Tim Boyle's Weblog

Marketing Myself

timboyle — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:48:50 +0000

I’ve often thought about how I would go about marketing myself. There are so many different things that can be done to get my name out there which makes it easier, but more difficult at the same time. First off I would definetly need a website. In this world having a website is the most important thing in “making it.” It’s very accessible to have a website and you can put all of the information you can possibly think of there. My website would be simple; information about myself, a sample of my work, and contact information. I wouldn’t make it overly flashy because while that may show some skill, it would be unnecessary for time managment if someone was looking at it.

I would use this website for networking with others in the business and keeping it handy on a business card. I’ve found a good way of getting people to a website is using it as a signature on forums. Many people will pass by the forum and you never know who might just stumble across your work. Networking with others is still probably the best thing to do at this point because you never know if the people you’re meeting will someday be able to help you out.

My portfolio would include all of the relatable jobs I have had in the field, any special skills I have, all of the programs that I am familiar with, and I would include samples of my work. I think a good idea would be to have both something that is full length and something that is a “best of.” I think having a full length would be a good thing because that shows that you can carry out on a larger project. The “best of” of course would be useful to show a variety of different styles.

Getting people to view my portfolio would be one of the more difficult things to do. There are so many others competing for the same jobs and those hiring don’t want to waste their time. Making good connections would be the key and my main goal.

Advertising

timboyle — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 21:15:30 +0000

Hopefully this works….

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx?ID=d510de6cf8d44fb7a237ae49011e7b8e

You may need to click on preview to view the chart. I don’t have Excel and the image wasn’t saving so this is what I could come up with. If there are problems please tell me. Thanks!

The Digital Divide

timboyle — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:17:02 +0000

I do not see a problem with the digital divide. The United States is a widely varied country already as it is in beliefs, morals, and culture that I don’t think the Internet effects it all that much. There is already a vast majority of the population that can access the Internet and I think that is good enough. They may not know things that we know because of the Internet, but there are things in their much simpler lives that we will never know about. If people really wanted the Internet that badly they could always move to a place where it can be accessed.

I think that it is a necessary part of Capitalism. To me, Capitalism is Darwinism where many will fail and only a few will make it. Not everyone needs the Internet to make it in the world. Eventually there will be a much easier way for everyone to access the Internet and this won’t even be a question for people to ask.

Change with the consumer

timboyle — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 19:43:18 +0000

For a consumer to find the product that they are interested in they need to know about where to get it. A good website, advertisements in the mail/newspaper, and placement in many different stores where that product could be sold is important. Now that people are going out and searching for products it makes it easier for the seller. They don’t need to push as hard and people would be more apt into buying a product that might not exactly be what they’re looking for. They’ll just be happy that they found something that they were looking for on their own.

Now that people are contacting colleges it makes colleges the more powerful one. They get more applications now that there is access to them instead of how they would go out and find you. I think it is better though because it raises the bar for applicants. The only bad thing about it is that college tuition continues to go up constantly which makes it harder for the middle class who can’t afford it and aren’t eligible for financial aid. There isn’t much else that colleges need to do except make themselves available whenever they can online or at other colleges and at high schools.

With clothing designers they need to make sure people know exactly what they’re getting. Pictures of the clothing would help and even videos of models modeling the clothes. A good thing would be to advertise on similar websites that people visit who would wear those particular clothes. Searches online need to be both vague and specific to give the person searching for your design.

Running A Local Newspaper

timboyle — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 19:26:41 +0000

If I ran a local newspaper I would offer the paper online. I would think teaming up with a local television station would also help for viral videos for the website. It seems like every newspaper is online now because it allows more people to access it. Even though this is only a local newspaper, it would allowe people to be able to read it if they are away or don’t have a subscription. I think an important part of it would also be to get teenage readers. Most teenagers don’t have a subscription to a newspaper and if they can access it online they will be more likely to take a gander. There needs to be targeting at a new market because only the older generation still reads newspapers.

Mashup Site

timboyle — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:49:21 +0000

I think a good Mashup Site would be something for young artists to promote any gigs/events that they have. This would include any videos or audio that they may have from Youtube. This could also combine their own personal sites or Myspaces and Mapquest could even get involved so you can get directions to go to any gigs they might have. This would be a really good way for people with similar interests to communicate and gain exposure to people that might actually be interested in what they have to say.

We The Media

timboyle — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:40:19 +0000

I think what this means is that we control the media. We tell them what we are interested in and what we want by tuning into what they’re showing and that tells them what we want. In that way, we ourselves are the media. If people didn’t buy magazines about Britney Spears then she would just be another useless human being, but people continue to want to know what she’s up to. It’s not sick or degrading, it’s just human nature to want bad things to happen to others. We want to feel like we’re not the worst ones off and that even the most popular and famous of us can have a downfall.

Now with the Internet we have the power to voice our own opinions for people to see. People feel like the government controls everything, although in a sense they do, they do whatever is in their best interest to provide products to us that will not only make them money, but we will actually buy. In a Capitalist society like we live in, the citizens have full control of what everyone else puts out.

Web 2.0 Making Money

timboyle — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:33:26 +0000

I think that eventually Web 2.0 will bring in some money. It’s inevitable that everything will go corporate eventually and that money will be the most important thing. Something else new will come around that will be free that will replace the old and it will be a constant cycle. People will always go with whatever is free if the quality of the product or service isn’t forgone from the previous product or service that now has a fee. The attention span of people (especially teenagers) is so short these days that something else will just catch their eye and the site that now charges money will be nothing but a thing of the past. I don’t think Web 2.0 should be bringing in money, but as I said, it will happen.

Changing Education Through Technology

timboyle — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:09:20 +0000

The way I would change education by using technology would be using the Internet in high schools. It is useless to be going to school 5 days a week. I think that if children are forced to use the Internet in their personal time for learning purposes that it will teach them responsibility. It is far too expensive to be putting computers in schools for access there and I’ve never seen someone work diligently at school on a computer. Technology is an important thing in our lives, but I don’t think it should really be put into classrooms all that much.

Has education changed over the past 50 years?

timboyle — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:02:40 +0000

I believe that education has changed greatly over the last 50 years. We’re learning most of the same material, but how the teachers do it is different. School isn’t as much of a job as it used to be. Teachers are much more lenient on kids then they were 50 years ago. Education in schools used to be a lot more like a military boot camp, but now it’s a day camp. Teachers will not embarass students by making them look like fools anymore, but that’s because society has changed. It’s hard to get away with any sort of tough love because overzealous Liberals think that it will damage the child even though America’s greatest citizens throughout history I’m sure were all beaten by the schoolmaster. Computers are probably the biggest change in education. It opens up the world for more to be expected from children in school since information is “at their fingertips.” I think kids will get lazier and lazier as technology becomes stronger.