Over the last 2 years, I have driven across Texas offering diverse students free tours of media and communications companies is 4 cities - Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. I launched a web site called Media Xperiments, based on the social networking platform called Ning. Students could sign up at no charge for tours of highly regarded ad agencies such as GSD&M Idea City and Sanders Wingo, media production houses like AMS Pictures, video game companies, radio stations, recording studios, etc. My original intent was to have the students build on-line portfolios that were reviewed by professionals in their field and then find them paid internships with local media companies. Of course, it was 2008 and the bottom had truly fallen out of the economy making it very difficult to place my first class of students.
So, I had to make other plans. We would meet each week at different locations across the city. Offices, community centers anywhere we could. The Media Proteges, as I decided to name them, would meet entrepreneurs, work on advocacy projects for local organizations and continue to interact with a wide array of media professionals. They were gaining what I term as Cultural Capital - the sum of experiences needed put them on the bleeding edge of media, technology and entrepreneurship. There were several false starts and stumbles but after a while, we found our stride.
One of the proteges got to shoot and edit video for a local entertainment company (see video above) and then we got do some work for Texas Parks & Wildlife. Having completed year 1 with 4 proteges, I'm happy to say that now we have 12 with a broad range of skills and interests. I'm now confident that our approach of engaging students can be effective at accelerating literacy and critical thinking skills. Now, it's time for them to serve others as they continue hone their skills and work out an educational plan for achieving their goals. As the pool grows larger, we are seeing a multiplier effect.
I'm happy to see that the Urban Media Festival is kicking off next weekend. Monetizing Your Media is the theme. I'll be there to support and lend a few nuggets of wisdom about developing a Web 3.0 approach to marketing your business. When I say "Web 3.0 Approach", it means leveraging all of these free and low cost tools such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs in a coherent way that it won't kill you to manage it. More than ever, we live in an Attention Economy. If you can capture people's attention, chances are you can develop that into a business model that generates revenue for your cause or business.
If you have a business or cause, the first thing that you need to ask yourself and then your friends, family and customers is "Do you have a compelling narrative?" Does your cause or product help solve a particular pain point? If so, the key to generating income is being able to tell that story in an efficient and elegant way. The principles are the same. Only the tools have changed. Word of mouth is your most potent tool. In the world of social media with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. that word of mouth is passed on electronically.
Keep in mind that there 3 basic steps that people need to take before they actually become a customer. Awareness, Trust and Purchase. I'll go ahead and break this down a bit.
Awareness - People have to know that you exist. Remember this is an Attention Economy. If people simply don't know your product or cause is even there, they will never make a purchase. That's why you see major brands hitting you repeatedly with ads on TV, in video games, billboards, etc. They want to be top of mind when you think about where to buy insurance or that new TV. So, think about establishing Facebook and Twitter feeds for your business or cause. Then start using them to make people aware that you exist.
Trust - Once people know that your product or cause exists, what do they think of when you come to mind? Is it good, bad, indifference? Are your tweets the ones that make them smile or reflect? Do your tweets make people angry? Do your Facebook updates reinforce how you want them to perceive you? Are you always selling something or do you take the time share useful information? Does your blog and/or web site reflect the same tone that you set in person and in social media? All of these things have influence on whether they trust you, your product or cause.
Purchase - Ah, the almighty purchase. Can you get them to write a check or volunteer to help? There's a difference between someone who writes you a check once and a customer. A customer is someone who continues to make purchases or advocates for your cause. Whereas the former, was a lucky shot in the wind. Your customers come back to you because they trust you. They trust you because they know you. If they purchase or invest time in you and it's a negative experience, the circle is broken and chances are they will let their friends know as well.
I say all of this because there was a time when we had media gatekeepers. TV, Radio and Cable controlled what we could see for the most part and if we wanted to reach a large audience, we had to go through them. Now, they will continue to have significant influence but there are many free and low cost tools that allow mom and pop operations to create media that rivals many of the largest media conglomerates. In fact, one of my clients, the movie review site Spill.com, gets over 2 million views of its video streams and about 40K podcast downloads in 1 month. Those are better than some cable numbers and their production is done by 8 people out of a condo in South Austin. They have extremely loyal fans from as far away as London, the Netherlands, and Australia willing to come to Austin just to meet and hang out with them. They are now owned by Hollywood.com, which is a large company but they started off with a laptop, some audio equipment and animation skills. They were "discovered" on YouTube, a free platform that any one of us can use.
