#but I was basically just juggling myself and potential targets

[murky-tannin]

I don’t have any way of playing it anymore but I used to SOLO at Plants v Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. I played the electric chomper and consistently won/got large kill counts with it. It was the only FPS I was ever good at and I wish I could still play

[neshabeingchildish]

Poly Wanna? Ch. 2

So, whenever I said I wasn’t gonna tag again, I didn’t think about the fact that I could simply copy and paste, so I did. Lol. This chapter has a little bit of language (this story will too), but I probably won’t think to put up disclaimers every single time. It’s a Charlotte chapter, basically showing you a little more of how she is in this fic and how she was raised. Hopefully, the story is still enjoyable. I’ve got the thing up on ff.net as well, if it’s easier to follow there because of the emails. At any rate, here is the second installment and let me know if I need to remove you from the next copy+paste tags. 

@adorkable-blackgirl  @chenoahchantel @cactus-con @up-the-tube @riebellion  @itsyaapollochild@oof–musicals @lesbian-so-what @woahjusttakeiteasy-man @meadowstryingtobepretty @imma-sensitive-btch @okaygal21 @midernacht @divinereign4ever @xoxoemille  

02. Born This Way

Getting into the jeep, Charlotte put the key into the ignition, paused and said, “I have to tell you something. I don’t know how to feel about things, right now.”

He looked a little panicked, “What? About me?” He asked in a kind of tiny voice.

“No. About all of that,” she gestured one of her hands towards the brownstone and shook her head, “I mean, on the one hand there’s not a person in this world that I dislike more than Henry Prudence Hart. Seeing him again just brought back a lot of that. Of the dislike, the love, the hurt.  Because, that dislike comes from a place of hurt, because there’s also not a person in this world that I’ve loved more than him and he just… you know… didn’t even care at all.”

Jasper took her shaking hand into his and assured her, “Look, I know that feeling, but I promise you, he did care. He didn’t know how to show it, but he really loved you when you were together and he was extremely hurt when it ended. He knew it was his fault and he hated that he had hurt you. But, also, if you think you can’t do this, we can call him up right now and tell him we’re out. He’s resourceful. He’ll manage.”

“I really want to do it, though. I think it might give me a chance to kind of be seen for who I am and explain myself. To my parents, you know? To familiars that might tune in. Maybe it’ll help me take a look at myself, even? You know? Jasper, I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing, but I have to start somewhere in figuring it out. I can’t just coast by on autopilot.” He nodded his head, kissed her hand and let it go. “So, you seemed fine, though. How often do you see him?”

He paused and shook his head, “Not often at all, but anytime I do see him, it’s almost like nothing’s changed. Like, I forget for a moment that we went through the things that we went through. That he put me through what he out me through. It’s like he charms me into being warm with him and then I walk away and wonder why I was so cordial and why I seemed to forget my anger when he’s there, but remember it when he isn’t. But… I figure that’s because he wants me to forget about it. Henry is cunning. He helps people look at relations and find solutions. He can finesse an ex or two in a heartbeat and not bat an eye. When all is said and done, that part of my life is over with and me still being angry about it is only gonna hurt me. So, I just shake it off.”

“Like the Devil,” Charlotte said and nodded. Jasper raised an eyebrow. She was finally ready to start driving, humming the tune to “Shake the Devil Off,” as she did.

.

To be clear, Henry was her first. She had consciously made a decision, and he was her top choice. She grew up with what she now classified as “two potentials.” That was Henry Hart and Jasper Dunlop. They were both stupid, gross boys for her childhood days, but eventually there was puberty and the hormones mingled with the close proximity swayed that viewpoint a little bit. She could honestly say that she felt like she had crushes on both of them, at different times - like when they needed her, or when they weren’t annoying her, or being stupid… So… you know, a little bit here and there. 

It wasn’t until her mother decided that it was time for “the talk” that she ever really thought about it, though. Honestly, she was friends with them and for her, that meant that she loved them. She wasn’t thinking about dating or anything sexual, really, though she had imagined a kiss or a hand hold or something and figured whenever she was ready to try it, it would be with a friend. She only had two, so it wasn’t something she had to juggle, or anything.

