Week 1 Analysis: Company Research

JStokes: http://jstokes.com/

• Founded: 1978
• Mission statement: We are fueled by curiosity, passion and a deep and lasting commitment to our clients' success. Our mission is to spark conversations and build relationships – through work that is always thoughtful, meaningful and engaging. Because it's not about making ads. It's about making an impact.
• Digital communication platforms: Integrated marketing communications, Digital Advertising, Advertising, Media
• Target audience/clients served: Companies big and small. From Subway to Blue mountain reality.
• Top competitors: Saba Agency, The Engine Is Red, Inc., and Gumas.
• Company headquarters and various office locations: 1444 North Main Street
  Walnut Creek, CA 94596

 I Like JStokes and the team environment they seem to promote. Even if you are working on a solo project the company is small enough that the rest of the team is encouraged to help. They seem to be growing steadily and are pushing for a greater online presence.

Peace Corps: http://www.peacecorps.gov/

• Founded: 1961
• Mission statement:
• To promote world peace and friendship by fulfilling three goals:
• To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women
• To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served
• To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans
• Digital communication platforms: Flickr, website, facebook,
• Target audience/clients served: Volunteers, Third world countries.
• Top competitors: United Planet, World Teach, and AmeriCorps.
• Company headquarters and various office locations: Worldwide.

Although the Peace Corps does good work and has a pretty positive reputation, I feel it might be a little to big . The scope of work might be a little too far removed form the type of work that i want to do. The location of this one was particularly great but I think I would hold out for something with a smaller organization.
 

*I had to change my last one. After researching the Tzu Chi Foundation I found nothing to connect them to the original posted ad. In the ad they claimed to be an up and coming film Production Company, but the website is for a Buddhist non-profit monastery. It looked like they had no media program.

Zuffa, LLC (UFC):   http://www.ufc.com/careers

• Date they were founded: Zuffa (2001), UFC (1993)
• Mission statement; Zuffa is a mixed martial arts promotion that was founded by frank and Lorenzo Fertitta in January 2001. They created this limited liability company so that it can act as a parent to a group of smaller promotions they purchased and create a stronger product. Zuffa makes pay per views available across the world and has the largest and most diverse roster in mixed martial arts history taking in fighters from dozens of different countries .they have set a goal of becoming the most successful MMA promotion and will not rest until this goal is achieved
• Digital communication platforms: Television, podcast, website
• Target audience/clients served: Mixed Martial Arts promoters, 20-45 year old MMA audience.
• Top competitors: Instant Access Media, Minnesota Logos, Brandspring Solutions.
• Company headquarters and various office locations: Las Vegas, some travel.

Again I saved the best for last. Tis is the type of work I want to do, quick turn around of promos and video interviews.  I'm not a huge UFC fan but I could absolutely get absorbed in the technical aspect of the job. The potential for occasional travel is another big plus. The Company seems pretty solid and is also growing into other companies to promote.

Week 1 Practice: Online Presence Inventory

  For this assignment I will be looking at my Linkedin, Twitter, and YouTube accounts.

Linkedin - This is the most obvious choice for a professional social media site, it's what it was designed for. I have been pretty good about keeping this up to date and have several personal and professional contacts on here. It is a little military heavy right now, and will probably stay that way for a few more years. As I near retirement and start making my transition I can start working on those more media related connections.I will be adding Full Sail graduate pretty soon.

Twitter - This one will be my more personal side. I use it mainly to follow a few news organizations and celebrities that i find note worthy. I have also been using it recently to gain attention for a small business venture I am trying to get off the ground. It is a reflection of who I am thorough what I like to keep tabs on.

YouTube - I have been cultivating the professional YouTube page through our assignments here at Full Sail. Some will stay up and i will add a few others to grow my video portfolio. I think YouTube will be my greatest asset in the long run because video and video editing are where I want to work. Eventually I will work on my Vimeo account as well.

Week 1 Exploration: Job Listings

For this assignment we looked through some Job Listings to find a few that spoke to us. This is an important part of the Job Hunting process because the jobs won’t find me. It is important to know what to look for and how to navigate these search engines. There are a lot of jobs to sift through to find the ones I am suited for and that I want to do.

http://www.talentzoo.com/job/Digital-Project-Manager/149532.html

 Digital Project Manager

-         - This job with JStokes looks like it would be an enjoyable work environment. It deals with digital marketing and is looking to create new methods of using technology for marketing.

-        -  It is right in line with my professional aspirations to lead a team in creating something new regularly. It looks like it would include writing as well as production.

-        -  I have a lot of experience as a leader and motivator, and I would bring a lot to the table in the creativity department. I like using multiple forms of media for advertising.

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/395013600

Field-Based Regional Recruiter

-         - I looked at this one based a lot on location. It would require some advertising skills and public relations, but it looks like a good deal of it is one on one screenings. I think the creative side of it would be fun.

-          -It is a little bit of a stretch professionally, for a great location. I could see taking a job like this to get to the right location and moving into something more suited for what I want to do.

-          -The creative side of the job is where I would thrive. Creating advertisements and event to get people interested in talking about the opportunities. I think the organization does a lot of good so selling it would be the easy part.

http://mandy.com/1/jobs3.cfm?v=62946743

F/T Video Journalist

-         - I like this on the most because it is exactly what I want to be doing. Writing and producing my own news stories. It also mentions ad-hoc for other producers. It would be a great way to work solo but still be a part of a bigger team.

