Style Points at www.glmarshall.com (updated 7-14-00)

"I don't know what it is, but I always read your stuff to the very end."

I first thanked somebody for that compliment better than 20 years ago. Now, thanks to the computer age, I have mathematical proof.

For a solid year, I'd always made a point to list every contributor, every copyright or trademark issue, every borrowed Jay Leno line, every everything, really, that showed up on my site. I called it Style Points and linked to it from every footer on every page. The only way you would ever see a style points link was to reach the bottom of the page.

Turns out Style Points, in terms of most visited pages, consistently came in No. 4.

In terms of information architecture and interface design, that meant this page had become too important for disclaimers and credits and fine print. Content is king, and this page needed to have something better to say.

Here's to enjoying the results

» Marilyn Monroe on the Playboy photograph that launched her into superstardom. "The only thing I had on was the radio."

» Yogi Berra's son denials to the charge that he, too , speaks in Yogi-isms. "Our similarities are different."

» Tim Sullivan of the Cincinnati Enquirer on Bengals wide receiver Carl Pickens: "Harder to cover than a pimple on prom night."

» Wack facts: If you leave a lemon out until it reaches room temperature, it will produce twice the juice when squeezed. If, when you are done making guacamole, you slide the pit back in and bury it on the bottom, the dip will not turn brown.

» Lily Tomlin: "I grow more and more cynical, but I can't keep up."

» Overheard: "What kind of food kills a woman's sex drive? Wedding cake."

»"If you have phone sex with somebody, do you have to call them in the morning?" True story. The author found out he had been exceptioned and therefore unlisted in a certain Internet search engine, and started investigating why. He found the Jay Leno joke above buried in his source code comments.

»From "Back Roads," Tawni O'Dell's masterful first novel:

"You used to write for the newspaper?"
"Don't look so amazed," he told me, popping his gum. "Writing for it's only slightly more impressive than being able to read it."

»"If a newspaper really tried to match the intelligence of its readers, it would have to be printed in Crayola." Ray Lembke, 1976.

»Bruce Sterling in Wired, describing the Aeron office chair: "There's no comfy padding ... just polyester mesh that treats your rump as network damage and routes around it."

»"It's an honor to be kissed by a queen." Gracious officer of a Japanese warship after it had been accidentally rammed in New York Harbor by the QEII.

»The name of the song Craig Kilborn, who runs a talk show without a sidekick, band or announcer, routinely plays as guests are walking onstage: "Me So Horny," by 2 Live Crew, a song legally declared obscene back in a different era.

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The Basics
resume
web projects list
specialties
proficiencies
portfolio

The Nutshell
G.L. Marshall, a 16-year news veteran, had a 1995 hunch "that this web stuff might take off."
Three dozen sites later, his resume lists work for Patricia Cornwell, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Reynolds Metals, The Weather Channel, Scott & Stringfellow and Capital One.

In the Richmond, Virginia area, look to G.L Marshall for such next-level web concepts as persona projection, information architecture and media-strategy integration when considering a freelance web consultant.

The G.L. stands for Gary Lee, and in addition to his websmithing business, Mr. Marshall also runs a monthly internet magazine known as gl the mag. The idea is that if you are a web content provider touting quality web content, you should practice what you preach.

Mr. Marshall's on-line magazine includes essays, romance columns, and dating tips delivering in true zine fashion. His site also features an on-line novel. gl is dedicated to better speedbumps on the information superhighway. Last updated 7-14-00.