The talk for her was a painful and irritating experience. Charlotte had to have several “the talk” talks with her mother. She had one when she first went to school. She was going to be out in the world, by herself and needed to know about the danger of strangers and the threat of racial discrimination. Her mother had taught her that whenever she was in trouble, try to find a Black woman, “you know, yours and Mommy’s color,” because ‘find an adult’ just wasn’t sufficient for many kids, much less for a Black one and even though Black women weren’t perfect, by a longshot, Mrs. Page leaned on the side of hope that one would see herself in the young girl and attempt to assist her. There were just too many horror stories for her to feel comfortable advising her to find just any adult. 

She had one when the school first contacted Mrs. Page about Charlotte’s “unruly hair.” That was more of Mrs. Page coming down to the school and reading everybody in the administration office for filth about her beautiful daughter’s natural hair, with her own big afro swinging with the sway of her head. She had fussed at those people and educated them at the same time, right before withdrawing Charlotte from the school and enrolling her at Swellview Elementary. Charlotte learned a lot that day, so she considered it a talk. The ride home was her mother telling her about how when she was little, her grandmother put chemicals in her hair to make it straight and that half of it fell out and some parts still didn’t grow properly. She told her that businesses and institutions often tried to penalize girls like them for how they were naturally made. “Not because there’s anything wrong with you, but because there’s something wrong with them. There’s something evil inside and they don’t even know it, but it’s thought to be normal to say that a child has ugly features because they don’t look exactly like white girls’. If you ask me, that’s what’s ugly - saying that a child needs to change her looks just because! You’re healthy, clean, clothed, and happy. Never let their judgement change that last one. It isn’t worth it.”

The talk whenever she “became a young lady,” was more like a Q and A, fill in the blank type talk. She’d asked her if she knew what was happening to her body, instead of presuming that she needed it explained, and then she filled in the parts that Charlotte was not exactly clear on. And her mom was the best about periods. She hadn’t heard many stories from friends about it. But Mrs. Page had “period packs,” which included vitamins, medication specifically for this time, a selection of sanitary supplies for fluctuation in the flow, heating pads, safe period snacks (stuff that you’re actually supposed to eat, as opposed to the crap your body might crave), a fun period journal, a scream pillow, and books about it by Black gynecologists or specifically targeting Black girls. 

At this point, some of you may be thinking, “Wow, Charlotte’s mom is OBSESSED with Blackness/Black girl things…” And the short answer is, yes. She feels like she has to make sure that Charlotte didn’t have to relearn how to treat herself and love herself in her body, in this town. Which… isn’t an openly bigoted town, but an American town with a low population of other Black people. All subject matter generally has whiteness and their experiences as a default and an audience. Charlotte’s mother internalized a lot as a dark skinned girl child with “nappy” hair that needed straightening and next to no representation in media or her environment. She didn’t want Charlotte to ever have to battle loving herself. She had promised, before she was ever born that she would be a different kind of mother than the self-loathing woman who brought her up. Anywho…

The “some people say the birds and the bees, but this is really about your body and what you want to do with it,” talk was something else. It was the first time since that racism one she had going into Kindergarten that she was confused about every part of this. Now, her mother never gave her anything to have to relearn about her hair, her skin, or her body itself… But what she wanted to do with it? That woman had Charlotte ALL discombobulated after their talk.

Mostly due to “the choice.” They had went through the biology - yes, Charlotte was a girl, she knew it and didn’t have any other thoughts or need any hormone blockers, or have any dysmorphia or even general questions about her gender identity. She had always been a girl and never had a doubt. But, taking that time to learn about transgender identities and her cis-privilege was extremely fascinating to her and stuck with her. “Just how you would want someone to treat you with the respect you deserve and have your back in spaces where they have privilege, I hope that I’ve raised you to stick up for those who don’t.” Of course. They went through the process of the reproductive system via sexual intercourse and the possibility of same sex attraction. Charlotte didn’t think that she was attracted to girls, but she couldn’t say for sure, because honestly, at that point, she wasn’t exactly sexually attracted to boys either. So, her mom covered some same sex topics, as well, just in case and stressed the importance of Charlotte knowing that she wouldn’t judge her and would love her no matter what. So, HERE’S where Charlotte’s confusion came in… 

Because, she was too young to know the terminology for all of this and because it wasn’t really an accepted form of relationship status - she couldn’t really grasp the concept where her mother said things like, “When you choose a partner,” or “the person that you are involved with,” or “the boy (or girl) that you like and want to share yourself with.”

