Elon’s Interactive Media program is launching a scholarship contest via Twitter. Two $3,000 scholarships will be awarded.

Elon University is taking the application process for its M.A. in Interactive Media scholarship program to the Twitterverse.

Beginning Dec. 1, 2011, eligible* contestants will be considered for the scholarships by drafting a single tweet of 140 characters or less to Elon’s iMedia Twitter handle @EloniMedia, including the hashtag #shiftimedia.

Elon is asking prospective students to tweet how the iMedia program will shift their career in new directions. Scholarship winners will be announced March 27, 2012 and the top two participants will each receive a $3,000 scholarship award to pursue their master’s degree at Elon.

“Every year, Elon awards a number of scholarships to Interactive Media students who demonstrate enthusiasm for learning and a commitment to energizing media communication,” said David Copeland, director of the Elon M.A. in Interactive Media program. “This year, through one of the most interactive social media tools, we wanted to offer prospective iMedia students a creative and fun way to realize the value of a master’s degree in Interactive Media.”

How to participate:

• From December 1, 2011 – March 15, 2012, tweet @EloniMedia and submit your scholarship tweet including #shiftimedia.
• Tell us how you will use the iMedia program to shift your career in new directions (we want to feel your passion for this program!).
• Tweets will be reviewed until March 15 and the winner will be announced on March 27, 2012.

*Eligibility

For scholarship consideration, contest applicants must:

• Earn a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.2 and score of 1100 GRE/415 MAT
• Apply and be accepted to the Elon M.A. Interactive Media program
• Be a US citizen or permanent resident

About Elon University’s M.A. in Interactive Media
Elon’s 10-month, full-time program prepares graduates to think strategically across media platforms; plan and create interactive media content consisting of text, images, sounds, video and graphics; and manage information for interactive news, entertainment and persuasive communications. Students learn from award-winning professors, build their own interactive media projects in state-of-the-art facilities, and help chart the future of media communication in less than a year. For more information, please visit: http://www.elon.edu/imedia

About Elon University
Elon University is a selective, independent university renowned as a national model for engaged learning, along with excellence in the liberal arts and sciences and professional programs. Elon’s beautiful and historic campus in central North Carolina is designated as a botanical garden. Elon was founded in 1889, and its core values have remained constant: close relationships between faculty and students, a culture that supports constant innovation, and a strong sense of community. For more information, please visit: http://www.elon.edu

What is Blue Beanie Day? Think of it as the future of the Web. If you have ever picked up a newspaper and pages were missing or your dog slobbered on the sports section making it a dripping, illegible mess then you will appreciate the importance of Web Standards. At its core, Web Standards are about making information accessible to everyone. We will agree this is a great idea.

Douglas Vos, founder of Facebook’s Designing With Web Standards Group, began the Blue Beanie Day tradition on November 26, 2007. His inspiration was Jeffrey Zeldman, the godfather of Web Standards, and author of Designing with Web Standards.

As a leader of the movement, Zeldman has fostered a generation of designers and developers. His vision and guidance echo across the community. These Web Standards grow from guidelines created by the W3C.

The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) is an international community led by Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee and CEO Jeffrey Jaffe. The mission of the W3C is to lead the Web to its fullest potential. They provide guidelines for creating content for the Web.

The television industry, for example, provides guidelines for content providers (ABC, NBC, ESPN etc…). There are simple guides such as title safe and action safe but there are also more strict guidelines determined by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). Think what closed captioning brings to television.

It only makes sense to have standard practices in place when creating media. Web Standards and the W3C provide us this platform. If you are in favor of a Web for everyone, by everyone, One Web, then support Web Standards and Blue Beanie Day!

Elon iMedia Supports Web Standards

More info about Web Standards

Read this post -

Jeffrey Zeldman, Say No to SOPA

http://www.zeldman.com/

Blue Beanie Day

http://www.zeldman.com/bbd/

Designing with Web Standards

http://www.zeldman.com/dwws/

Developing with Web Standards, by John Allsopp

http://devwws.com/

The Web Standards Project

http://www.webstandards.org/

W3C

http://www.w3.org/

Accessibility

Web Accessibility Initiative

http://www.w3.org/WAI/

Jim Thatcher

http://www.jimthatcher.com/index.htm

Web Accessibility

http://www.amazon.com/Web-Accessibility-Standards-Regulatory-Compliance/dp/1590596382

Link to my presentation @ College Media Advisors

(Orlando, Florida – Oct. 2011)

http://www.bradberkner.com/cma11/accessibility

Last month I had the pleasure of visiting with one of our 2010 iMedia graduates in the lovely city of Charleston, SC.  Alex Kreitman, an Elon undergraduate as well, is the Director of New Media at WCSC-TV. He has been with the station since graduating in May of 2010.

