  Mark O'BrienPresidentAlmost ten years ago, I submitted a contact form on the Newfangled web site. The form was a wordy plea for an unpaid seat in the Newfangled office, a confession of my lack of web development experience, and a passionate case for my work ethic and interest in both Newfangled and web development. Eric Holter, Newfangled's founder, responded by not only letting me in the door but offering me $10/hr. I promptly quit all of my other jobs and began assembling chairs and desks for Newfangled the next day.
Today I spend my days in two ways. One is speaking with people who are interested in working with us. My job here is to assess our ability to fit their need and their ability to be a fantastic client. My other job is to make sure that everyone at Newfangled has a great job and is in a position to further our mission of serving a small number of clients at a very high level. Blog Posts| 2 |  |
Recently I have come to realize that the owner of Newfangled isn't who I thought it was. Newfangled is a palpable life form that exists outside of and because of all of us--the employees, the clients, the general publics' understanding of who we are.  | 2 | |
I thought I was just fine at cooking scrambled eggs--until I had to make them for Julia Child on her 86th birthday.  The restaurant I managed the kitchen for wasn't open for breakfast. But when Mrs. Child decided that she'd like to have breakfast with twenty or so of her closest friends at our place, well, we opened for breakfast. Cooking for The Queen was an honor, a lifelong memory, and a great opportunity to learn how to make perfect scrambled eggs (medium-low heat, be sparing and gentle in your interactions with the eggs, and leave them more than a little runny).
Somewhere between making those eggs and speaking with Wolfgang Puck about the grilled pizza I had just made for him, I came to two realizations: One, I had made it! I was cooking at the best place for the best customers--and not just cooking, but actually managing the entire kitchen. Two, if this is what "making it" feels like, life isn't quite what I had hoped it would be.
November 17, 2009 at A user-centric view towards your site's content, information architecture, and calls to action are the best path toward optimization. 
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