The back story: Part III
While mulling over my resume one day, I realized that my helpdesk background was branding me as something I could never be, and would never want to be anyway. I needed something to round out all the technical training and experience; something to prove I was different from the other geeks. Given my personality, I could never be content just working in tech support.
I am a people person, someone who values people above all other things. It is important for me to listen to people, really understand and communicate their needs. When you work on the helpdesk it is all about quantity, not quality. The more problems you can solve, the more trouble tickets you can close… and most IT professionals are task-oriented individuals. I am better at creating relationships with end-users than I am at quickly solving technical problems.
It was my last technical support job, and a family tragedy, that made me realize that I wanted to return to my roots, both physically and mentally.
First class to meet in the Multimedia Newsroom.
I decided to relocate to Kansas. When I first started contemplating a move to Kansas, I thought about pursuing an MBA. But, after working at the University of Kansas in the J-School lab for a semester, I decided to take a different path, and I applied for the journalism program instead. After all, the professors and staff were people I really respected. Why not try the journalism thing again?
A lot has changed. The possibilities for journalism and journalists are endless; especially for someone with a slightly technical background and a taste for breaking the rules and living on the edge. It is my belief that technology should work for the end-user. And, I realized that I offer a unique skill set because I am able to translate and communicate technology to non-technical people.
After completing my graduate coursework I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee to join my sweetie, Jay. I had hoped to land a job at the University of Tennessee or E.W. Scripps.
I met Dr Jim Stovall at the University of Tennessee in September 2006. There are many people you will meet in your life and your career and sometimes you know right away when you click. Dr Stovall and I clicked. We share many of them same philosophies about new media and journalism. That fall, I was lucky enough to work with Johnny Dobbins to help Dr Stovall build the Tennessee Journalist website (TNJN.com).
TNJN.com is the website for the University of Tennessee Journalism and Electronic Media department. It is 100% student operated, with content created by students in JEM classes as well as volunteers and TNJN staff. In some ways, I guess you could say it was my baby. And I couldn’t be more proud of how my baby has grown up. There is nothing more satisfying then to see the work the students are doing.
The CNBC office in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
But this guy named Art Lenehan kept contacting me about a job opportunity with MSN Money in New York. New York! I always wanted to live in big city. And New York is THE big city. Who would turn down an opportunity like that? Besides, this job intrigued me. MSN was experimenting. There was a small team of multimedia journalists already in place and Art wanted me to come work with them. When I finally met Art (he drove to Knoxville to talk to me about the job) I knew I had to go. I liked this guy. I liked the way he talked and the things he said. So, I packed my bags and headed to the Big Apple. However, my relationship with Jay was really important, and I guess I always knew something would have to give.
I was in New York a mere four months, but I loved every minute of it. If I could’ve convinced Jay to move I would’ve stayed. But he wasn’t ready to leave Scripps. Then, rather suddenly, I found out about a job opening at Scripps. It’s funny where and when opportunities pop up.
At the Scripps Interactive Summit in Atlanta.
At E.W. Scripps I worked for Eleanor Cippel in a little division carved out by the company’s Entrepreneurial Fund. As project manager, I helped take ideas for new businesses from employees at our newspapers, put together business plans and implement the ideas. Some of the “start-ups” I helped launch include: Knoxmoms.com and the iMoms.com network, WagNBrag.com and Rootclip. I worked with amazing entrepreneurs who were able to accomplish amazing things and overcome a variety of start-up-like challenges.
In October 2007, Jay accepted a job with a start-up called Mochi Media in San Francisco. Of course, I was not far behind. In January 2008, I started my new position as Senior Internet Marketing Manager in Lucasfilm‘s online division.
The title is great, but what do I really do?
Chillin’ with Yoda on the Lucas campus.
I manage day-to-day tasks, like where’s that mp3 of the Stormtrooper’s blaster? Can someone please approve the Lightsaber animation for the homepage? Let’s build a site map and discuss the content we can get from the developers… but I also get to help shape the future of LucasArts online presence and the overall strategy for our game websites. How do we build a fan base like starwars.com and a community around our newer titles?
I’m not helping promote world peace or fighting for our First Amendment rights, but I am doing something pretty cutting edge and cool with my journalism skills. And I’m working for an organization that is known for its innovation, creativity and technology. I can’t imagine a better fit for my background and skills.