So, I know it can be overwhelming with so many options out there but if you can be savvy about your approach, you can get an incredible amount of value and generate the Attention and Money you deserve. The Urban Media Festival is shaping up to be a great place to network, learn and share information.
If you are savvy about media and your use of it, you can become a sphere of influence and have folks eager to make that purchase or join your cause. The trick is to choose the right infrastructure so that you can spend more time communicating with your audience and less simply trying to figure out the technology to carry your message.
Well, we had a great time with our first It Could Be U Camp for middle school students last week. As a part of the YES to College program by the Housing Authority of the City of Austin, I, along with 4 Media Proteges, took A & B honor roll students on a series of career and college exploration activities which included visiting ad agency McGarrah Jessee, media production company AMS Pictures, the Texas Advanced Computing Center over the the University of Texas, and Austin Community College gaming and music departments.
Over the course of 4 days, we interviewed the students about their dreams and aspirations while documenting their experiences through video and blogs published on the new site It Could Be U. We forged some strong bonds with the students and hope to continue working with them throughout the year and have them contribute their own thoughts about the quest for an education via our new site.
Later, we'll be editing down all of the interview footage into a short documentary. For now, we have several short videos showing highlights of each day and one larger wrap up video (above).
Well, here are some highlights from day 2 of the It Could Be U Camp for middle school students. I'm very proud that Media Protege Christian Nelson is able to shoot and edit such great footage within just a few short hours each day of the camp. Shown here are highlights from the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas at Austin and the media production company AMS Pictures.
I'm super proud of the Media Proteges as they are now mentoring younger students as a part of the It Could Be U Camp. Below is an article written by John Luke about Day 1 in which we got to know the kids and went on our first field trip to local ad agency McGarrah Jessee. Enjoy!
So, today was the first day of our It Could Be U Camp. I wouldn’t say it went as well as it could have, but it could have gone a lot worse. All in all, I think we all conducted ourselves pretty well, especially if you consider that we of the Media Proteges have never faced a challenge of this sort before. The challenge I speak of is working with kids.
We all met up at 9:00AM at the Booker T. Washington Community Center. Then, one-by-one, the students started coming in. It originally looked like we were only going to have about five or so, which would’ve been easily managed, but by the time we began we had exactly fifteen. So, I shutter to think what it would’ve been like if we had reached our limit of twenty five.
Anyway, the students all generally came in very quiet and timid, but that soon changed. Though, many of them took quite a bit of coaxing, we eventually had them all talking. They divulged their names as well as their interests such as choir, soccer, karate, and other extracurricular activities.
After introductions, the first order of business was to get them all registered, and that duty fell upon me. Thus began a series of forgotten passwords, nonexistent emails, and technical difficulties. Honestly, I’m not the most patient person but we somehow managed to get through it all with out reenacting a certain scene from Kindergarten Cop (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger).
To be honest, they seem like a pretty bright, diverse bunch. They ought to be if they’re all on the A and B honor roll. Speaking of which, they all seemed to really be into mathematics. What’s up with that? How much have things changed since I was their age, seriously?
Well, after we managed to get everyone registered we all had some Hoover’s for lunch. Even kids agree: Hoover’s always cookin’ somethin’ good. Once everyone had finished eating we went to the McGarrah Jessee advertising agency. It was nice to see our old pals at McGarrah Jessee once again and it was nice to know that their doors were still open to us. So, we proceeded to cram all the kids into the board room and let the wonderful staff of McGarrah Jessee do their thing. They learned quite a bit about how advertising agencies actually work, such as creatives, artists, and writers, and how they all work together to make a product.
Things really started moving once the participation portion began. Sadly, that had to be cut short due to time constraints. Then the tour began, which is always the most exciting part of visiting McGarrah Jessee. Whilst touring the facilities the kids were shown the people they had heard the job descriptions of. They certainly weren’t bored at that point. Why should they be? McGarrah Jessee’s a really interesting place, definitely not what I think they believed an ad agency would look like.