“So what if it winds up being boys AND girls?” she wondered. Her mom gave her a description of bisexuality and how she’d still be able to consider herself as such, even if she was with a boy. “Yeah, but what if I’m with a boy AND a girl, I mean? Like, at the same time?” Her mother looked uncomfortable, but explained that sometimes people had threesomes, but warned her that it wasn’t always good for people to do. Sometimes, it hurt their relationship with (here was that phrase again) “the person that they’re actually involved with.”

Charlotte sighed, “Okay. But, like… I feel like I’m not expressing myself very clearly. I mean like… What if I have a boyfriend, and at the same time, I have a girlfriend? I mean, they offer two different things, really any two individuals can, two boys, for instance, or three, you know? I’m asking you, relationship-wise, I guess, what is the reasonable way to have relationships like that?”

Her mother now looked kind of horrified for a moment, and she didn’t usually look at Charlotte that way, so immediately, red flags went off and Charlotte just knew that she had entered into a space that was unacceptable and now they were there and she would have to tough it out. At that moment (she realized much later), she internalized some disdain for herself, because of her mother’s reaction to a question that Charlotte identified with.

“Well, that sounds like cheating, to me,” her mother said. “Sometimes, they do stuff like that in sex cults and hippy communes,” she said. “But, civilized people don’t date two of three boys. Ladies, if they’re good and respect themselves will only date one person at a time and just pour all that love that they think that they have to spread around into that person.”

She winced, but she really needed to clarify to her mom, because what if her mother thought she was some depraved sex cult potential, because of this. Surely, there was a classy way to explain her feelings… “But, what happens if you like more than one person at the same time, but for different reasons, and they like you back? What if the two people are very different and you love each of them, a lot and have the love to pour into both?” 

Her mother nodded and blew out a gust of air. Charlotte felt like she still must’ve been explaining her feelings wrong. Her mom just said, “Well, in that case, you just have to figure out what’s best for you, and remember that you can’t have it all.”

Charlotte asked, “So, if I like them both and they both like me, and - I should have said this part earlier - they’re fine with sharing me with each other, and me pouring love into both of them, I should just pick one of them? They’re equals, but individuals. I can’t find in one what I have in the other, and everyone is fine with it. That’s okay, right? That’s a consensual and valid thing, yeah?” She asked, getting more nervous with each troubled movement of her mother’s eyebrows.

“Charlotte… are you having feelings for two boys?” She asked.

“No!” She lied, having already seen that her mother would disapprove if she admitted the truth and feeling super guilty about lying about something like this, because she and her mom were pretty tight with their talks and this one was going completely off the rails. “I’m just still learning.”

Her mother nodded, “Well, to that person, I would say, sure… you can do whatever you want and be with whoever you want, as long as nobody gets hurt, but I would have to seriously wonder how possible it is for such a dynamic to continue without anybody getting hurt.” And that was that on that. Charlotte felt like if she ever did what she now knew to be a “polyamorous” relationship, somebody might get hurt. She still to this day felt like that, even though technically, she knew better. It was more accepted now and it was valid for those who were actually seeking it, not just some of the people like her mother probably imagined who just cheated on people and claimed to be poly, without ever acknowledging things for their partners. 

But, on that day, of that talk… She made a choice. The “best” choice. She chose Henry. Not out loud, or even to his face, but in the back of her mind, as that person. The one that she might date. The one that she might kiss. The one that she might hold hands with, or whatever else. In the back of her mind, because once again, she wasn’t thinking about sex, at all, or romance, or marriage, or anything of the sort. As long as she could still be friends with both of her boys, she had everything she needed for the era that she was living in. The only reason that she felt like she was even thinking about all of this now was because she’d subconsciously made that choice, all those years ago, and whenever it did come up, she made the choice out loud. It was clearly the wrong goddamned choice, considering! So, she backtracked and made the other choice and by the way, the way that she was feeling about Jasper, she would have loved to have been hip enough to make this choice a long time ago! 

