was based on Swami Vivekananda’s 1893 speech at the First World’s Parliament of Religions (held at the Art Institute building as part of the Columbian Exposition).
The completed virtual event included videos relating to the World’s fair, chat rooms, avatars representing historical figures, embedded HTML pages, historical images, and more. I recorded a video tour through the environment that can be seen by clicking on the image below.
This video is also listed on the Samples page.
Dinosaur Discovery Adventures
April 19th, 2012 by ColleenI just completed a freelance web design project for Dinosaur Discovery Adventures. Dinosaur Discovery Adventures, headed by paleontologist John Hankla, is a company that hosts dinosaur digs for groups of all ages. It provides the once-in-a lifetime experience of discovering real dinosaur fossils in Wyoming.
Summer camps for kids are also provided in conjunction with Experiential Learning Associates.
Click on the image below to check out the website and learn more about this unique company!
The Enigma of Freelance Hourly Rates
April 2nd, 2012 by ColleenWhen trying to find the answer to a question (especially when it relates to finances and your career), there is no answer more frustrating than “It depends.” Unfortunately, that is the answer most new freelancers are likely to encounter if they seek advice about what a reasonable hourly rate would be for someone with their background and qualifications.
When I recently looked up freelance/contract rates for technical writing, I found suggested rates ranging from $20-100/hr. Ranges that drastic are no help at all. Some websites would state a range of $20-40/hr, while others say that you should never quote below $40 for that type of work and that $60/hr or more is reasonable.
The rates vary, of course, based on the following factors:
AKA “It depends.”
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IABC/Pro Quo Webinar
March 6th, 2012 by ColleenI was recently interviewed for IABC Chicago‘s Pro Quo webinar series. Pro Quo is a new educational webinar series developed by Tom Keefe and Jacob Runkel for business communication professionals and those who are considering entering the field.
The presentation that I gave for Pro Quo’s first webinar (“Why Webinars Belong In Your Communications Toolkit”) focused, aptly, on webinars themselves. If you’re wondering how to make the most out of your webinars, or simply want to learn more about the topic, click on the image below:
