JoMC711 blog- first entry!!

My name is Gerry Cohen. I am a part-time grad student in the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication, taking the third of four courses required for a Certificate in Technology and Communication.

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill I earned a Master of Arts in Political Science in 2004, a JD from the law school in 1975, and a BA in Political Science in 1971. I served on the Chapel Hill Town Council from 1973-1979, the first Carolina student elected.

Since 1977, I’ve has been employed as an attorney by the North Carolina General Assembly, serving as Director of the Bill Drafting Division since 1981. I specialize in local government, election laws, and legislative rules.

I have a long-standing interest in Technology and Communication. I first used a computer in 1967 as a high school junior and learned to program in BASIC. My high school that year had an online connection using a modem to a computer at Dartmouth College (our end of the connection was more like a teletype machine).

I grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, attended high school in Windsor, Connecticut, and came to Chapel Hill to attend Carolina in 1968. I’ve lived in Raleigh since 1984.

My job (besides management) involves writing for a very specialized audience (state legislators) as well as editing my own work and that of other attorneys. I would like to expand the usability and reach of legislative documents on the internet, and make the internet more useful as a research and reference tool for legislation. I’m partially responsible for content at http://www.ncleg.net/, largely in suggesting databases and content for the databases. Each year I write several hundred bills and other legislative documents.

I’d like this course to improve my ability in writing for digital media, and help me understand how to improve content as well as understand limitations on what can be done.

My hobbies and interests include entering contests and sweepstakes on the internet, NHL hockey, and travel. My favorite trip was a 12-day vacation in Vietnam in 2001, you can see the itinerary, which is still offered, at http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trip.php?region=vietnam&code=VSF. (Since Professor Carroll lists a travelogue as one of the acceptable writing samples for our 700-word writing sample early in the course, I plan to write about that trip.) I’ve been a Carolina Hurricanes season ticket holder since 1999, and am currently coordinator of a season ticket group of 20 individuals and families that share 14 seats. I’ve traveled to Carolina Hurricanes road games in Montreal, Buffalo, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.

My pet peeve? Sales clerks, customer service representatives, and tech support people who say: “You are the first person to complain about this”, as if to minimize the importance of my comments.

Below, picture of me with a python, Mekong Delta, Vietnam, August 2001