Jasper was the epitome of carefree and could be the poster boy for self love and positivity movements. He always made everybody around him feel warm and cared for. He was a loving friend and dedicated lover. He loved you more than he loved himself, which was saying a lot, because he loved himself so much that he ALWAYS knew that he was dope in a crop top, even when everybody thought he was on some BS. He felt fine with that 11th toe above his ankle and sometimes, jokingly called it his ‘ankle rack,’ he wore an anklet that went sideways because he’d not put it beneath the thing, and he got his outie pierced, It had a damn bucket charm hanging from it. Motherfucker used to call himself a buckateer! In mixed company! 

They pulled up home and she simply smiled at him. He smiled back and looked a little confused, but still happy, “What?” He wondered.

“I wish I would have skipped him and gotten to you, first,” she said. 

He smiled wider, but tilted his head a little, in disagreement. “I’m glad that you found me when you did. I think that the things that I’ve experienced have been really good foundation for building things with you. Like… You know, you’ve gotta make a few mistakes before you realize what you’re doing and I’m glad that I’ve made my mistakes with other people, so that you can have the best version of me to be with now.” 

She sighed and turned off the jeep, “Alright. Let’s get inside. My entire body is ready.” He chuckled, getting out of the vehicle and collected her from behind while she was trying to run inside to get busy. “Hey,” he said gently. She turned and looked at him. “I’m sorry that he hurt you, but I’m glad that he lost you, because of what I have.”

“Dude! My panties are literally melting off. Are you trying to make me jump you, right here?” She asked. He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder and she let out a playful scream-laugh that probably got at least a couple of nosy neighbors glancing out to see what was happening. Sure, Henry stirred up some pain today, but this was the end result. Jasper was right. This was the best version of him. Her mother had been wrong. She could have everything. As of right now, that’s precisely what Jasper TBD Dunlop was.

[sketchiedetails]

Nier: Minutiae [Friendly Fire - The Pod Units]

I finally played through both Nier and Nier: Automata this year, and I’ve been wanting to post my thoughts on them for a while. I think I’ll make this a series of posts so I can focus on particular themes and go in depth where I want to. Some of this might be really clumsy analysis, some of it might be me thinking about plot holes, and most of it might just be me gushing about little details sprinkled here and there throughout both games.

If you wanna read more of my rantings, I’m gonna assume you’ve played both games so spoilers after the jump.

Also, for clarity’s sake I’ll refer to the first game solely as Nier and the second game as Automata.

The YorHa androids may be the faces of Nier: Automata, but they wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren’t for the diligence of their ever-faithful Pod Units. 

The Pods in Automata are the analogs to the Grimoires in Nier. They provide support fire and can deal out special attacks in the game known as Pod Programs. Pods orbit their androids like options in a shmup (makes sense considering the game is part-shmup, part-action game) and when you fire the Pod’s main guns an aiming reticle appears in the center of the screen and the camera behaves like a light third-person shooter. 

I think the best part about the Pods that they finally integrated shooting and melee combat so seamlessly in such a way that no other stylish action games have yet to achieve.

Now, please understand what I’m saying: I don’t think Automata has the best combat of any action game; I just think that assigning the melee and the shooting mechanics to two separate elements working together actually synergizes far better than ascribing those mechanics to only one element and causing them to vie for priority.

Lemme explain myself:

Nier: Automata is a Platinum Games title, and they’re known for their stylish action games that focus on executing outrageous attacks and chaining them into spectacular combos against hordes of enemies. These types of games draw influence from Capcom’s action games, namely the Devil May Cry series and God Hand. DMC mixed melee combat with shooting but the thing to take note with the shooting mechanics is that it doesn’t have the free-form aiming you would expect to have in more shooter-focused games. Moreover, shooting is more of a supplementary attack to chain combos by juggling enemies or to hit enemies that are afar until you can close the distance between them and deal melee damage.

(DMC mixes melee combat and shooting, but you can’t attack with melee and guns simultaneously and both attacks are dependent on where Dante is facing.)

