34 posts tagged “media”
You going for the moustache, John? Since about tenth grade, I've heard that question on a semi-weekly basis. I'm always quick to say no, but my response isn't worth much. Because even if the questioner means to ask if I was growing out a moustache on purpose, the question reminds me that -intended or not-there is sinus fur above my upper lip.
Let's get a couple of things straight. Five-o-clock shadows are not the problem here; full-blown facial hair isn't either. Heck, when I was eight, I wanted sideburns so badly that I grew them using the hairs on my head; they were my only available resources at the time.
It's not even the sub-set, the mustachioed community, that upsets me. I think moustache-growth is a wise choice for a lot of people, but just not for everybody. Pilots? They thrive at mustach-ing. Male flight attendants, too, even though we're talking a totally different style. I'm a 20-year-old sophomore who hasn't fully filled out yet; my facial hair grows in three shades darker than the stuff atop my head, and that's when the beard area grows in at all.
I wasn't necessarily looking for a holiday theme within this developmental dilemma, but one struck me the night before I flew home from college. I had been invited to a themed party, and the theme happened to be moustaches. By late afternoon that day, many of my friends were drawing, painting, and even transplanting hair to the space beneath their noses. Coincidentally, I hadn't the time to partake in my usual 8:00 A.M. electric razor session that morning, and had some thick material of my own to flaunt. For once, I was proud to show up at a party with the moustache-in-training that had been unwanted at all parties prior.
When people asked if I was going for the moustache that night, I proudly nodded in affirmation. Oftentimes, we are quick to take things for granted that don't always come in handy. Maybe it's because I only found reason to be thankful for my moustache this close to Thanksgiving-but it certainly exemplified a whole class of sometimes-useful things that we should keep in mind during the holiday season. Like the bedroom I only sleep in during vacations from school; or the steel envelope opener in my drawer, which I only bother to use when there are onlookers to impress as I open letters.
Even if the occasions when they're useful are far and few, appreciate the many great things in your life this Thanksgiving. But enough about me - and you have yourself a Happy Thanksgiving!
Peace, Love, and Personalized Media,
- John the Intern
There's a unique newspaper published in my hometown called The Happy Herald. Its underlying concept is noble as can be: give South Florida all the news that's fit to print, as long as it's positive and perky. The result is a weekly, fourteen-page digest that includes everything from human interest pieces, to human interest pieces about pets. To boot, it's also known for celebrity interviews, and other hallmarks of an optimistic entertainment section (I infer there are no in-house movie critics.) It's easy for the cynicism-seeking reader to take stabs at optimistic journalism, but I shouldn't be complaining; distributed for free at local restaurants, The Happy Herald is meant to supplement rather than deprive its readers of the grisly stuff.
But I still can't respect the journalists behind Herald like I do staffs of other publications. They just have it so much easier when it comes to prioritizing articles! See, normally, the editorial task is two-fold: a New York Times desk editor might first rank the day's articles by "importance" and "relevance," then decide—of those deemed equally important—which type of story deserves the top headline spot. You know, sniff out whether readers want the tragic articles or the uplifting ones with their morning coffee. There are a host of other emotions that articles can evoke from readers, and deciding which tonal genre deserves page prominence is as subjective a task as any. The job is infinitely simpler when all news is good news, though—so Happy Herald offers one solution.
This reconciling of a mixed audience's favorite emotions has always been a problem for news services. It's only worth bringing up now because DailyMe found a better way to make it work! It's called Meme It, a feature that just went live on the site this past month. Like "Digg It" and "Stumble It," it's a way for readers to mark the online news articles that they think other people should see. Only this time, users must also indicate how the article makes them feel. The available emoticons include "uplifting," "tragic," "enlightening," and even "weird," but the choice is all yours. And I bet you can guess what happens when enough users submit their opinions: you'll will be able to reorganize recent articles by emoticon! Great for all the Grumpy Gus's and Negative Nancy's seeking the most tragic stories atop their online digest. I dare say, a great editorial obstacle overcome.
For the frigid, emotionless type who won't be able to take advantage of our new feature — I'm sorry.
