Teen Tech Presentation & MultimediaCamp!

So, along with the Tech Ministry at my church this past saturday, I had a chance to talk to some teens about Social Media and Social Networking. I honestly had no clue what to talk about since I wasn’t sure how they used (or wanted to use) technology in their everyday lives.
They were a great group though – most of them use Myspace and they have some really awesome career aspirations (Event Coordinator, Inventor, Shoe/Apparel Designer, Architect, Accountant, Graphics/Software Designer, etc). I wanted to show them that social networking is kind of like a playground and social media is what you create in order to share. Also, I included some interaction pieces in there to get them involved and to find out more about what they wanted to do with technology and what interested them, so most of the slides were for discussion.

The kids were really eager to talk and we got useful feedback – they wanted more hands-on stuff and also, pizza was the food of choice rather than subs!

After seeing posts from Tracy Boyer & Megan Taylor’s blogs on their own speaking engagements, I’m really excited to share more information with my network/community of techies, designers, writers and filmmakers (young and old alike).

In fact, I’d love to find speakers/attendee’s for a MultimediaCamp in the DC area this summer. I feel it would be a great chance for those that don’t traditionally work in creative technology to learn to bring their craft or story to a “global platform” (as Brian Storm put it) with multimedia. If you’re interested in speaking or attending, please let me know by filling out the interest form.

Working Backstage

I’ve been more “behind-the-scenes” than usual, getting more and more involved with all the areas involving multimedia in my life and trying to figure out how that transfers into my business.

It’s weird now, but as I look back, being out of the spotlight, backstage and behind the scenes has been a recurring theme in my life. When I was 12, I chose to work backstage at the church fashion shows over trying out to be in the show. In high school, I worked on a student-run TV show through Fairfax County – traveling to nearby schools interviewing kids on relevant topics, then turning them into news packages with guidance from an advisor. In college, I interned with Voice of America – running audio boards, working in Master Control (with some really cool people!) and doing camera work for Mandarin, Russian and Spanish talk shows – awesome stuff!

I guess when I started my business, in some odd way, I expected to be in the spotlight…somewhere I’m not used to being! But in the last couple of weeks, I’ve discovered that I’m right where I need to be for what I’m doing: behind-the-scenes. It’s exactly who I am and where I, personally, have more influence and access to make powerful & necessary changes. It’s where I have a say in what goes on in the spotlight.

So, back here among all the wires, curtains and cables, I’m still making connections, developing ideas and building JMG!

What have you been up to?

Tangent Obsession…

…Meeting Spaces for freelancers, creatives and people who just plain want a change of scenery to do their work.

photo from Springwise.com website coverage of Meet

So, one of my truly design/multimedia/creativity obsessions has been Meeting Spaces. It was sparked by a write-up about Meet at The Apartment  on Springwise (one of my favorite places to track inspired business ideas). Apparently, the Meeting/Events industry, especially with the current economy, is starting to get innovative in order to draw revenue. They’re providing spaces for those that may not have the brick and mortar, or the technology, to pull off meetings and conferences.

Meet is only one of a diverse many. Not only are these spaces for meetings, they also fall under the category of incubator, product testing spaces, or what Trendwatching likes to call “being spaces“.  Anyone with a service, design or creative business with a storefront could probably offer up meeting spaces for groups and even drive new sales in the process! 
 
Whatever customer they serve, these small to moderate scale meeting spaces can be found in many major metropolitan areas.

Check out Catalyst Ranch , Thinkubator or WorkSpring in Chi-town.

In NY, there’s also SohoSoleil and InGoodCompany (for women in business).

Looking for a space in the DC area? Try Space88.

Even Columbus is home to SparkSpace.

I love the flexibility of this idea and it seems in these odd times, having affordable spaces for businesses to meet or conduct business would make good use of abandoned retail real estate.

Snow Day!

Untouched walkway!

Snow-covered Cars

A tree in the parking lot

I love snow days when they are actually warranted.

Challenges

I’ve decided, with the Ladies Who Launch Incubator, to start a part-time multimedia consulting business focusing on providing multimedia services of all kinds to Education and other organizations by way of crowdsourcing.

It’s similar to how government works. They identify a problem, designate money to it, put out an RFI or RFP and chose the best of the best. I believe this could work with multimedia projects in the same manner – helping people solve a particular multimedia issue by reaching across all the varied ranges of what could fall under multimedia: broadcast engineers, IT professionals, audiovisual engineers, graphic/web designers and even “green” technology specialists. (Also, I feel we would be nothing without Interior and Industrial Designers )

My key service, however, will be in training. The biggest issue with existing multimedia is in the operation and management of existing solutions. There are also a great number of Education/Government entities dealing with the issue of having outdated technology and trying to make it work without dedicated on-site support. Or even the opposite – they have brand-new technology and no one on hand to, well, give them a hand!

I want to change that. I want to provide solutions that meet these needs. With the help, knowledge and dedication of other multimedia professionals, I’m sure this can be done.

Challenge #1 is finding other professionals willing to work on projects.

Challenge #2 is finding entry-level projects to help build the business.

Examples:

- Your church wants to podcast/stream their services.

- A small school wants to record special events for parents and sell the DVD’s as a fundraising effort.

- Your agency no longer has on-site conference support and you need documentation on how to use the equipment.

If you can help with any of those, I’d truly appreciate your help. A wise person once said “How can anyone help you if you don’t ask?”. So there.

My Dream ENG Kit

In my Multimedia Journalist research, I’ve come across some AWESOME blogs on the topic. But being a Multimedia Specialist (not just editing, but also pulling wires, terminating cables, programming user interfaces and such), I wonder if some of the audio tools being used are really giving the quality of sound that the final package deserves?