In review; today went fairly well. We got all the painfully boring registration business out of the way and now we know what to expect. It’s exciting to see the kids begin to realize the value of this opportunity that’s been given to them.
After 2 years of refinement, I'm ready to share the approaches I've used to promote engagement and critical thinking in the classroom. I truly believe we are in an educational crisis right now and it's alarming how little discussion is taking place. Our economy has fundamentally shifted from that of a passive consumer base to an active producer base. In other words, 21st Century business models are based on collaborative interactions.
There is no one size fits all any more in education. During the industrial age, when our educational system was formed, employment was far simpler. We needed widget makers to work in our factories and you could graduate from high school and get decent job with a few rudimentary skills.
In today's economy that's simply not good enough. The most in demand jobs 5 years from now, quite likely don't exist today. We have to teach our students to constantly synthesize information and adapt to new technologies and processes. In short, they have to become critical thinkers who can identify value and take bold action when necessary.
Media Mash Ups My methodology is based on what I call the "Mash Up" approach. I ask students to show mastery of key concepts and terms using media and communications skills. It could be a blog, a podcast, a song, a survey or in these cases videos. The mash up approach allows students to think critically and then take ownership of a concept. They move beyond simply parroting definitions to in depth analysis, synthesis and evaluation - all higher level thinking skills.
Using this approach in a social media setting (in this case on the Ning platform) allows students to easily share their work and exchange feedback not only with their classmates but if you choose to, with their parents, mentors and community members.
This is a great recap of the experiences of the new Media Protege class. After 4 weeks of an intensive media boot camp, Alfredo Escamilla is now the Art Director of Media Xperiments. Alfredo called it a "life changing" experience. He and his fellow proteges worked directly with PhD in advertising candidate Amber Chenevert, award winning copywriters and a slew of other professionals to develop a Web 3.0 media campaign for the local Austin restaurant chain Hoover's Cooking.
As a bonus, several of the proteges served on a production crew for the Spill Dot Con Media Festival. They interviewed festival participants and got to hang out with some of the hottest digital media and entertainment talent out there including Rooster Teeth Productions (Red vs Blue), hip hop legend Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, and senior creative talent from the ad agency GSD&M Idea City.
Now, we have a core team of ten gifted proteges that have been groomed to lead the Reel 4 A Change movement. Each has been given a role to play. I look forward to seeing their ideas take flight and change people's lives.
This video is a little long but the stats are pretty compelling. Our students have to be problem solvers. Standardized tests attempt to measure this ability but they are missing the mark. Students can go through 16 years of schooling and never be asked to create something of tangible value. I believe that students can create plenty of things of value. We must challenge them to do so.
The MCC is proud to announce the launch of It Could Be U – a series of college and career exploration activities for youth and young adults. Based on the award winning model of the Media Xperiments program, It Could Be U gives students glimpses of careers in a broad range of fields including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), media, communications, financial services and the arts. As students demonstrate interest and aptitude in a particular field, they are provided opportunities to flourish by participating in service learning projects related to that subject area and refine their educational goals.
The first session of It Could Be U is a four day camp launching in cooperation with the Housing Authority of the City of Austin on Wednesday, August 11th. Over the course of four days, students will visit local ad agency McGarrah Jessee, the Texas Advanced Computing Center, film and interactive facility AMS Pictures and participate in a series of hands on workshops in gaming and audio production at Austin Community College. We’ll finish up the camp with an awards ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 14th at noon on the ACC Northridge Campus.
Throughout the 4 day experience, Media Proteges (fresh off an intensive 4 week media boot camp) will serve as mentors and post video, blogs and pictures documenting the students’ experiences. Follow these students as they begin their quest at It Could Be U!
For more information, please contact Carl Settles.
Hello, My name is Carl Settles Jr. Founder and Executive Director of the Media Communications Council and CEO of Media Xperiments. I am an advocate for diversity, education and entrepreneurship. I've spent the last 2 years driving across Texas providing, field trips, mentoring and portfolio development for high school and college age students interested in media and communications careers. Along the way, I've met many smart, talented and creative people that have helped me distill a vision for fostering community engagement and entrepreneurship. So, this is where I leave my digital bread crumbs for all who are interested.
Carl
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