A Little About Charles

This blog is about Technical Communication, User Experience, and Web 2.0 - mostly.  I’m focused on the fusion between eLearning and Gaming, particularly in the area of User Experience (UX).

I’ve had experience with user assistance beginning in the late 1990s with jobs at Gateway and America Online, to name a couple.

Web 2.0 has really caught my attention with the real time interaction and the wonderful chaos that sometimes ensues.

I may also stray from time to time into family oriented posts dealing with parenting, and maybe even a little cooking and sports. Located in sunny San Diego, loving the Southern California weather.

Any Relation to…?

Yes, I’m related to Derek Jeter. We’re second cousins. I haven’t met him yet but I did chat with his dad at a family reunion back in DC about 2001 or so. Eventually when the Yankees play the San Diego Padres here in San Diego I’ll see if I can get my kids to meet him. Since this is one of the first things people usually ask me, I thought I’d answer it here.

I recently wrote about the Jeter family’s contributions to the civil rights movement in my 2008 Martin Luther King Day post.

Online Presence / Business

Few companies build communication into their product workflow and because of this the process becomes longer and longer, wasting time and money simply to create the documentation. We’re all about changing that workflow.

My company specializes in Applications Engineering. Technical Communication is a primary research and development focus. Most of the research within my personal site is analysis of Workflow Collaboration methods.

All the outbound software updates in the world won’t do much good if your development team can’t avoid wasting time in meetings because the internal teamwork isn’t clear what’s changed and when.

Currently 3nW Corporation has diversified. One section focusing on the convergence of gaming, learning, and corporate communication…

Check this innovative gaming concept I’m assisting to develop, which will integrate gaming into a major global dance studio’s marketing presence.

…with the other section committed to energy efficiency and renewable energy, with specific rural training and viral marketing energy sales applications.

I’ve also reviewed game software and currently have an extensive agricultural project ongoing in Solano County located in NorCal. In 2008 under the Vets2Vines initiative we’re completing our second building and extending our renewable energy design through carbon-fiber bladed windmills.

See the 21st Century Farm Project category or Vets2Vines for further information.

Personal Future Vision

In 2008 I’ll be tracking online collaboration along with and Technical Communication which includes eLearning.

The field of User Experience (UX) has become very interesting and is driving changes in the interface we use with computers. eLearning, distance learning, and traditional classroom instruction have been mashed into the Blended Learning category.

My company remains committed to developing eLearning and online help files. We accomplish this through standard Tech Writing, using products like Adobe’s Captivate and MadCap’s MadPak. Our advisory board also includes two lifetime educators.

What was that about Gaming…?

So far my research has been very interesting. Far removed from the geekdom files, gaming is becoming understood as another form of learning. eLearning and the International Game Developer’s Association (IDGA) have each concentrated on addressing what’s known as ‘Serious Games’.

My first experience with live online gaming was while I was working at AOL and monitoring their pay-per-play areas. I saw how addictive even the early gaming experiences were, and the billing was simply staggering. No wonder LAN parties became the phenomenon they are now!

My XBoxLive GamerTag: Jetman3nW

As we used to say at America Online - I’ll see you… online!

I’m evaluating the potential for a crossover between eLearning creation and the XBox Live gaming system. XBox Live’s internal user recognition system uses game points based on in-game accomplishments across their titles, creating a fun, competitive way to keep track of how well you’re holding up among your peers.

How I got to eHelp

Five years ago I worked for eHelp, not Macromedia and not Adobe. This was in the Technical Support division. As I recall, I beat out 254 other applicants for that position; eHelp was very picky in who they hired.

I totally loved eHelp’s Tech Support even though it was a step down from the Applications Engineering position I held at Novatel Wireless (NASD: NVTL) the previous year. I was employee 51 at NVTL but during the layoff of over three hundred people, I was one of them. In fact, in 1999 my hiring manager was Brad Weinert, the now-CEO of Novatel Wireless.

Unfortunately the Ricochet network modems NVTL manufactured and sold to Ricochet were underwritten by WorldCom. WorldCom as you may remember had their own money issues. NVTL had a crushingly disappointing IPO in late 2000, and laid off 3/4 of the company in spring 2001.

I had been a founding partner in my own corporation since 2001. 9/11 threw a cruel twist into our wireless services launch set for the CTIA convention held in San Diego which kicked off - you guessed it - Sept. 11th, 2001.

You can imagine the problems with trying to launch a wireless consulting business during a national disaster which grounds every flight in America. Between that and the DotBomb earlier in 2001, my startup capital was gone.

Back to the beginning: Tech Support

I took the eHelp position in January 2002 for a couple reasons. I saw Knowledge Management being a hot 21st Century industry and eHelp had the industry leading tool for help authoring. Why not get paid to learn and support all the details of the RoboHelp software?

My work philosophy has been to work for bleeding edge companies, even in a starting role like Tech Support. 

Why I left eHelp

eHelp was a great experience. The corporate culture of eHelp wasn’t perfect but it was more cross-functional than dysfunctional. That’s a rare thing to find in corporations today.

Var was a great manager to work for. I really enjoyed her leadership style. I’m very picky about who I work for, one reason why consulting works well for me.

I left for three reasons. First, in late 2003 I was approached by an outside company and got an offer letter that eHelp simply couldn’t match. It was a difficult decision, but one that I needed to make in order to grow professionally.

At the same time 3nW Corporation also had a strong shot at getting a state software contract valued at about ten million dollars.

Finally, I knew that with every merger (as the upcoming one with Macromedia was pending in 2003) there are inevitably reductions in positions. I thought that making my planned move upward and outward prior to the merger both preserved my career and also, IMHO, took a little financial pressure off of the TS division.

Between the two options, eHelp was a distant third.

Besides. I was offered a lot of money.

About RoboHelp and Adobe

As recently as 2006 I participated in product usability research with both MadCap and Adobe, just not on directly competing products.

I maintained a neutrality between both MadCap and Adobe until the launch of RoboHelp 6. At that point I had to weigh and measure what had been said by both sides, and RoboHelp was found to be more than a little bit wanting. 

My thoughts at the time of the RoboHelp 6 launch are part of the record at MonkeyPi’s blog: http://monkeypi.net/?s=craptastic

Everything else is filed under Corporate Authenticity.