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A well thought out social media strategy today can make the difference for a small business seeking space in the marketplace. The trope of making your entrepreneurial ventures personal is actually critical to take off. This isn't just about taking work home with you. This involves utilizing your network, and making your business interests your personal interests. There are two major goals of implementing a digital strategy: establishing yourself as a thought leader and building a community. Let's talk about why and how it will shape your personal habits.  

Establishing yourself as a thought leader --

Viewers are interested in new perspectives. Talking with our digital strategist, he always mentions "connecting the dots" for readers where connections have never existed. Establishing your organization as a thought leader is a large part of adding value to your reputation. One of my tasks involve scouting blog topics for our weekly blog posts. This can actually be very challenging for me. Finding the balance between current and unique means thinking outside of the box. I've also noticed that this can be a time-sensitive task. You have to keep up with news and events. But the issue is time - do you have the time to prowl my media channels? The turn around on establishing these conversations needs to be quick in order to stay relevant. For example, after the launch of Pokemon Go, everybody and their mothers, were chiming in on the conversation. After about a week (and it hadn't been released in Canada yet), the conversation began to dim. If your turn around for a blog post is a week, it is more likely your voice will be irrelevant by the time you post. Solution? Business interests = Personal interests. If you're short on time, which most businesses in the development phase are, then make your business interests your personal interests. It sounds time consuming but it is effective. If you don't have the funds to hire additional support, like someone dedicated to your content/digital strategy, then take that commuter time to scout trending topics. (Maybe this is why they suggest your business ventures should align with personal passions). Furthermore, I'm so used to academic writing, and blogs are meant to reflect the personality of the writer. My biggest challenge is finding my written voice, which means it takes a lot longer for me to write something I am satisfied with. Nevertheless, no hope lost, I think this will come with experience and practice.

Building a community --

Building a community of followers is a quantitative way to measure your exposure and thought leadership. This is also a gateway to expanding your business. This week, we are rounding up for first call for submission to fill our game writer vacancy. By utilizing our networks, I've noticed an increase in interest in the position since we first published the opportunity. I've also noticed that when a small business is starting to build a community, your existing personal networks are critical to get the ball rolling. Lesson: It is always necessary to establish your personal networks regardless of where you are in your career - you never know when they'll be useful. Because it's not about what you know, but who you know. Someone's gotta share your content as you establish your reputation.

Interactive Media // Me

The aspects of interactive media that capture my interest involve problem solving and storytelling in the digital space.  The peak of my interest is designing experiences that cater to the needs of the user in creative and adventurous ways by using emerging platforms and technologies. I’m fascinated by the creation of stories and the dynamic way we can visually express messages in different spaces.  

Interactive media is more than what exists; it is also the possibilities.

For the last eight months, user experience design and storytelling strategies have been at the center of my learning experiences. I’ve enjoyed exploring design through wireframes, placing content first, understanding usability as well as, what it means to manage a digital projects. LESSON: designing user-centric experiences and catering your content to your platform.  Using design to elevate the message will captivate and strengthen audience engagement. While understanding the know-how is important, the last eight months also heavily considered the business development and management aspects of digital agencies.  Professionalism, and networking, finance and legal, marketing and entrepreneurship have been an on going conversation as expressed in the curriculum. I know how to apply these skills and techniques I’ve learned to develop thorough plans and strategies for all types of digital projects.  While digital has existed for decades, very few have recognized the need for user experience specialists on their projects.  This void in the industry is in fact an opportunity for folks like me with the user-centric knowledge and expertise. Paying attention to the purpose, I can design to support the content and implement strategies that successfully carry a project from initiation through closing.  I want to be recognized as a digital strategist and UX designer. Although my long-term is not clear, my goals are entrepreneurial in nature. I want to create a legacy and nurture something of my own. Nevertheless, I enjoy collaborating with different people; I work well with different people.  While I pay my dues, I want to contribute innovative storytelling experiences that are creative and socially impactful.

The Secret Sauce // Choosing the Right Opportunity

Choosing the right organization involves a level of introspection and some negotiation.  In my search, I felt as though I was constantly unsatisfied by either the job description or the company. Thinking of it like a recipe, it’s about catering the ingredients to suit your taste buds. I want something sweet, spicy and savoury. In other words, stimulating, challenging and valuable.  A place that will give me a voice, nurture my interests and challenge me. A place that will give me hands on experience with real projects.  

The negotiation is essentially between the size of organization and the quality of experience that I’m looking for.  While bigger organizations with established reputations are great for your resume, you may find it hard to develop personally and professionally. Not only are they more competitive, on the job, they usually have more resources that can elevate a project.  Bigger organizations have found their flow and function more like a machine. In this environment, you fit into the machine. On the other hand, smaller organizations offer more flexibility and can are more willing to cater the experience to your needs. You have a chance to create more valuable relationships, be hands on with real projects and grasp the process.  Check out this great graphic that summarizes the tradeoff.

Hopes // Dreams

 I get excited about the process of creating and executing digital projects on emerging platforms. I want to learn about the nuances of business development, client relations, project-based execution and the overall day-to-day operations.  Especially since I am less technically inclined, I hope to see how these digital dreams come to life.  I am not a coder, but I am fascinated by the skill and creativity of the development team.  I’ve spent so much time in school learning about so many different aspects of digital projects. Now, I want to see how it all comes together in these real world situations.

Pulling together my academic and professional experience, I enjoy problem solving and brainstorming creative solutions for the digital complexities of our world, but what do I bring to the table?

Communication skills (written and oral)

Content Strategy (including auditing, writing and planning)

Functional understanding of Development Tools

Graphic Design / Adobe Creative Suite

Prototyping and Wireframing

QA and Usability

Social Media Management

Research and Analytics

Videography (Editing)

Above it all, I have a passion for learning and acquiring knowledge.  I believe knowledge is power, and experience is fuel – this is at the center of my personal philosophy.

Challenges //

The common notion when we first read the phrase “thinking outside the box” is that the person is going to talk about either some creative or educational perspective. But, this blog will be direct its discussion to a different scope of careers and my expectations from my field placements. Interactive media has different ways of looking at it. What I see it is a form of digital storytelling where a person can think ‘outside the box’ and create something that is equally informational as it is magical. This aspect of interactive media is what charms and inspires me the most everyday.  

I currently am enrolled in a wonderful program for Interactive Media and this program has taught me a wide variety of things from recognizing the value of content, learning how design, media and strategy combine to form a digital project, the importance of developmental tools, languages and analytics to become well versed in the formula that the user’s come first and to have an empathic view when being a interactive media professional. The program helped me develop the skills ‘to think outside the box’, understand the intricacies of story telling while understanding the principles of UX design and project management to research, plan and execute a digital project. These are some of the skills that will help me achieve wonderfully in my short term goal of working in this industry as a UX designer. Furthermore, any knowledge learned is never wasted and the learning’s that I will experience from working in such a fast paced yet enjoyable industry of design, will help me become a better professor of design some day.