Peace, Love, and Personalized Media,
- John the Intern
http://DailyMe.com
Greetings from Florida! I arrived here but a week ago, and can't help but feel that my summer is off to a late start. There I was Friday, finally on the transcontinental flight home, so antsy to arrive that I couldn't even watch the in-flight episode of Two and a Half Men. And by the time I did reunite with my friends and acquaintances later that night, the conversations were way off; my “catch-up” questions were just too May. By mid-June, “how did finals go?” is passé.
Work-wise, though, I came home just in the knick of time. DailyMe had earlier agreed to take me back for another round of interning, and it wasn't until early June that they cleared me office space. Turned out to be worth the wait: by the time I got back, they had cleared me a whole suite’s worth of space. Well, not me personally. More precisely, Sales and Marketing--the two groups I work with--recently moved to a different set of offices within our building. This was partly to help accommodate the burgeoning company's staff increase, but also to give the Sales and Marketing a little space as they matured into teenage departments. The CEO even let them get bunkbeds in their new pad.
So I've been relegated to the new suite with another recent hire and Mrs. Boss--but the function goes hand in hand with the new features on DailyMe's site. DM just incorporated some news organization tools meant to help readers find the most important news at a given time. Users can still prioritize DailyMe’s articles based on their personal preference survey, but now they can also see what headlines our editorial board thought worthy of attention along with the most popular news of the day, DailyWe, as determined by what fellow DM’ers are reading.
I don't mean to wax nostalgic, but it felt funny to experience another DailyMe launch so soon after returning. It was more than 7 months ago, but I remember the original service's initial Beta launch like it was yesterday. I had just finished my first summer internship, and watched the old site go live on a laptop screen not unlike the one I'm viewing now. Reliving that excitement all over again last week was great, and I hope we continue the trend of one grand unveiling per summer. Pretty soon, I'll have seen more launches than an astronaut's wife and the mayor of Cape Canaveral combined.
Until then, though, I’m just happy to be back and be bloggin’.
Peace, Love, and Personalized Media,
- John the Intern
I just finished my freshman year of college, but—I must say—the occasion felt less momentous than anticipated. This is probably because, unlike other years, it wasn’t really defined by a discreet, culminating moment. You know, the one you come to expect after the first twelve transitions from academic year to summer: a bell rings, papers start flying, kids start rejoicing, and—although it’s optional—the song “School’s Out Forever” should begin playing somewhere in the background.
By those standards, 13th grade ended in somewhat disappointing fashion. Everyone finished their exams at different points in the week, and I was one of the stragglers. And even once all the academic obligations were out of the way, it was still no occasion to deck the halls with reams of loose-leaf. Quite the opposite, actually: dorm rooms had to be spic, span, and thoroughly emptied of our possessions by move-out day. The worst part is that I couldn’t even play “School’s Out Forever” because I had already sent my speakers to storage. Somewhere, Alice Cooper was wincing.
But “all’s well that ends well” isn’t a saying I always ascribe to. On the whole, freshman year was good to me. Maybe it was me who wasn’t good enough to it. I could have flossed more, slept less, checked my mailbox more, spent fewer monies. But what am I saying? “Self-improvement” is something to think about at the end of the real year, not the academic one. I’m just happy to be back within 30 miles of DailyMe’s Florida office again.
I'll be working part-time for my favorite personalized news service this summer, and can't wait to be back. Expect to read about some intern adventures that are twice as funny, twice as wacky, and twice as office-y as last year's.
As Always - Peace, Love & Personalized Media,
- John the Intern
I know it’s been awhile since I last wore my blogging shoes, but allow me to promptly quell the rumors: I did not get caught-up in Hollywood’s much-publicized Writers’ strike. And shame on anyone who jumped to such conclusions! To accuse me of being a union man would be to imply that I am any sort of man, and any DailyMe superior will tell you that isn’t the case. My internship was in part an educational experience and education is what confines one to boyhood. (It’s also important to note that, of the many valuable lessons taught throughout my internship, none dealt with wage or royalty negotiation in the least. At this point, I still accept pay in the form of arcade tokens and free meals.)
This isn’t to say, however, that the SWG walk-out didn’t take a toll on me. Like most of you, I consume about a million more words than I provide in this world—and that’s including my bathroom stall limericks. Television once offered the meat and potatoes of this entertainment consumption, but the strike has reduced my favorite shows to nothing. Bottom line: without a plotline, a prime time hit is nothing more than some pretty faces with nothing to say; without a team of writers, the late night pundit is only as funny as his chin looks; and without jokes, a sitcom’s canned laughter just sounds inappropriate. The only good news is that, perhaps for the first time, reality shows truly are unscripted.
