Anderson
Anderson virtually committed
to lifestyle of a free-lancer
She had traveled Asia and Africa, but Heidi Anderson ('94 MA) was pretty sure the road to success started in a small U.S. city. Instead she found a home in virtual communities.
Anderson is a free-lance writer in Boulder and a columnist for Smart Computing, formerly PC Novice.
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Anderson
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"That's my bread and butter. I write about Internet-related issues, from how to find work online to how to use Netscape Composer to design a personal, professional set of Web pages," she said.
While at CU, Anderson completed an internship at The Denver Post.
"I thought I would find work after graduation at a small-town newspaper, but my master's thesis was on the Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph (now The Gazette) going online," she said.
"That fall, I sent off my lit review to Rosalind Resnick, who at that time was the editor and publisher of a newsletter called Interactive Publishing Alert, a newsletter devoted to online newspaper issues."
Resnick hired Anderson as a free-lancer.
Her break came in the summer of 1995. Resnick stopped writing one of her regular columns for PC Today magazine, and Anderson took it over.
"I started writing three regular, monthly columns for them -- `Going Online,' `What's New Online' and `What's New on the Web.' I also started writing for their sister publication, PC Novice, and when PC Today changed its format, I switched over to writing many articles for PC Novice."
Besides her work for Smart Computing, Anderson has written for Encyclopedia Britannica's online edition; Denver CitySearch; DiveIn, a city guide from U S West that folded last year; Message Media, a Boulder e-mail-messaging company, and Editor & Publisher.
Anderson grew up in Vermont and graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in mathematics in 1987. She joined the Peace Corps in 1987 and taught math and science in Nepal to middle schoolers and trained elementary school teachers. She returned to the United States in late 1989 after a trip to Lesotho and South Africa and moved to New York City. There she worked as a paralegal at a large law firm.
Anderson owns a home near Chautauqua Park and lives with her two dogs and two cats.
Her hobbies are both serious passions.
"I play ice hockey. I used to be player coach of the CU women's team, and I play for the Denver Ice and am assistant league director for the Women's Association of Colorado Hockey.
"I also sing in the women's a cappella group IRIS. We're in the process of releasing a CD."
Anderson's writing can be found at www.smartcomputing.com.