Status: Delayed

I promised when I started this back up that I would post more regularly or I would quit altogether. I was doing fine for a short (ok, very short) while, but then I was distracted by an internship I received at a local area web design firm. It was supposed to be for the summer, but after about a month of managing the companies’ client’s social media sites and developing their brands, it dawned on both parties that I wasn’t their guy. No, that’s not a polite way of saying that I got canned, but the honest truth. They wanted someone to handle their SEO, do some graphic design work, develop promotions and all of the social media.

For some, no problem. For others, well, I’m not a graphics guy. I raised one client’s reach by 20% on Facebook and close to 50% on Twitter. I increased overall retweets, mentions and shared messages. I put together a great FB ad package to go with one of four promotional concepts. After meeting with the client, they decided that everything needed to be cut back (essentially) – the type of promotion and the activity on the social media sites. That combined with increased graphic work headed in my direction made it clear that my interpretation of social media is quite different from theirs. It was a good month, and I wish that it could have turned into something more, but they need someone whose skills are greater than mine graphically and who is willing to ignore suggestions by WOMMA, Ogilvy and other SM experts in favor of what the client thinks is a good idea. (Yes, without clients an interactive media company can’t thrive. But they hired you for a reason.)

So I am back to square one – professionally delayed.

Things aren’t so bad, though. I know now that I don’t want to work for a web design firm and that the things I learned while earning my master’s do work, i.e. I used my knowledge to achieve real-world results. I also have a new puppy (3mos old) that I get more time to play with, and there is a possibility of another social media internship at Blue Mountain Artists where my brother works. It would be unpaid like my other one, but again, it will enable me to build more experience with the added bonus of incredibly flexible hours and dress code.

I guess the lesson here is while the internship to hire dream is a good one, sometimes forgoing what you have for what you need (and knowing the difference between the two) is the best for everyone.

Good luck everyone. It’s rough out there.

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Afternoon everyone,

Before I get to my original topic for the day, I just wanted to let you all know that the Fall semester starts tomorrow, so many of my posts for the next few months may be school directed. I am going to try to keep posting and updating with topics on technology, comics, film, and music, as always, but my education comes first. Shame, I know. To make it easier, I’m going to work out some kind of signal so that at first glance you’ll know if it’s regular posting or school posting, so you can decide easier if you want to skip it or not.

In the realm of school news, I’m taking Public Relations in the Digital Age of Influence, and it sounds really interesting. Here’s the official course description:

Marketing and communications are changing. The levers that we have pulled for years to sell products and services, change behaviors, advocate for causes no longer work the way they did. As trust in media and marketing plummets, trust in our peers, friends, family, and colleagues rises. Today the public does most of the relating and we recognize new influencers in the people sitting next to us. Now, creating a conversation is just as important as driving media, forming partnerships and crafting messages. Call it influencer marketing. Call it brand stewardship in the network age. It’s all public relations. This class will cover how to create comprehensive digital influence strategy and ultimately how to be effective public relations professional in this new digital age.

I’m hoping we really look into the impact of social media – viral, ARG, digital distribution – since more and more communication marketing seems to be headed that way.

Anyway, just wanted you all to know. I’m still hoping to get Tomblin back for the non-school posts, but we’ll just have to wait and see. If any of you out there have heard from him, poke him and tell him to call me.