Platinum’s most well-known title before Automata is the Bayonetta series, and they expanded on DMC’s stylish action combat and merged the melee and gun mechanics by literally affixing guns to Bayonetta’s limbs so she can fire steams of bullets after she throws a punch or kick. Do note that Bayonetta can still fire guns as a separate action from her melee attacks. While it integrates both styles of combat into one one singular action, the shooting mechanics still have to submit to the melee mechanics and guns are still used either to juggle enemies or keep pressure when you can’t physically reach your target.

(You can follow up melee attacks with streams of gunfire, but the kung fu still takes priority over the gun fu.)

This type of gameplay isn’t just a house style; other studios have developed games that focus on stylish action and approach the melee-shooting dichotomy with varying degrees of influence for either style.

Lollipop Chainsaw was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and its heroine Juliet is basically Buffy the Zomboid Slayer. It’s mostly melee-focused with special attention to Juliet’s signature weapon but it also has one ranged weapon called the Chainsaw Cannon that converts the chainsaw into a weak grenade launcher. This changes the style of play into a light third-person shooter with an over-the-shoulder camera to allow the player to aim their shots, something DMC and Bayonetta lack in their combat.

(Jump to 2:54 to see Juliet switch to her ranged attack. While you can control where your shots land, note that switching combat styles drastically affects Juliet’s movement and evasive capabilities)

Devil’s Third is a Valhalla Games title and traces its pedigree to the Ninja Gaiden series (FULL DISCLOSURE: I haven’t played the game myself and am basing my hot take on playthroughs I’ve watched).  While it tries to cater to both hack ‘n slash  and shooting mechanics, the game looks like it plays more as a third-person shooter with some fairly deep melee combat; not Ninja Gaiden deep, but just enough variety to mix up the gameplay if you’re either out of bullets or wanna start slicing up some dudes.

(Shooting factors a lot more in Devil’s Third’s gameplay, but there’s still a hard transition between melee and guns)

The thing to take away from all of these examples is that it’s always one character who has to juggle between performing melee attacks and shooting guns. Switching combat styles requires different animations for each style and even transitional animations when switching styles.

In Automata, the android is the one that deals melee damage and almost all of their combat animations are tied to their physical attacks. The orbiting Pod unit is the one that deals ranged damage and it can move separately from the android but remain fixed upon the player’s camera, which lets it function as a floating gun in a third-person shooter. It’s perfectly possible to have the android attack from one position while the Pod shoots in the opposite direction and since shooting requires no animation from the android it’s a free action for the player to engage without compromising their offensive and defensive potential.

(Jump to 1:19 to see 2B perform a combo string and follow it up with Pod fire.)

Now I’ve said that games prior to Automata have treated shooting and slashing as a dichotomy, as two entities struggling for dominance in design. Automata’s combat treats shooting and slashing as a tag-team, where one takes over when they can yield better results but both can work at the same time at any point. The example video above doesn’t show 2B and the Pod attacking at the same time, and the only way I could explain that is that the Gatling gun button is normally set to be on the right shoulder bumper/R1 button and it’s ergonomically unnatural for most players to hold that button down while mashing the face buttons and aiming via the right analog stick with their thumb from the same hand.

Now just because you can shoot and slash at the same time any time, that doesn’t mean you’ll remember to do it all the time. If Automata’s combat was an always-in-your-face  melee affair, the shooting would submit to the melee just like the above other games in my examples. The shmup combat the game mixes in ensures that you won’t leave your Pod out of combat. You can shoot down most enemy shots and create your own path through their shot patterns, but there are some enemy shots that are immune to Pod bullets and require you to either juke them or perform evasive dodges around them. However, those shots can be wiped offscreen with melee attacks. So now melee has to submit as a supplementary action while shooting takes precedence during the shmup setpieces (however, just like what I had said about feeling unnatural to fire guns while swinging swords, I tended to keep forgetting that I could destroy all the bullets if I attacked because I was so dependent on dodging most attacks as a play style).