Alex Kreitman - Director, New Media WCSC-TV

As an iMedia student Alex was one of the very few who kept his job while earning his degree.  I asked him for his advice to others who may be doing the same or considering it.

“I did it, so it’s possible.  But it wasn’t easy.  You need to sacrifice a lot during that one year but if you can find an employer willing to be flexible with your schedule, then you gain an edge on everyone else when you graduate.  By continuing to work and go to school your work experience stays as fresh as your education, which is a huge advantage.  Just be prepared for sleepless nights and a lot of stress.”

He spoke with me about his responsibilities at WCSC-TV.  Alex manages the web site, mobile, and social media platforms as well as a team of online journalists who produce content for the site.  He supervises online marketing and advertising strategies and oversees the rest of the newsroom staff regarding their web responsibilities.

He spoke with me about using his iMedia degree day to day. “I use a lot of the skills learned in the iMedia program to help our station stay cutting edge in the industry.  A lot of theory and discussion about the business has helped me keep our staff innovative and open-minded about technology and our business.”

And, as anyone with a job knows, there are both joys and challenges.  “The biggest challenge will always be getting traditional “TV people” to understand and recognize the importance of the web, mobile, and social media.  They need to treat our station’s new media efforts with as much importance as our TV news. The joys of my job are always the successes and the new products we get to experiment with.  Staying cutting edge is exciting and when breaking news comes in, we drop everything and let the thrills begin.”

Alex’s advice for the job search?  “Reach out to people you know.  Connections are the best way to get a job.  If you don’t think you know enough people in your industry, then spend a little money and attend a conference in your field.  Meet people there and it will pay for itself later. Stay sharp.  Always stay current with industry news and know what is going on.  Use everything personally that you might use professionally.  That means computer software, social media, and technology.”

An observation I made while in the newsroom with Alex was how respected and well liked he is.  It’s clear to me that students who graduate from Elon’s iMedia program leave here with strong technical skills, an excellent work ethic, and the ability to seamlessly translate all they have learned into their professional environment.

As the spring semester approaches, preparation for iMedia’s annual professional development day (e.g. iMedia Showcase of 2010 and 2011) is underway. This year we are tweaking the event, and providing some updates in the format…and I’m really excited about it!

Update #1

The event has been moved to Friday March 2nd, rather than the end of April,  to provide some early education on networking and growing professional relationships. The day of the event, I’ll be doing a workshop on this important topic just in time for our SXSWi contest winners as they make their way to Austin a week later. All students will be able to use these skills as they continue to reach out to employers for info meetings and attend NC media events, conferences and gatherings.

Update #2

We will have alums participating in the event! I’m super excited about this. We still intend to have our large panel (with professionals representing leading companies in new media), but we will also have breakout sessions with alums to discuss with students job search, portfolios, resumes, etc.

As far as our panel of professionals, we wanted to get representatives from a non-profit, corporation, agency and the entertainment industry. So…what companies will be represented on our panel of professionals?

1. New Media Strategies (confirmed)

2. Nike (confirmed)

3. HBO (in the works…but outlook good)

4. United Way of the Greater Triangle (confirmed)

Stay tuned for more info!

My classmates and I are in week eleven of fall semester and, although my mind is cluttered with all I have left to do in the semester, I find myself even more excited about all that’s ahead in the iMedia program. Outside of my course work this semester, I’ve had a gamut of other things to plan and contemplate. Dr. Copeland spoke recently about next semester courses. I’m looking forward to my fly-in to Reykjavik, Iceland, where seven classmates and I will work with The Citizens Foundation during the month of January. Also, several area professionals have take the time to give me career advice, reminding me of my passions and goals I’m working towards.

Although it’s important for my classmates and I to submerge ourselves in our course work for the year that we’re iMedia students, it’s also important to remember the relevance our new skills will have in our future careers. This is why I’m thankful for the insight I’ve received from area professionals during this semester, because seeing their passion has driven me to find my own niche in the field of interactive media.

