You have questions? I've got some answers.

Who built this website for you? Why bother?

Thanks, that’s a great question. Originally I built this website in 2005 using Microsoft Frontpage.Now, I can hear some of you hissing and Microsoft does build an awful lot of products which aren’t liked, I know. Personally, I’ve always been a Mac fan but expediency made me switch to a PC.

You also have to remember that at the time, there was no real Facebook phenomena to speak of, no Linked In, My Space and my kids didn't have Blackberries. Nor did I for that matter.

The original site tried to be all things to all people and that just didn't work, more so becasue updating content was slow and clumsy.

I built it for three reasons:

1) To showcase my work and services.

2) As a vanity project – we writers have huge egos.

3) After launching two major commercial web sites and a smaller one and teaching online writing and information design for a year, it was about time I built my own. Just to say I could.

In 2011 my collaborator and designer-developer extraordinaire whom I defer to on all things web,  Jayeson Earl, helped me redesign the site as I stripped it down to its essential elements. My personal comments, observations and pictures are on Facebook. My professional life is here. I may cross post from time to time but this site is now about my work and professional services.

We used Joomla! as the platform and while there are many other platforms out there, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, we both work in Joomla!, it's what we use for clients and there's no learning curve for me since I'm already working with it.

What’s with the name: Pitbull Media? Aren’t Pitbulls vicious, fighting dogs, banned in Ontario? Why would you associate yourself with something so disgusting?

Rusty: Resident Pitbull at Pitbull Media.

I called my business Pitbull Media in 2001 when I first found myself freelancing for a living.There were several reasons:

1) I had toyed with the idea of Bulldog Communications as a name long before I became self-employed.

2) I liked the idea of tenacity and loyalty, both attributes strong in most dogs, but especially bulldogs and Staffordshire Terriers. 

3) As a street reporter I had a reputation for dogged determination and stubbornness, both great traits in any journalist.

4) I’m a dog guy, so piss off.

5) I tell people that dealing with the Media is like herding Pit Bulls. Some days it goes great; Some days you get bit.

6) I own a pitbull. Her name is Rusty.

7) Vicious? Get over it. Ban the Deed  Not the Breed.

We didn’t start out to get a pitbull. We simply went to the Toronto Humane Society in October 1999 to get a dog.

Now, I’d had three German shepherds and they were great dogs. But the last one, Bear, was so big and so hairy at 100 lbs I was ready for a mid-size dog and a short-hair breed. We found this little bag of wrinkles and fell in love.

I swear I thought she was a shar-pei mix for a while. They told us she was an American Staffordshire Terrier and I believed them.

Then, we started getting stopped in the street while walking her or driving in the car. “Great looking red nose,” some white trash scuzball would say. “D’ja wanna breed her?” Despite protestations – and explanations that as part of getting a dog from the pound they’re spayed – they insisted we had a pitbull.

A Google of “Texas Red Nose” or “Red Devil” turned up pictures of my dog. Okay, she’s a pitbull, but I’ve never had a more loyal, tenacious, loving pet, nor have I had a dog with such a great personality and the ability to vocalize.

What is Pitbill Media. Do you actually have employees?

No, Pitbull Media is an idea.We’re as big or small as the job requires.Lately we’ve been small. One person small. Me.

But we have produced jobs requiring designers, artists, editors, writers and more. See what we offer.

The beauty of Pitbull Media is that it’s a virtual company. It means that I, as the producer, can pull together a team of freelancers from a variety of disciplines regardless of how big or small the job is.In the 30 plus years I’ve worked in media, I know still and video camera folks, voice over specialists, editors, web developers, artists, writers and even the odd marketer.But most of what I do is simply me working on my own as a freelance journalist

What's with the byline: Is it Ian Harvey or I John Harvey? Do you have an identity crisis?

Both actually.My full name is Ian John Harvey.Yes, my parents had a twisted sense of humour, Ian being Gaelic for John and all.I always wrote under the byline of Ian Harvey while I was at the Toronto Sun. When I went to Loyalty and wrote for the Air Miles Website and Magazine I changed it to I John Harvey to differentiate myself from the byline which had appeared in newspapers.I thought that the editorial control exercised by marketing organizations should not be confused with real editorial products.(Though I suppose we could have a conversation around what level of control is acceptable since both groups exercise control and influence over final products.)

In any event when I started freelancing I used I John for the Toronto Star and Ian for other publications. At the time I was paranoid because there used to be an unwritten rule you could only write for one paper even as a freelancer.With the massive downsizing in the industry, that's changed somewhat but I wasn't taking any chances.

Your stuff is all over the place. What exactly do you write about? Why don't you concentrate on one subject and forget the rest?

Hmmm, couple of reasons. Money and ADHD.

I get bored writing about one thing all the time. I have diverse interests and that's reflected in the subjects I write about. I've renovated my own home, so I've learned a bit about design and construction so I write for the Star's New Homes, Your Homes and Condo Living sections when I can flog an idea.

That brings up the second reason: Money.

Making a living as a freelancer in Canada is tough. It's feast or famine. During slow times I work out towards the fringes of my core expertise, trying to develop new clients.

Or building a website!

By having lots of areas I can keep generating income. I try to recycle my stories and build on my idea file to keep things going.

Once day, maybe, I'll settle into one theme. Until then, I'll try and develop crime and justice stories for Readers Digest Canada.

p>Things also go in and out of style. Business and Information Technology used to bring in about 80 per cent of my revenue. Then the recession hit. You have to be flexible as a writer.

Some weeks I may work as a media consultant, others I'll be writing up case studies or research papers for a client. Other days I go in and layout a newspaper's special section while some days I'll give media training seminars to corporate clients.

Or maybe I'll win the lottery and retire.

When do you update your content? Can we run your content?

As soon as the story I've sold is published, I try to put it up a link on the site.

Sometimes I've written and filed the story months before it gets published. In fairness to the client who has first print rights and electronic rights (usually) I can't put my work up before they do and thus steal the thunder, so to speak.

Incidentally, if you want to use my work, you need to talk to me about licensing fees. My work is intellectual property and I usually retain the copyright.

Didn't answer your question? Email me.