Q: Ego Trip


Little angel sitting on my right shoulder: This is revolting...having a page that highlights nice reviews of your website. What an ego trip. Little devil sitting on my left shoulder: So?

Jon Kalish is the Internet reporter for The Jewish Week in New York, and also writes for National Public Radio. He recently aired an NPR documentary called Modern Unorthodox about his odyssey in the religious world of Brooklyn. He has written numerous articles about the Internet and on the Internet. I think he's a darn good writer, but I might be a little biased. In the March 13th edition of The Jewish Week, here's what he had to say about Q:

Susie Q carries a high cyber IQ. One visit to her homepage convinced me that she is both a hypertext wiz and talented writer. Susan Ehrenfeld, of the Midwood section in Brooklyn, is one of the few observant women on the web frontier. I was alerted to her exceptional homepage (http://ourworld.compuserve. com/homepages/Susieq) last month when it was named site of the week by the Jewish Communication Network. Among the 'Jewish stuff' here Shabbat candlelighting times; link to Jewish wedding and divorce sites; a kosher restaurant database; some Jewish a cappella; and kosher recipes, including several from a neighbor Ehrenfeld 'eats by on Shabbos.' This isn’t 100 percent Yiddishkeit. Ehrenfeld lives an observant life, but secular culture clearly is important to her. At Q she shares some of her pop culture obsessions, such as rocker David Bowie and horror novelist Dean Koontz. And it’s not limited to flat graphics and blocks of text. Ehrenfeld utilizes cutting edge animation techniques, especially impressive considering that she is self-taught on web design and construction. It was only last summer that she picked up 'HTML for Dummies' and learned how to produce her own homepage.

The site is called 'Q' because her Uncle Jack and 'every guy I ever went out with' called her Susie Q. You remember 'Susie Q,' the old Credence Clearwater song.

Ehrenfeld works at Paine Webber evaluating financial software, but she admits: 'Eventually I would really like to do this (web design) professionally.' Meanwhile, she has created sites for other folks, including the divorce group Kayama, a kosher gift basket outfit called Food for Thought, and the singer Michael Ian Elias. Ehrenfeld will be making a web site for the Orthodox social services organization Ohel. She is also planning a web ring -a collection of common-interest sites linked together-of Jewishly oriented personal homepages. Asked how many other observant women are working with hypertext, Ehrenfeld said: 'Well, there’s me.' She would like to see more religious women become involved. 'There’s so much talent in the religious community,' she said, 'and this stuff is really, really easy to learn. There’s so much opportunity for creativity. It’s a very expressive experience to put a homepage out there for the whole world to see.' If you’d like to contact Susie Q for web projects or to shmooze about Peter Himmelman, e-mail her at 76151.303@compuserve.com.

This is what Sprynet/Compuserve had to say about Q during the week of 2/10/97-2/16/97:

Susie Q - As Susie says, "you can find out a great deal about a person by examining their links." This is especially true if the page layout is clean, straightforward and infused with the author's personality. Susie has a natural sense of humor and by the time you're done browsing her site you feel you've met her. But hey, this isn't a personal ad. It's just a fun place to click around.

Here's what The Mining Company had to say about Q in their Net Finds section of May '97:

Susie Q - Susie's personality shines through in this beautifully designed site. A snapshot of what a person can design if they want. Created by a Jewish woman from Brooklyn. She got so much positive feedback she is starting her own design firm. We'll keep an eye on her for you.

This is what Virtual Jerusalem's "Jewsearch" had to say about Q when they bestowed their Five-Star Supersite award:

Susie's "Q" site by Susie Ehrenfeld. - A spectacular site, with rich content. Click on a Q to find helpful web related links and information. Susie's site is an enjoyable experience for all.

Here's what nationally syndicated columnist and online reporter Bob Andelman had to say about Q when he awarded it a Mr. Media Web Site of the Week on 8/4/97:

I like the way you walk, I like the way you talk.

Here's what "Bald Guy," Ron Enderland, wrote about Q when he awarded it Bald Guy's Multimedia Site of the Week on 10/13/97:

It seems that everyone is putting a website up these days. And, it seems that most of them are making some very basic mistakes, things like misspelled words, poor design work (read: HUGE unnecessary graphics), in some cases just plain ugliness.
Fortunately, every now and then, a jewel appears in all the muck. Such is the case with this week's Bald Guy Pick: Q
Here, you're going to meet SusieQ, an ordinary jane who decided to make her own website. What you will find are tiny (but huge looking) graphics, pleasing design, witty link tricks, and a whole lot of entertainment.
Just weasel your way through this fine web experience. Discover Jewish Stuff, Obsessions, The Animation Situation, and Handy-Dandy Useful Things. There are a whole lot more nifty prizes to find, so get there already!

Dr. Webster wrote this when he chose Q as Dr. Webster's Web Site of the Day on 10/19/97:

Today's prescription is a wonderful collection of fun, useful and thought-provoking content that is called Q. This site, the brainchild of one Susie Ehrenfeld, serves up her thoughts on life and anything and everything, from "Obsessions" to "Useless But Endlessly Fascinating Stuff" to "Handy-Dandy Useful Things." There's likely to be something for everyone here, from newbies to jaded surfers. If you have a personal home page of your own, be sure to check out this site: it's a perfect example of what makes a personal page compelling.

Netsurfer Digest reviewed Q as one of their Surfing Sites on December 15, 1997 :

WE LIKE THE WAY YOU WEB, SUSIE Q
Susie "Q" Ehrenfeld's home page tops a lot of corporate Web sites backed with hundreds of thousands of dollars and that bodes well for her fledgling Web design company. She's full of smarts (she's even gotten through to the last chapter of "Ulysses"), creative, and, most of all, perceptive. Her observations and stories keep the page engaging and the links to her favorite games, sites, and music are revealing. Heck, some of the sites even we hadn't seen before.