Bettina Johnson

As Maggie mentioned in her blog two weeks ago, Bettina Johnson graduated from the iMedia program in May of 2011. She happily found a place at Pace Communications in Greensboro the summer after graduation, working as an interactive content editor and online community manager. I was lucky enough to discuss her time as an iMedia student and her career during an informational meeting we had back in September. Bettina initially interested me, because her undergraduate degree, from Elon, was in journalism. As someone interested in writing, I was curious as to how Bettina transitioned her skills from traditional journalism to working in the field of Interactive Media.

After working for print news, at the Gaston Gazette in Charlotte, and in web development, at Newfangled Web Factory in Carrboro, Bettina decided to add to her digital skills by returning to Elon to get her MA in Interactive Media. I was struck by Bettina’s openness and enthusiasm for her career. She shared, “It’s great to have a job you enjoy and put all your energy into!” Bettina took advantage of her time as an iMedia student, and it’s inspiring to see someone with similar interests as me doing what they love.

Ryan Helmstetler

I met with Ryan Helmstetler in October. When Ryan was an undergrad, he had plans of becoming an accountant. He realized his passions fell elsewhere, however, and he is now an account executive for Texas Pete at The Sales Factory in Greensboro. Ryan loves his job as an account executive, because it enables him to “touch every piece” of the Sale Factory’s relationship with Texas Pete and he is able to travel. Curious about advertisement agency life, I was thankful to hear a perspective from work at a smaller agency.

The atmosphere at the Sales Factory was both lively and intimate, and it was beneficial to hear the pros and cons of working for small and large agencies. Ryan also discussed social media strategy, and specifically how beneficial Facebook is to Texas Pete. In 2009 the Sales Factory launched a Facebook campaign with 10,000 samples distributed through Facebook engagement ads and the Texas Pete Facebook page. The Sales Factory projected the samples to be distributed over four weeks, but the campaign gained so much popularity the samples were gone in six days. Ryan emphasized, “You can’t generate sales without research.” It is clear to me that the Texas Pete Facebook campaign was well researched, and that Ryan is passionate about his job. Interested in advertising, I am thankful to have received insight into the world of an advertising agency.

Jessica Byerly

Two weeks at ago, Jessica Byerly discussed with me all she does at G-Force Marketing Solutions in Greensboro. Jessica is a digital marketing strategist who considers herself somewhat of an anomaly. Although she is the often viewed as an IT resource at G-Force, she happily lives on a farm with her husband and child and is passionate about both farm animals and Twitter. I was pleasantly surprised to get the chance to hear from someone living out multiple passions, both in lifestyle and career, and I got to see first hand the time she puts into account analytics.

Similar to my interest in Bettina’s journalism past, I was curious when listening to Jessica’s story because she transitioned from a career in traditional, print journalism into a career in digital technology and analytics. Jessica loves her job, and is persistent in keeping up with her field that is “constantly changing”. She describes her main responsibility at G-Force as dealing with numbers, and she showed me the pages and pages of reports she produces to confirm the best return of investment for clients, in regards to how G-Force is marketing their brand. Jessica told me, “There has not been one morning I have woken up and not been excited to come into work at G-Force.” This is the kind of passion I’m looking for in a career, and it has been refreshing to hear from so many individuals passionate about their careers in interactive media.

As we are now in November, my classmates and I look ahead to final semester projects, papers, etc. However, it’s important to look even further ahead. Although we should live consciously in the moment, in order to soak in as much as we can from iMedia, I also can’t help but to have hope for a future career, using my skills from iMedia, that is as fulfilling as the careers of the professionals I’ve received insight from during this past semester.

A group of iMedia students recently had the opportunity to attend a meeting for the Triangle Social Media Club (@SMCTriangle). The meeting was held the same day as the f8 conference where Mark Zuckerberg announced the new Facebook Timeline. All of the buzz had us wondering how interactive media students could make the most of social media to establish a reputation online? How should we use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and other social networks? Lucky for us, the Triangle Social Media Club’s members are mostly professionals in the field of of social media. I would like to share some of the takeaways and best practices.

All Social Networks are NOT Created Equal

Each social network has their respective strengths and weaknesses and should be used for different things.