To manage this crisis, I’ve turned more and more to the internet’s bountiful supply of visual media – which I myself have proudly contributed to with my own vid - DailyMe Intern Digital Shorts Part 1, and the yet to be released Digital Shorts Part 2 - John the Intern RAW & UNEDITED. So where the amateur efforts of YouTube were once mere entertainment snacks in my diet, they’ve lately taken on the role of supersized entrées.
Nowadays, I get my laughs from a college comedy troupe’s no-budget video shorts; I find drama on the argumentative discussion threads below each presidential candidate’s new uploads; even when I’m looking for sappy romance, I can rely on thousands of desperate, misleading personal ads from craigslist to make my heart swell.
As to the age-old question of how much (or little) television stimulates the developing brain, I’m not sure the answer for internet videos is any different. I can argue, though, that my new favored medium offers way more choice to its viewers than even the most premium of cable plans. Like never before, it depends what you’re looking for.
Those are my thoughts on filling your entertainment voids for now, and together let’s keep the faith that the sets of Mad Men & The Office return soon.
Peace, Love, and Personalized Media,
-John the Intern
I’ve been sitting in front of a blank Word document for about forty-five minutes, and Times New Roman is not getting any more fashionable.
And though I’m seldom one to fallback on self-reference, I found it impossible to come up with a sharp opener worthy of today’s topic. Can you guess what it is? I’ll give you some clues: it’s a word freely associated with some of America’s greatest ventures; it’s the second meal of the day with a twist of the letter “A”; it’s the message we’ve all been waiting for…it’s the friggin’ DailyMe.com LAUNCH!!!!!!
The company’s long gestation period left me a bit antsy, but a smooth delivery by the OB/GYN of abstract business entities (“Congratulations ma’am, it’s a .com!!”) brought relief. Though I am not physically with the rest of the team in Florida, I understand their celebration was characterized by loud cheering, swivel-chair spinning, and a shortened lunch break to compensate for the work-time lost. After all, it would take an obscene amount of hubris to treat our first destination as the end of the journey. You wouldn’t turn around at the Fort Pierce rest stop and call it a vacation to Disney World, would you?
Anyway, it was great to step out of the partial-employee role for a minute this week and accept a friendly yet “official” invitation to the DM Beta test. I knew what to expect, but was happy to see some of my favorite features in action. I can now get full coverage of my South Florida sports teams from local newspapers while keeping up with the latest Britney sitch from national columns (keeping track of capricious celebrity’s makes for some good mental calisthenics). I’m also really enjoying the Automated Print feature, which places a digest in my roommate’s printer before I wake-up every morning (a convenient “Grab & Go” for the dining hall if you are tired of reading the university’s Daily).
I’m also pumped about the site’s upcoming community features. It’s fascinating (and only a little intrusive) to see what other DailyMes are spouting to their readers each day, and such a tool could double as a match-maker. Wouldn’t it be nice to find a woman who also subscribes to “Reality TV Junkies” and “Gamers Anonymous”?
Anyway, now that Dailyme.com has entered the world at 7 lbs. 6 oz., 21 inches, and varying bandwidth, you should visit the kid! ‘Cause this launch has been a blast-off, and haven’t you always wanted to be an astronaut?
Peace, Love, and Personalized Media.
-John the Intern
No less than thirty-four days ago, I promised all of my faithful readers (my mom, my grandma, and nine web crawlers) a DailyMe video production. The pain grew worse each day that I deprived you of our film debut, but can you really blame me for putting it off? The summer movie season is difficult to compete with, especially when blockbusters like I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry still loom large. We CHOSE to hold off release until the turn of the autumn tides, but that is not to say we didn’t have our share of production hell.
I may have also mentioned in an earlier post that our digital short was entirely no-budget (not to be confused with low-budget). This is no longer the case, however, as we ultimately hired a Miami editing studio to…well…smooth things over. For any disappointed purists out there, I have but two bits of consolation: first, we plan to release a later version on DVD titled John the Intern: RAW and UNCUT; second, the editing process gave me some interesting fodder for a blog post!