If it sounds like I’m talking Automata up at the expense of the other games, please understand that’s not my intention for this post. Automata’s combat is lighter than most Platinum games because it’s not just a stylish action game, but an open(ish) world action-JRPG and the controls also have to account for platforming and navigation. Level design in stylish action games usually feature big open arenas connected by corridors that can also feature - and usually do feature - combat to keep the player entertained. Automata’s more open setting and light emphasis on verticality means it must compromise depth in combat for the ability to move naturally in the world.

I wrote all these words because I think it was a stroke of genius to separate the sword and the gun and paradoxically they work even more fluidly than if they were forced to channel the same medium at the same time and in the same conditions. I could try to tie it back to my fascination with Nier and Automata’s theme of duality, but honestly this is all just a really florid way of restating the old adage “two heads are better than one.”

[eboniethegreatone-blog]

Ebonie Johnson’s Full Sail Program Reflection

Mastery Personal Development and Leadership MDL501

This was my first course and opened my eyes to the journey I was about to embark upon. This course let me know what classes I would have to take as well as their expectations. I completed a mastery journal timeline and was given a chance to see what I would be expected to complete. The first task I had was to complete a turning point video and put it on YouTube. At this time, I didn’t even know how to work a MacBook and how to post a video using it so it was very new to me. I did complete the task and to see how far I have come from then is amazing! Full Sail really did a great job of shaping me today.

Executive Leadership MAN630

Based on the industry I wish to get into, the entertainment industry, I will benefit more from Greene’s style of leadership. He is very direct and straight to the point and provides ways to be successful using a set of laws, or rules. Furthermore, his leadership style removes the stress from the leader by encouraging delegation, being calm and saying less, as well as not wasting valuable time. He also encourages re-inventing yourself and not following others or what the world may make you out to be. One law that really resonates with me is the one of timidity. Greene says that you must enter with boldness and not be timid or shy. No one will take you seriously in business if you don’t speak up (Greene, 1998).

For many years I was a timid person who did not speak up and say what I had on my mind. Many times I would have dreamt of several great ideas but never spoke about them. These are opportunities that could have been big for me that I ultimately missed. Then one day I told myself that I would never be shy again and that changed my life. I got into activities where I was eventually given leadership roles and got to meet many different people who would eventually help me to reach my goals. One law that I am working on is controlling my emotions. I am a very emotional person and it often times gets in the way of my business personality, especially if I’m working closely with people I know. Mastering how to be in control of myself at all times is something I aspire to do well. Overall, I like Greene’s approach to leadership as it covers all basics of life and can be useful in your professional and personal life. It is also an effective type of leadership for the entertainment industry as it teaches you how to be the best you among others you are working with (Greene, 1998).

References

Greene, R. (1998). The 48 laws of power.

Wordpress Web Address

https://eboniejohnsonsmasteryjournal.wordpress.com

Project and Team Management

Project Management is very important to Entertainment Business. In many instances, projects define the course of a successful entertainment business. Research has told us that project management in the live entertainment industry is much more dependable and constant than it is in many other industries, in relation to meeting deadlines, pleasing stakeholders and prospering commercially. This is primarily due to the fact that the entertainment industry events are time-sensitive, require proper planning and delegation, as well as have an opportunity for networking for future projects (Hartman et. Al, 1998).

Project Management has many components that address all areas of project planning. These components cover the brainstorming stage all the way to actually executing the project. This class has definitely shaped how I intend on carrying out future projects and has given me the tools do so. One of the hardest things for me to do personally is establish and stick to a budget! Project Management accounts for budgeting and actually lets you see how much it would cost to hire people, obtain equipment, and design the project. This can be altered based on financial means.

What was challenging for me throughout this course was the Quality Management portion. Quality Management consists of incorporating a strategy that oversees all activities and task required to “maintain a desired level of excellence”. This includes establishing a quality policy, developing quality planning and assurance, and quality control and improvement (Investopedia, 2019). This is probably the most important piece of Project Management because it accounts for safety measures, any issues that may arise, and ideas to be used during future projects. This is why it scares me! However, I know that if I continue to practice the skills learned in this course, I will have competitive advantage over other entertainment business professionals. What a ride this class was!

References

Hartman, F., Ashrafi, R., & Jergeas, G. (1998). Project management in the live entertainment industry: What is different?International Journal of Project Management, 16(5), 269-281.

