Mat's fifth-grade teacher said he was a good writer one time, and his mom never stopped reminding him of that offhand remark. So around 2008 he started doing it for money. For the first six years or so, that was as a journalist. You can browse some highlights from that work here. But eventually he wanted a new challenge — one that involved a bit more strategy and creativity. So for the past five years or so, he's focused primarily on UX writing, content strategy, and copywriting. Sometimes that's meant creating a new vocabulary and content universe for a major corporation's brand-new product. Sometimes that's meant writing a few cases studies or blog posts for a fast-growing company. Sometimes that's meant reshaping a brand voice for tiny startups with big dreams. Sometimes it's been writing, sometimes editing, sometimes strategizing. Sometimes it's been in glass-walled offices downtown, and sometimes it's been on a laptop in a park while his business partner keeps an eye out for squirrels. Due to the distractions of squirrels and the naps, Mat ends up handling 99% of the work here.

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Mad grew up on a farm in central Oregon in charge of a cow. But eventually the cow died (of no fault of her own, she insists) and there wasn't much else happening on the farm, so she decided to try to make it in the city. There were a few things — stairs, bicycles, cars — that took some getting used to, and a few others — watching people type on computers — that she still hasn't gotten used to. But things like sidewalk pizza crusts took no adjustment time at all. She loves bouncing ideas for new content around, or more specifically letting people bounce them off her while she lays on the couch. She mostly handles the paperwork.