John philbrook

Excellent writing, editing and verbal communication skills: 

• Five years professional writing, editing and publishing experience in deadline-driven web publishing environments for the audiences of Amazon.com and 40,000-plus Washington Mutual employees
• Creating, designing, publishing and maintaining private client websites
• Working two years as an English writing skills tutor in a college lab environment

Intuitive understanding and knowledge of personal computing and technology: 

• Administrator and creator of Microsoft SharePoint intranet collaboration and My Place sites, focused on team workflow and calendar management
• Designed and updated online policy and procedure manuals using RoboHelp
• Utilized VPN (virtual private network) for after-hours editing and emergency publishing
• Internet Technology and Web Design training at Lake Washington Technical College (Kirkland, WA)
• Six years support and use of the Microsoft Office suite of applications in corporate environment
• Ten years combined experience as sole proprietor in web design business
• Evaluation and testing of apps for the Android mobile platform
• Extensive use of graphics programs, such as Photoshop, for Web publishing
• Hand coding of HTML and CSS

Understanding and passion for customer service:

Customer service duties performed in every employment position held. From tutoring, to loan collection, to app testing and web publishing, I’ve always given top priority and attention to internal and external customer experience and satisfaction.

• HTML
• CSS
• Photoshop

• Microsoft Office
  
• RoboHelp
• SharePoint

• Macontosh OS X
• Windows XP
• Android Mobile
  

Amazon.com Appstore

Assistant Editor, November, 2010 to October, 2011 : 

As a temporary employee for H-10 Capital, I began working as Assistant Editor on Amazon.com’s Android Appstore project on November 1, 2010.

•  Created and published product pages for Amazon’s Appstore for Android
• Tested, analyzed  and evaluated Android mobile apps, and wrote descriptive copy for app product pages
• Interfaced with overseas testing firm and its representatives
• Helped achieve Appstore’s successful public debut
• Earned contract renewals every three months
• Created and edited graphics for app pages

Working in an environment of confidentiality, I leveraged my technical, editorial, and publishing skills to evaluate, test, and summarize submitted Android mobile apps, writing descriptive copy and publishing app product pages in a test environment. Before the Appstore’s public launch, crucial software systems for app submission, review, ingestion, and publication, as well as the store’s mobile client app, were still in development, requiring personal adaptability and process flexibility. Successfully helped debug and improve system in development, and worked around system limitations until fully implemented.

I was a key member within our team of twenty-plus writers that accomplished the successful public launch of Amazon’s Appstore in March, 2011, and I continued successfully working as Assistant Editor under several contract extensions to the full eleven months allowable under Amazon policy, through October 1, 2011.

Amazon Portfolio Links

For exapmples of app writeups I published for the Amazon Appstore, please follow these links for full-page PNG graphic files:

Chuzzle  1381 KB

eWalletGo  440 KB

Left-brained_or_Right-brained  578 KB

Text2Speech  581 KB

Washington Mutual Bank

Web Content Manager, June, 2001 to May, 2007:

I began working in June, 2001 as a consumer loans collector, and I was promoted in September, 2003 to Web Author for Consumer Lending Communications, where I advanced to the level of Web Content Manager in August, 2005.

• Published weekly policy e-newsletter Words to Bank By and electronic policy and procedure manuals
• Designed and maintained specialized web sites for WaMu internal partners
• Collaborated personally with WaMu Subject Matter Experts, content providers, and stakeholders
• Translated bank industry jargon and legalese into plain, readable English
• Delivered original and edited web content, meeting and exceeding service-level agreements
• Contributed regularly at WaMu to department team meetings and oversaw special projects end-to-end
• Team Sharepoint Administrator and site developer and designer

I successfully managed intranet content for, and published a deadline-driven weekly policy e-newsletter to employees of 2,000-plus retail stores and lending centers across the nation.

 I was one of four team members to edit and maintain business-critical electronic lending policy and procedure manuals, and I was solely responsible for designing, publishing and updating the Consumer Lending System and Small Business Lending manuals. I was able to successfully work independently and as a strong member of our communications team. I upheld and strictly adhered to WaMu's Corporate Style Guide and the AP Stylebook as first and second sources, maintained the Lending Department Online Style Guide, and used the Chicago Manual of Style and the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications.

I transferred in 2006 into WaMu’s Retail Banking Communication’s Strategic Projects and Administration (SPA) Team, where I designed and updated team workflow tools and communication submission and publication forms using Microsoft’s SharePoint, analyzed web communications, and monitored user experience.

I resigned from WaMu May, 2007 for marriage and relocation to the Bellingham area. I now live in West Seattle.

A Crystal View Internet Design, :

Owner, Web design business, 1994 to present

As an avocation, I have created Websites for private businesses and worked probono for church organizations and other charitable causes in my spare time. My first Web site was for a young man who became a victim of ALS for whom I learned HTML and published a site to solicit donations for a computer system, allowing him a means of communication and entertainment. My most recent effort was creating a site for a Podiatrist in Edmonds that has become a very successful means of advertisement.