-          -This is what I want to do for my career. I love working with video (shooting and editing) and I like telling stories. This is a great way to combine the two.

-          -I am eager to get out there and catch the stories. I am great working on my own or as part of a team. I am always ready to help others with their projects. Although I don’t know Mandarin now I would be willing to learn as I go.

Project: Banksy

Banksy is a household name in London where he grew up and started painting. Although his art is located worldwide and many people can pick it out of a line up, they couldn’t pick out him. His true identity has remained covered since 1999 when he first started showing up on the art scenes radar. He deals primarily graffiti art and much of his work in unsolicited. Although many people do pay large amounts of many for his work he does much of it for free and charities.

He is not on Facebook or twitter. A lot of his publicity is word of mouth, news stories, invitation only art shows and YouTube “pranks”. He has a company called Pest Control that acts as a publicity coordinator and project authenticator that can maintain his image. This allows him to keep the mystique of anonymity and still cultivate his public persona. He has a website that is minimalist, but it gives an email that he seems to answer personally. His artistic preference keeps in line with his medium in that graffiti artist are essentially breaking the law, so staying hidden is important to his career.

His simple depictions of world issues have made his work lovable to the masses. Combined with the riddle of “who is Banksy” has made him popular with an elite crowd. Names like Brad Pitt and Christine Aguilera have paid a fine price for some of his work. The art is only a portion of what that price tag gets you, it is also buying a permanent piece in a collection of work that is mostly temporary. Most of Banksy’s collection is “illegal” or subject to other forms of vandalism because of its location. The temporary element of graffiti and the unusual popularity of an artist from this discipline make his more permanent works more desirable.

He has published a few of his own books and made a few movies to distribute some of his work. He conducts art shows that feel like exhibitions. Many of his pieces are surprises and are done for the sake of art rather than for money.  It seems like the distribution of his work is more about authentication of what is Banksy then about making money. He wants his work to be known but not be known himself.  

He has definitely changed the way we look at graffiti are and is shifting the art world. I think we still have a ways to go before he changes society, but we are looking at things differently. I think the New York stunt he pulled tells a lot about society. He is selling his art on the street cheap. This is art that goes for hundreds of thousands of dollars and it is not new work, some of the art on the stand was stuff he is well known for. But he only moves seven pieces to three customers, because they don’t know the name. It reminds me of another video featuring Joshua Bell playing a violin in the subway. Even though people are willing to pay good money to see him perform at a concert hall, less interested in stopping to listen in the subway station. Both cases can be argued that it was poor location, timing or audience but the results remain the same.

For the people that know of Banksy most seem to have a certain love for what he represents: art for the sake of art, a since of community and a healthy mistrust of the “man”. But will that love remain if he is unmasked?  Will the allure of the bad boy artist fade if we know the man? For now at least we can just sit back and enjoy the show and wonder: “What ‘s next?”

Project Revision

Hi Class,

My Final (for this class) revision is Here.

I change the lay out to a 1 page instead of two, I fixed some of the formatting that seemed "blocky" in the other draft, and I added tag points to the chapter pages so they would jump to the requested page.

Thanks for a great class.

Addicus

Media Publishing: RISE Self-Evaluation

Reflect – Going into this class I didn’t have much of an idea as to what we might be doing. My ideas of publishing leaned more towards the construction of physical books and magazines. This class was pretty helpful in broadening the concept into the history and practice of digital publication. I have enjoyed eBooks and magazines on my iPad but didn’t give much thought to the efforts that got them there. It has also been useful in understanding how I can use this form of publication to further my business venture.
Inquire – I knew very little about InDesign when we started. I know I still have a long way to go in mastering the program but I at least know how to get started now. I plan on going back through some of the Lynda courses and making more thorough notes. InDesign has a similar feel to other Adobe products (like Photoshop) which was helpful, but there are a lot of features I would like to explore still. It will be constructive to go in and make a few random fliers and brochures just to play around with the application.
Suggest – More time is always a big thing. I would have tried to get more information on what to put into my proposal. As I continue to build it I will add some more graphs and statistics. When using the InDesign application I would like to dig deeper into the templates and designs to see what works for my publication. As always the Lynda courses were very helpful and I do plan to go through them some more to see what I missed the first time. Getting started earlier and more planning is always a factor. This month was particularly difficult and more forward planning would have saved a lot of heartache and stress.
Elevate – I have read a lot of digital publications and know the conveniences it offers. Knowing how to create and utilize that convenience and influence is useful to anyone. Whether you are spreading word about your new business, a CD release, or why you deserve the inner office promotion knowing how to put together a visually pleasing publication is important.  I am looking to open a new business later this year and having these tools will help me in marketing and building a customer base. Our prospective patrons are those that we hope to keep engaged and active in the business and our community building projects.

trying to catch up

Hi Class,

So sorry I have been behind on all the assignments this class. I have been struggling with being at sea and getting my work uploaded has been quite a pain. I finally figured out a system but it is time consuming and a little unreliable. It is something I will need to work through in the next class as well. But I think i have a hold on the system now and should be able to keep up better.


Publication

Lynda

Video
http://youtu.be/rNL7IkijF8k