We’ll start with the drive from Point A – DM Headquarters to Point B – the Editing Studio, with a short-lived stop at a fast food joint. Getting there was a hassle…mid-day traffic, mid-day heat and mid-day South Florida drivers. Following Mrs. Boss on a 4-lane expressway was also no easy feat. As an otherwise no-time-to-spare-person, Mrs. Boss had no trouble traversing the highway at intense, controlled speeds; my car—never the fastest or most furious—was left in the dust.
We were rushing partly to grab a quick nearby lunch before our appointment time, which was one of our two meal options. Of course the studio had mentioned that they provided food to clients who were interested, but how many of you would have waited to see what was behind door number two? Evidently we should have, because their “modest office food display” included a 30-item silver-tray buffet served on china (but with plastic forks). Needless to say, I had fit two lunches in that day complete with coffee and dessert.
Fortunately, the forgone luxury was a sign of other good things to come. Our “Smoke Room” aka editing room for those of you not in the know, (myself included), was sweet – no pun intended. Huge plush couches, a well-stocked beverage spread and endless trays of chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate cake and anything else chocolate we desired. A far cry from the cubicle life this intern has lived thus far. Anyway…the overabundance of chocolate thankfully eased the otherwise tense Mrs. Boss, who kept her focus mainly on managing the time and budget, while ever so tactfully not interfering with the creative integrity of developing the actual video. (I guess someone has to do that right?)
But more importantly, the Smoke Room was equipped with a skilled veteran editor who was well versed in the language of laymen terms. Together, in one of the studio’s largest rooms, my vague sense of direction was transformed, scene-by-scene, into a cohesive product. All in all, this was definitely a day for the history books of my interning career at DailyMe.
Oh, and I hope you all enjoy the vid. You can call it that once you’ve made one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAbQff6nuhc.
Peace, Love, and Personalized Media.
-John the Intern
The average life follows a linear path: a person goes to school, moves away for college, joins the workforce, lands a spouse, and ultimately shifts focus to the next generation. In the board-game Life, you can fit that all into one afternoon…and you get to skip puberty. But, unless you steal play-money from the bank when no one’s looking, which journey is more satisfying? No matter how many times you roll a “10”, the simulation will always pale in comparison to the real deal—with all of its variables, emotions, and surprises.
With the same logic, though, I would even say that the real linear life leaves something to be desired. Not to say that we should completely buck convention on the path to maturity (our war-time ancestors didn’t have a choice), but a few twists and turns never hurt. My internship this summer was one such diversion—I got a taste of office life before matriculating to college—and the experience was beneficial. My only concern is that I’ll be too much of a stiff when thrust back into the student life come mid-September.
Even the simple things, like living with a roommate, will require some adjustment. I’ve been able to concentrate all summer within the semi-privacy of a cubicle, but it’s doubtful that my dorm room will insulate desks in the same manner. Would it be rude, bizarre, both, or neither to place a plastic wall between my roommates workspace and my own? And if it creates tension, will our RA resolve the problem as effectively as a corporate HR rep? I need to forget these luxuries.
I also run the risk of entering a classroom with flawed expectations. Though most universities boast a student-oriented faculty that is prepared to spend time with pupils outside of lecture, I doubt that any would want to compare work-hours with my boss. Seriously, this is a media specialist that is willing to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and overtime! I guess people care most about your quality of work when they are paying for it. (The same reason our building managers insist that the indoor gardeners water the plants for five whole hours at a time).
Perhaps the best thing I picked up at DailyMe was the art of professional decorum, but even this will be a mixed blessing in my new environment. It’s been a season of well-articulated greetings and firm handshakes, two tools seldom used amongst my peers. They say that giving a hi-five is like riding a bike, but my form is mechanical and out-of-practice. I shudder at the thought of re-learning higher level street skills like the shake n’ snap, the pinky swear, and especially the roundhouse kick.
As you can see, my successful release back into the wild will require some effort. But do I regret taking a quick break from the straight-and-narrow life’s usual order of events? Not even for a second. It was like a non-committal opportunity to try out different career cards, which is better than choosing one arbitrarily on the 21st space of your proverbial game board. I only have a couple weeks left!
Peace, Love, and Personalized Media.
-John the Intern
All my life, I’ve lived in a family within a neighborhood within a larger neighborhood within a city that people refer to as a neighborhood to make it sound more tight-knit. Fortunately, though, too much “community” is never a bad thing.