Facebook should be treated like a backyard barbecue. You can invite who you want but it is important to realize that any of your friends can affect your reputation with comments on your posts, tagging inappropriate photos, or writing on your wall. Though new features of Facebook allow you to “follow” people (similar to Twitter), most people use Facebook to stay connected with people they know personally. Facebook should typically be used in a way that displays your personality and shows your interests but still reflects the way that you would like to be perceived both personally as well as professionally. The new Timeline layout that Facebook will be releasing fully in the next few weeks will make it easy for anyone you are connected to to browse your entire Facebook history. If you have not done so, now may be a good time to start cleaning out your old statuses and untagging your old college photos.

It wasn’t long ago that it would have been impossible to connect with leaders in an industry or people whom you admired but never had a chance to meet. The best you could hope for would be a response to an email or letter. Twitter has removed the gatekeepers, enabling anyone to put a message in front of anyone else. Twitter should be viewed in similarly to a conference that you would attend in your field. It is a great place to share things like news or tips in your industry as well as to participate in discussions with people whom have similar interests as you. If you want to establish yourself in an industry or to network professionally, this is the social media platform to do it. No matter where you look most social media professionals agree, if you actively contribute positively to conversations and share interesting and relative content, the retweets and follows will come.

It’s important to stay in touch with your professional network. These are friends, former colleagues, clients, and professors who know you professionally and whom you would like to stay in touch with. LinkedIn is the place to maintain these relationships. Think of LinkedIn like the Chamber of Commerce. LinkedIn sharing should be always be relevant to your field or professional interests. Utilize this social network to build an online portfolio, get recommendations from people who have worked with you or who you have done business with, as well as to make new connections. While many people add everyone they know on every social network site they belong to, this is not a good idea with LinkedIn. Perhaps the best feature of LinkedIn is the groups. Groups are easy to find in almost any field and give you a direct line to thought leaders and professionals in your industry as well as the latest news and often interesting discussions.

Google+ just recently went from a beta release to a full release. Many people in the field feel as though Google is on to something good with the way Google+ is laid out and some of the features, but the market may be too saturated right now for such a major player to make a dent. While there is great potential here longterm, most social media professionals seem to think you could hold off on Google+ for now.

Adding to the Conversation

Each social network is different and content you share on one is not necessarily appropriate for another. Beyond this, social networks like Twitter have their own styles such as the use of the ampersand or hashtag. These symbols and means of communication aren’t as effective for other social networks that work differently. Even if you are posting the same thing to multiple social networks, it is a best practice to craft your message differently for each network, in a way that will make sense and connect with that audience. Apps like TweetDeck and Hootsuite are great to keep up with all of your networks in one convenient place but don’t simply use these tools as a way to send mass posts out of all of your profiles at once. Not only is this not taking advantage of what each network does well, it also makes you look like a spammer.

Social networks are not only a great place to stay connected to people that you know. They are also a great way to meet new people in your field or with similar professional interests. If you want to establish new relationships, the best way to do this is by utilizing each network the way that it was intended. On Twitter, follow people who interest you and generate compelling discussions with them based on their posts or response to posts. On LinkedIn join groups and start conversations or add to ones that already exist. LinkedIn even allows you to connect with someone that is one degree of separation from you by allowing you to ask your mutual connection to “introduce” you.

Professionals in the field of social media seem to agree on one thing. If you don’t know the person, don’t send them direct messages or private messages. This shows that you already have a misunderstanding of the social networks and that you don’t respect their privacy. If you engage them in discussion and they find you interesting the relationship will grow on it’s own.

Protect Your Name

Recent research suggests that upwards of 90% of employers are now making it a part of standard procedure to look up potential hires names in search engines and social media. Whether or not you enjoy social media, it is important to realize that your profiles on these networks represent you to anyone who wants to look you up. It is important to make sure that you understand your privacy settings for each network, that you are careful what you post, and that you maintain your social media profiles regularly. It is also a best practice to do a search for your name from time to time on the major search engines including Google, Yahoo, and Bing, to see what comes up. Just as you check your credit report to make sure there are no errors, you don’t want things to misrepresent you online and cast a negative light.

Becoming a Thought Leader

We are all entering an industry that is new enough for us to make a real impact. For many of us, that is one of the most exciting things about what we’re doing. One of the benefits of coming into an industry at the ground level is the opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Whereas it may have been difficult to do this in the past without getting a PhD, writing a book, or being a CEO of a startup, today your reputation is only limited by your diligence and the quality of your thoughts and content. Social media has made it so that the only thing required to be an expert is expertise. Connect with thought leaders in your field, join in on the conversation, and you could establish yourself as a thought leader.

