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Subject:Re: electronic portfolios, anyone? From:Scott Gray <scotty -at- CM -dot- MATH -dot- UIUC -dot- EDU> Date:Fri, 13 Mar 1998 19:17:29 -0600
Two threads now have intersected. I would like to apply these same
comments to online tech writing in general, not just portfolios
> I think that all of these folks who are down on the electronic
> portfolio might want to take a look at Dale Spender's "Nattering on
> the Net: Women, Power and Cyberspace."
>
> While the title makes it sound like a feminist manifesto, the text
> really provides a very interesting comparison between the impact of
> the new electronic media and the times during and after the invention
> of the printing press.
>
> Spender might well have categorized these electronic nay-sayers
> as reminiscent of those (albeit talented) copyists who were sure that
> these printing press things wouldn't take off; surely people would value
> the beautiful manuscripts that they painstakingly created.
>
> Anyways, for one, I would value an electronic portfolio. It is true that
> portfolio material is often best presented in person. In my previous job,
> we got ourself in trouble more than once by not being able to explain
> prototypes to customers the first time they saw them. So even though it
> was easy to put stuff up on the web, if we anticipated that there might
> be resistance to a design, we scheduled a face-to-face meeting with the
> client to make sure the design would be presented in a favorable light.
>
> That said, however, I've often considered creating my own electronic
> portfolio (just seems to never be enough time). It seems to me that an
> opportunity to present good work will be rewarded. A portfolio, whether
> it is electronic or print, that is only so-so won't really be improved
> by a face-to-face presentation unless the candidate has some really
> good sales skills. A good portfolio may well get a candidate into the
> "call for interview" pile.
>
> As is often said on the net, your mileage may vary.
>
> Beth Mazur
> mazur -at- pobox -dot- com
>
>
>