I didn’t realize this until I began working at DailyMe. The company has put a continual emphasis on the term throughout product development, and social networking is now a major selling point of our service. Less obvious, though, is that the team is similarly passionate about stressing community harmony within the office environment. To see this, one must bring “community” back to its sandbox connotation—when “sharing” and “playing nice” were all that was necessary for group harmony. I’ll examine the little things that go on each day, because they are what set an office’s tone.
I first look to our lunch situation. On a given day, at least three of us will eat lunch together. It usually takes less than thirty seconds to pick a place, despite each person’s often-myriad dietary quirks. Sure, we may only agree because everyone shoots for the place with the best deal (Pizzarella on Tuesdays!), but there is no denying its effect on both harmony and efficiency.
There’s also a wealth of data in our citchen (kitchen + closet). Everyone in the office is entitled to a portion of any item in the mini-fridge, liquid or solid. It may sound more like communism than community, but this egalitarian policy has many advantages. As an intern especially, I had the opportunity to remove much more than I ever packed into the device. Plus, systematically trying all of your co-workers’ favorite drinks is a great office bonding experience.
Even our espresso machine reflects preparation of a warm office atmosphere. The boss realized early that everyone in the office drinks caffeinated coffee, and was therefore able to spend twice as much on only one machine. The result: everyone enjoys the same fancy, foreign brew as their cubicle neighbor, which serves as a comfort AND a conversation-piece. Oh, and we put up a “Decaf Need Not Apply” sign.
In sum, I guess the team does highlight community on the micro scale. The sometimes-conscious group effort may not benefit our office life in the same manner that it does our customers, but the two are related. I’ll get back to you when I figure out how.
Peace, Love, and Personalized Media.
-John the Intern
I find it difficult to deny today’s man-made environmental problems, but it’s even tougher to remember all of the trendy, new ways to minimize my carbon footprint. Never before were eco-friendly suggestions so ubiquitous, and this leads me to fondly remember a youth when the truth was a bit more convenient. One ozone-saving precaution has been advertised since at least the 90’s, though, and to good effect: carpooling.
But in the urban sprawl of South Florida, do any of my co-workers actually live close enough to conserve-n’-swerve? Even if they did, it would be nearly impossible to agree upon radio pre-sets. Sure--the gang consolidates into one vehicle on the way to lunch, but this is usually thrown out when individual errands need running afterwards. Since I began working, there has been but one exception to this pattern: when one DailyMe staffer dropped his car off at the shop after lunch, we consolidated into my “whip” for the ride back to headquarters.
Admittedly, this was the first time a respectable, non-relative adult sat on my passenger side. And even though I had more than a fair warning, it didn’t strike me until the door opened that there might be a code of conduct for this sort of thing. Not that I hadn’t done the obvious housekeeping—I cleared trash from the floor, and even turned off my guilty-pleasure music (Devo, obviously)—but I figured that wasn’t enough. In an impromptu attempt to satisfy my co-worker, I blurted out those famous words:
“Is this an all right level for the air conditioning? Oh, and that seat reclines.”
As a long-time car passenger, I’d formerly wondered WHY people ask those two rapid-fire comfort questions. I mean: if human bodies are all comparably sensitive to temperature, can my notch-of-choice really damage the guy? Plus, the passenger seat in a sedan always reclines. The experience taught me that these quirky inquiries are necessary only for the driver’s peace-of-mind. Much like the restaurateur lavishes a food critic with a nice table, I had to offer comfort to the passenger before his time came to judge my driving skills. Because that is the real underlying fear.
My driving skills were well-honed, however, and my living cargo seconded that. I was left with only one concern. My “faux-lleague” (as an intern, I’m hardly an equal) was only given an estimated time to pick up his car, and we ran the risk of getting back to the store too early. I knew that waiting with him would only cut deeper into my daily break-time, but did my obligation to the man extend farther than a quick drop-off? After all, we’d already been through so much together (6 traffic lights, two times a-piece). I ultimately decided to stay with him until the job was done, but this verdict lacked moral foundation. His “car place”, it turns out, was attached to one of my favorite wholesale retail stores…you know, the type that gives away food samples.
So whether or not I made the right decision, the real winner was the environment (and driver/passenger conversation). When the environment gets the gold medal, we get valuable rain. Keep it up!
--John the Intern
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