Final Thoughts

We are three months into the iMedia program and while we are sleep deprived and our brains often feel like mush, things are starting to click. We are nervous and excited about wrapping up our Fall semester and preparing for our Winter Fly-In. We are taking a look at the classes being offered in the Spring and are starting to think about our Capstone projects and job prospects. We are updating our resumes, thinking about our portfolios, and networking as much as we can. Social Media is a great tool that will help us all to find the opportunities we are looking for come Spring. At times like this it is important to take things seriously but not to get too far ahead of ourselves. Everything will come in time. Now is the time to keep pushing, finish out the Fall semester strong, and get ready for a much needed Winter Break.

I created a series of Friday Workshops that began in 2009 and continue to evolve today. Each Friday at 2pm, we begin with a lesson followed by a critique session and finally a video screening of relevant topics surrounding design, interactive media and advertising. If Halloween cult classics Shaun of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead could be considered relevant then, yes, they are all relevant topics. The three-part workshop (lesson / critique / viewing) is less systematic and more fluid.

The lesson is always the centerpiece often filled with questions and thoughtful discussion. There is a relaxed atmosphere among the 20+ students. Topics may include HTML5 or jQuery for those interested in design and development. Content Strategy and Getting Paid, for freelance or contract work, are concepts everyone can get behind. Seriously, who doesn’t want to get paid? Often there are guest speakers and demonstrations.

Recently we had designer, developer, conference organizer and interactive extraordinaire, Val Head, video chat with the class about “Designing Motion” http://www.valhead.com/  Her presentation covered the intricacies of Star Wars http://starwars.com/ and the oddities of expectations. The oddities felt something like when you’re in a car holding the map and telling your dad to go left but he still goes right. Yes, unfortunately there are websites like that and thanks to Val we now know this queasy feeling exists online. (ask me for the site… go ahead) Coming in November we ramp up for the winter term, COM. 570 Interactive Project for the Public Good, where students study abroad in Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico and Iceland. We have workshops centered on documentary video production and content management systems (CMS). This November we are excited to chat with Happy Cog http://happycog.com/ Designer, Yesenia Perez-Cruz and Developer, Allison Wagner about “Designing for CMSs”.

Critique sessions follow lessons and provide a fantastic opportunity for students to share their work and gain valuable feedback on projects. The critiques shed new light on solutions they may have missed or open completely new ideas. The feedback and engaged atmosphere is a growing favorite among the students. They feed off the energy, like the 10,000 Volt Ghost, pushing each other and inspiring new creations.

The Scooby-Doo episode "Watt a Shocking Ghost"

“Watch While You Work” is the name of the video screening portion of the workshop. This is a time when students can relax and discuss topics they wanted to share or take a closer look at a friends work or just watch the video. It is a nice way to unwind after a long week.

The level of student engagement in the workshops, interest in the field and in supporting each other continues to amaze. Interactive media is built solely with the energy and foresight of the people who work within it.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting with a 2011 iMedia graduate, Bettina Johnson.  She and I sat down together to talk about her new job at Pace Communications in Greensboro, NC.  Pace is a custom publishing agency which is moving more and more in the digital direction.  Enter Bettina.

My first question for Bettina was about landing the job.  “It’s an interesting story how I ended up at Pace. I have always wanted to live and work abroad in order to take advantage of my dual American and European citizenship. My dream city has been London for as long as I can remember. After attending an International Career session put on by the Elon Career center, I immediately approached Richard Jordan, associate director of career services for the Love School of Business. His accent was a dead give away that he was originally from the UK so I set up a time to meet with him about moving and working abroad. From there he gave me the name of Craig Waller at Pace Communications, one of the fellow Brits he was familiar with in the area (but did not know personally). I held on to Mr. Waller’s name for a few weeks without having any further contact information or tie in to the company. The Elon iMedia Career Showcase was on the horizon and as I went through the list of possible company attendees I came across Pace Communications again. I emailed the contact on the list and asked her if there was any way I could possibly meet with Mr. Waller to discuss my interest in digital media and a professional career in London. At the time I didn’t know too much about Pace and was more interested in what advice Mr. Waller would be able to give me. To my surprise, I received an email back from Mr. Waller himself with a time to come by Pace. Excited, I went to Pace thinking this was only an informational interview with a person that may have some ideas or networking possibilities for my jump across the pond. After meeting with him, he took me around to 4 other people (head of digital new business, head of digital strategy, head of interactive development, and a digital project manager). I left a resume and personal business card with each of these new contacts and was then taken( to my surprise) to the HR department to fill out a job application. Although they didn’t have anything specific open at the time, they were eager to expand their new media department and wanted me to leave all my information on file. About a week later I received a call from HR asking if was available to come in again and meet with more people on the digital team. I was then offered a new role they created around my skill sets and am now the digital editor and online communicate manager at Pace Communications. Although I still aspire to reach London someday, I think this is a fabulous stepping-stone with some great new connections in the industry to make my dream a reality. Just have to take it one step at a time and it will happen when it happens.”

