Divine, Inc. - For two years I was resident spinmaster for one of Chicago’s most promising technology companies – and most spectacular flameouts ($1 billion burned in four years without ever posting a profit). I wrote Web copy for their 100+ page site, casestudies, datasheets, annual reports, etc. Sadly, www.divine.com, which I'd stripped of dot-com garbage-speak and elevated to a work of poetry and grace, is now defunct.

Chicago Stock Exchange - The nation's most technologically advanced stock exchange made a sound long-term investment when they chose me to write their Web copy.

Steppenwolf Theatre - A cultural landmark in Chicago with one of the most respected ensemble casts in America, Steppenwolf Theatre hooked me up with a bunch of free tickets after I worked on their site.

Midas - I learned more about shocks and struts than I care to admit while writing hundreds of Midas Auto Systems' franchisee pages.

Allied Van Lines - Relax. Allied carries the load. And Mike wrote most of the copy.

Culligan. Hey Culligan man! Who wrote all your pithy and professional Web copy?

Navigation Technologies - I conceptualized and generated all-new content for NavTech, the leading provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation, Internet, and wireless applications.

Red Vines - Licorice has a long and honorable history in the service of mankind. I had a short and honorable history writing copy for redvines.com.

FastWeb - I wrote 50-some articles for the Internet's leading scholarship search service such as:
  » What Are Colleges Looking For?
  » College Essays: Don't fear the paper
  » The College Admissions Interview
  » Top Ten Tips for Career Planning

Center for Human Reproduction - I developed content for one of the nation's leading fertility center.

MyPoints - I generated content for the leading provider of member-driven Internet direct marketing services.

UNext.com - UNext.com awarded me an honorary Master's Degree after I wrote all their Web copy. Just kidding - it was a Ph.D.

The Extended Enterprise Story - I conceptualized and wrote this narrated five-minute flash demo for Divine, Inc.

Divine Content Server flash demo - I directed and wrote the script for this product demonstration.

Vagabonding videos - I shot and edited 40 short videos while traveling Asia and Africa for a year.

Did I mention that I design and build web sites from scratch?

Vagabonding.com is a prime example. I built this award-winning beauty from the ground up.

MichaelPugh.net is something I put together for a family member in 2000 and it still looks good. Classic, elegant, enduring – yeah, baby, that’s the Mike Pugh advantage.

Web Data, Inc. is a more recent project that I wrote and built from the ground up.

ChicagoCircle was a community site that I built and maintained from 1999 and 2002.

I wrote 50 articles for Vagabonding.com while I was traveling Asia and Africa on my own for a year. Some highlights:

Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest - "Whatever you do," our guide Steven cautioned, "do not run if a gorilla charges you."

Great White Cage Dive - I confronted decades of "Jaws"-inspired fear, got in the water with great white sharks, and emerged with a new opinion of these magnificent creatures.

Whitewater Rafting on the Nile -
A sometimes unintelligible Scottish guide led me over a series of class five rapids in Uganda, including the "largest commercially rafted hole in the world".

I wrote two dozen articles for the Racine Reporter, a newspaper in my hometown, before I got into the dot-com racket. Tolerable examples:

Racine: So Much Has Changed

Africa's Best Kept Secret

Jerry Hendricks: A Local Legend

View a contact sheet of my favorite photos.