At the moment, I’m only using a cheapo Panny voice recorder and capturing it through Audacity. But if I could dream for a sec? I would totally get a Marantz PMD-660K . Yeah, it’s totally clunky looking, but with the card option, XLR & USB options…it’s completely sweet. I have a suspicion that I’m still stuck on the lessons I got from grizzly old broadcast guys, though. I see the need for an external storage or a raid setup is in my future.

As far as cameras, I’m hoping to upgrade to a Canon (Powershot SD 700/800 series…maybe). Multimedia Shooter recommends the SD series in their Starter Kit. I’m tackling audio and photo composition now, as well as testing out Windows Movie Maker and Soundslide. I have a bit of experience with Final Cut Pro at work, so once I get the audio/photo/video down I can test my newsmaking skills with that as well.

Maybe I won’t have to go to grad school if I can scrape together my kit, skills and j-abilities? (Speaking of which, I came across a great blog about whether or not people should go to grad school for journalism from Mindy McAdams. I don’t know if I’m in the execption, but plan to post a question and possibly get some advice.)

In the meantime, check out this example of using Soundslides: the day after Obama’s win in photos/audio (by Erik Castro).

Developing as a writer

I’ve spent much of the last few years discovering and developing my voice as a writer. The truth is that I do this because I have a love for it…a passion.

But my blind spot, as a writer and a multimedia specialist, is that I can get so caught up in making sure it’s my authentic voice that I write/develop media only every so often – not on a weekly or daily basis that all the big bloggers and journalists recommend.

So what are some ways that I can capture my thoughts/images quickly, but still maintain my voice?

I have some ideas of my own, but certainly open to other suggestions. I def. need to keep a notebook/sketchbook of my ideas (in ONE notebook! I am notoriously collecting notebooks and things to writie in.) I think that way, my ideas can be sketched out in one place.

History and Milestones – All in a Day

Yesterday was one of the most historic days in American History…in world history….it was just fantastic!

Barack Obama is OFFICIALLY PRESIDENT Barack Hussein Obama, 44th President of the United States of America!! The First person of color to HOLD this OFFICE!

I’m telling you… fantastic!! I don’t even know how to describe the emotions I had and still have! I was jubilant, exuberant elated and…HAPPY!

But what struck me most was something President Obama said during his Inaugural Speech. He challenged America and the world, saying “it’s time to put away childish things”. That phrase struck a chord in me and I didn’t really get the impact of it until I was on my way home from visiting a group of women that I met through my alumni network. (I don’t think they know how much just being in their WONDERFUL presence for that short time taught me!)

I have the trappings of adulthood: good job, mortgage, car, and able to take care of myself…but I realize (after a nice Q & A session with myself) that there are too many people that I’ve allowed to define my “adulthood” to me. Don’t get me wrong, all the people that guided me, mentored me and advised me on right and wrong as I was growing up were all awesome people…especially my parents. To be truthful, I was blessed. But not since I’ve gained this age/status/ownership-defined “adulthood” have I taken the time to really examine what kind of adulthood *I* needed! For so long, I’ve been working to meet some generalized “adulthood”.

So, I asked myself: “Self,” I said “What does being an adult mean to me?”

Softly and gently, the answer came to me on the drive home: Being an adult, to me, is knowing that in any situation, wherever I go, no matter what happens to me…I’m assured that “Aisha” is there.

It was another a-ha moment, but without fanfare or trumpets…it was more like one very bright flash of light. This was something deeply personal that I’d been working with for the past year or so – really getting to know myself.

Who is the “Aisha” that I need when a challenge arrives or when the Universe asks something of me that requires me to go beyond the security of comfortable “things”? Again, the light flashed. That “Aisha” is strong, independent, bold, beautiful and can stand her ground ANYWHERE she plants herself or finds herself positioned. She survives and thrives and is successful in any circumstance because she is resourceful.

This realization was like a shot of steel in my backbone. For the first time in my adult years, I sat up straight, realizing and honoring that Aisha, (and President Barack Obama!)…had arrived.

Now, don’t get me wrong. “Know Thyself.” is a quote I hold dear to my heart. However, it’s my honest belief that our labels should not precede us, but hold us up as our common Humanity takes the lead in this world.

So, Thank you, President Obama for letting your light shine and for inspiring and challenging us all to do the same!

The 2009 Revolution…

Audio of the 2009 Revolution…

Before you go…an ode to 2008

Early on, I should have sensed something was different. You were filled with illusions…sometimes I felt like I was walking on the set of a very weird “B”-movie. There were some actors (people I valued very much) who changed roles, completely. And there were those who didn’t seem to know how to leave their role once they left the set. Some of them believed that the movie was actually their life…it kinda scared me. I wanted to shake them and ask them where their senses had gone.

But, ever the observer, I sat and watched. I found friends who watched all the craziness and madness right along with me (I had fun being the comic relief) and consoled me in the sad parts. I even yelled at the screen a few times. Sure, I had bit roles…but even in playing myself (and being true to myself), I was played…then found myself played out.

In the end, 2008, you were a pretty bad movie. However, I did learn something:  how to see through illusion and decide whether or not I want to buy into it. I learned who my real friends were and I reinforced my support system.

I once read a book that said “Life’s most moving moments are found right in the middle of sadness and loss”. I took it to mean that we grow best in times like these. I don’t hate you 2008…not at all. I consider you time well spent.

But while you’re here, can you tell 2009 to bring good friends, lots of healing, the following of career & spiritual passions and a bit of overseas travel here and there ?

Thanks.