How did your time in iMedia contribute to the current success at your job?
“I have to admit that Elon has come through for me on more than one occasion when landing a job. As an Elon graduate in 2006, I got my first job as an online editor at a newspaper down near Charlotte NC. I was the only outside candidate for the job to get my foot in the door of the company because the Editor at the time was the former editor of the Burlington Times-News newspaper and, needless to say, he was a big fan of Elon. The same is somewhat true for my job here at Pace. Craig Waller and the digital team are very interested in graduates from Elon University. They have been keeping an eye on the iMedia program since the beginning but never had a true connection to the school to learn more about the graduate school. Upon first meeting Mr. Waller (during what I thought was going to be a basic informational interview) he was extremely interested in what I was doing in the iMedia program, what I thought might be missing from the program, what I liked and didn’t like, and how I thought my time in the program would reshape my career in digital media moving forward. I think he took this time to get to know Elon and me more than I got to know him! It seemed to work out perfectly for both of us. By taking the first step and approaching Pace on my own, I turned out to be the “missing link” between Pace and Elon that they had been searching for. Pace is very excited to develop a relationship with the iMedia program to help shape the talent and possibly bring new faces into Pace.”

What is the best part of your job?
“The best part of my job is the encouragement I receive to try new things. Digital and interactive media are fields where new ideas are emerging everyday and companies are becoming more comfortable putting their feelers out into the realm of trial and error. When I first began my career in online media only 6 years ago, it was a struggle to coax my company into the digital world.  I was the online media department all on my own (a department of one) working in a world of traditional print and older journalists set in their ways. In only a few years time I no longer have to stand alone on the digital pedestal and now have the freedom to bring new ideas to the table with backing and curiosity from a team of people who work with me to make new media happen. The feeling of endless possibilities is much more motivating in a career setting than facing a towering wall of speculation and stubborn thought.”

Do you have career advice for current iMedia students?
“Network, network, network, even if you already have a job. It never hurts to reach out to people in your industry and learn whatever you can from their experience. Who knows, the new relationships you build through networking may lead to something bigger and better for your career in the future. Never stop networking and you will never stop learning.”

Bettina’s pearls of wisdom:
“Take advantage of every minute you have in the program. Put your personal life on hold for the next 10 months and focus on where this experience will bring your career and future. On graduation day you will wish the program had been longer even though now you may feel that you want to slam your head into a wall and launch your computer out of a Powell window. Everything you put into the program now will pay off immensely in the end! Get to know your classmates (current and alums) and get to know your professors. All these people will be great resources for you in the future. This is not a “fifth year of college.”  This is a graduate program designed to show you the demands of the real world in a professional setting and teach you how to succeed. The best thing I learned from the Elon iMedia program is how to learn. It sounds basic, but interactive media is an industry that is always changing and you have to be able to keep up. Learn how to teach yourself and ask the right questions to your resources and networks. In the real world you’re on your own and there are no second chances in a career.”

I asked Bettina about the most challenging part of her job.  Her answer was interesting and one that people who love their job can relate to.  In short, she said,

“The days go by so fast because I’m so focused on work that I enjoy. There is so much work to be done at Pace, which is a wonderful thing! I don’t mind spending extra time in my life outside the office to get it done. I enjoy what I do and that’s why I made it my main focus in life. Find something you love to do and you will have few challenges in your career.”

As I have said before and will say again – what a joy for me to see the transformation of these highly talented iMedia graduates.  Bettina will be joining us in February at our Open House to speak with current and prospective students. 

