What the heck is a “HerGeekness”?

"HerGuruness" didn't have that funny 'k' sound ...

Hi there — I'm Anne-Marie, the chief bottle washer in this joint.

A number of years ago, a consulting client jokingly left a phone message requesting tech support from “Her Geekness,” referring to yours truly. My office manager at the time thought it was the funniest thing she'd heard to date, and from then on referred to me as Her Geekness, or just "Geekness" for short.

When I called the client back to see what was up, I mentioned that Susan was still chuckling over the phone message. He said he hoped I understood it to be complimentary — it was his design staff's nickname for me in their office. The whole firm was on a tech support contract with me, and apparently I had been batting a thousand with their questions. They thought I was unstumpable.

As the world of electronic design got more complicated, I of course became highly stumpable like everyone else. But the nickname stuck, and transmorgrofied into the inner cap style you see all over my site. Must be trendy don't you know. Anyway, I think it's fun to use — I just trust that my clients take it with the humorous grain of salt that is implied.

Personal vs. Professional

Think of the four main navigation buttons up at the top as sort of continuum from Suit & Pumps to Jeans & Gym Shoes.

The first two buttons, the Design and the Training sections, are all business. Sell sell sell. Heavy use of the editorial "we" throughout (hey it was a group effort).

Then with the third button, the Tips section, the jacket comes off, the shoes slip off the feet, and you end up with an Ask AM section and a list of my favorite design/computer books.

And then you come here to the fourth button, where the "we" is gone and it's just me talking, all chilled out in my comfy clothes. You can read my bio, some fan mail, see what I do in "analog" life, and check out some Chicago pix and stories. This section is purely for fun, for me, and my friends and family. And any interested third parties.

But I like to include it in my business web site anyway. I think that one of the best perks of owning your own shop is the freedom to decide how much you'd like the "personal" you and the "professional" you to overlap and intertwine. In my case, I like the synergy.

Much of what I sell is basically me doing something, so it makes sense for clients and prospects to get to know me. I can't put up deeply personal stuff here, of course, (well I guess I could but I'd have to charge <heh heh>), but what is here should give you a picture of what I'm all about, if you're interested.