This year Elon iMedia faculty and staff are bringing in employers, professionals and alumni galore! Yes…we do bring these folks in to “network”, but my favorite part is all that I learn while they are on campus (and yes…learning IS a part of networking). Last week Angela Connor, social media manager at Capstrat in Raleigh made a visit to Elon to discuss what she does and how to effectively use social media with clients. The top 3 things I learned from her presentation:

1. What is your purpose? Just because “everyone is on social media” doesn’t mean that you should slop together a Facebook profile and Twitter handle. The first thing you should consider when using social media is: what is your GOAL? Is your goal to drive traffic to your website? Become a thought leader on a topic? Create community with customers? Knowing your goals and creating a strategic social media plan will guide you in all your future decisions on social media. Angela gave a great example of an organic farm client based in the NC mountains – the client’s goal was to become a thought leader on a specific topic; so Angela hit the road with flip cam in pocket, and in about 3 hours shot several short videos on that specific topic (the client did several wardrobe changes so it wasn’t obvious all the videos were shot at once). These videos were used on the client’s social media platforms and website.

2. More is More…content that is. This is the beauty of social media. Why just write a blog post when you can also add a video testimonial and interactive timeline?! Bundle info together in a way to give multiple perspectives and points of info.

3. If you like what you do, and have a passion for learning new things, you will be happy. Angela has a background in news and loves to work on multiple projects, constantly learning new things. This passion was evident in her presentation. She made it clear that if she is board, she is not happy…I could tell that she really likes her job and IS happy.  Her expertise and passion made me think of Steve Jobs and his amazing 2005 Stanford commencement address. I know, I know. Everyone has seen this video a thousand times, but the message will always be true. “The only way to do great work is to do what you love. Don’t settle.”

Coordinator of Interactive Media Projects

Thirty-four students competed for six spots to attend SXSWi. The conference is held each year in Austin, Texas. It is packed with all the juicy bytes that form interactive media. http://sxsw.com/interactive  In this client style review, teams had a mere five minutes to sell their work. Pressure might be an understatement. The industry is calculating and, more than anything, competitive. The competition helps prepare them for what they will tackle roughly seven months from now when they graduate and enter the job market.

student created presentation materials

The SXSWi Competition Schedule:

Tuesday, September 13^th

Students were notified of the competition. Many of them quickly formed the required groups of two and began devising their plans. Their goals were defined by guidelines that included written statements, updated curriculum vitae and the final presentations demonstrating how they best plan to utilize their talents at SXSWi.

Final Presentations: Tuesday, September 27^th  @ 8am.

Friday, September 16^th

Nine groups or 18 students were signed up at this time.

We contacted Brad Mu class of 2011 and SXSWi participant. We were able to Skype with Brad, Associate Project Manager at Free Range Studios in San Francisco, to discuss his SXSWi experience. Needless to say it went extremely well…little did we know how many more groups wanted to participate!

Tuesday, September 20^th

Nearly double the students signed up between that Friday and Tuesday. Venturing a guess, many of these additions were due to the Skype session with Brad.

While juggling course work, they worked diligently on their SXSWi projects and put in the necessary preparation.

Monday, September 26^th

It was crunch time. The final touches to refine the projects were underway. They ran through presentations to nail down timing and key concepts. Teams were sure to take a look at the space, McEwen 213, to get a better feel of what they would encounter during their presentations.

Tuesday, September 27^th

McEwen 213 – the boardroom: 

The long imposing table greeted teams as they entered the room. Judges lined either side of the table. Teams came dressed to impress and most certainly prepared. The bright lights and cameras documenting the event didn’t faze any of the participants.

The competition finished and the difficult task of choosing finalists began.

student presentation

Interactive Media is a business, as evident by the spectacles of Facebook and Apple iPhone announcements. It’s not good enough to simply create something eye-catching or even useful. iMedia students are prepared to innovate and they most certainly dazzled the judges with their amazing ideas and professionalism. The theatre might be a good place to start when thinking about this type of sales pitch. The careful balance between professionalism and selling a product could be the difference between a used car salesman and Mark Cuban.

“Most people think it’s all about the idea. It’s not. EVERYONE has ideas. The hard part is doing the homework to know if the idea could work in an industry, then doing the preparation to be able to execute on the idea.”  – Mark Cuban

iMedia students did their homework. Their intensive research into SXSWi, the iMedia program and understanding the goals of the project were evident. Research is fundamental for starting any project. Architects, for example, need to understand how the building will be used. Building a shed to hold tools and building a computer lab are two very different things. This holds true for interactive media as each project has its own agenda tailored to specific needs and audiences.

Coming this March!

Stay tuned to iMedia as we approach South by Southwest Interactive. Students will create engaging interactive experiences sure to delight, entertain and inspire.