Investopedia (2019). What is quality management? Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/q/quality-management.asp

Business Storytelling and Brand Development MAR630

Brand storytelling is “Using a narrative to connect your brand to customers, with a focus on linking what you stand for to the values you share with your customers (Marketing Insider Group, 2018).” This brand storytelling class was everything for me! It gave me the opportunity to really know my brand and what I really want my brand to tell the world! Furthermore, I learned how to break down the true values of my brand by creating a Brand Identity Prism, as well as create a Brand Strategy to understand where my brand is currently and where it is going. I now know my target audience and how to appeal to that audience. I also now know the true meaning of DCNDola! It is a podcast broadcasted via YouTube that males and females can come watch that will insight thoughts and feelings and they have the freedom to share those thoughts. It is an interactive platform that allows the hosts to talk to their audience and get suggestions and responses to better improve the podcast. I am excited to now grow this company and see how far it can go!

I can not only use this course to help me professionally, but I can use it to develop me personally. In order for my brand to be successful I have to be presentable because I will not just be selling my company to future investors, but I will be selling myself as well. I am going to have to reinvent myself. In order to do that I must create a Brand Identity Prism for Ebonie. I would also have to create a Strategy for myself for the audience I am targeting, as well as any potential investors. I will remember what I have learned in this course and take it with me in the future with future courses and business endeavors.

References

Marketing Insider Group (2018). Brand storytelling, defined. Retrieved from https://marketinginsidergroup.com/strategy/brand-storytelling-defined/

Entertainment Business Finance

The course I took this month was Entertainment Business Finance. I must say that this course was a challenging course for me. It dealt with math which is not necessarily an issue because I actually love math. However, explaining my reasoning for my answers, as well as explaining what those answers told me about a particular company was quite challenging. I currently hold a master’s degree in Business Administration, so the material was not new to me. However, applying it to a business I will stake my future income on was quite nerve racking, while at the same time realistic. I would have liked more time in this course because I believe it was rushed. However, the wealth of knowledge I have achieved in these past four weeks helps me to know what I need to strengthen and areas in which I remain confident.

The Pro Forma Statement is very new to me. I had not heard of this concept prior to taking Entertainment Business Finance; however, it is a necessary component of business. I freshened up my skills with determining the break-even analysis, I got the chance to sharpen my mathematical skills, as well as I learned a whole new level of patience! In finance, if you miss one number, you can mess up the whole equation. This can be detrimental to a business; which is why I must hire an accountant as soon as I get my business rolling!

Another piece to consider is how I am going to gather investors and how I will save my money to invest myself in my business. I juggle many jobs currently and it can be a hassle. However, it is my goal to one day be financially free. It will take hard work and dedication, and most of all support. As always, I will continue to research other podcasts to see what they are offering and determine how I will put a twist on mine to maintain a competitive advantage. I look forward to what the future has in store for me!

Digital Marketing MAR681

Looking back on my goals for my portfolio and future career, I can see that I’m well on my way to gaining the knowledge and strategies to be successful. My goals were to be a successful videographer, editor, producer, and cast member of a podcast. Through the activities assigned up until this point in the program and the activities I have done while producing my podcast, I am doing okay! The goals for the portfolio include exuding confidence, gaining industry experience, improving social media performance, and experience working with software. These skills and attributes are still being manifested and will be shown on my digital portfolio.

As for this course, the goal was to increase my knowledge in the area of digital marketing and performance. What I got was more than that! I was able to get an in-depth view of digital marketing channels, an introduction to SEO Strategies, as well as an introduction to analytics. There is more going on behind the scenes I was not aware of as it relates to effective digital marketing. Now with this newfound knowledge I will be able to bring more traffic to my channel and bring a greater awareness to the brand. Implementing the best SEO strategies will do just that! It is now my goal to dig into SEOs and analytics following the completion of this course in order to provide the best look for the brand. As the company grows, it will be my intent to hire someone who solely focuses on analytics so that this will be a daily occurrence to check to status of the brand and examine its true audience and how it falls in line with the target audience. DCNDOLA has much to do in the upcoming months to be the powerhouse I can see it will be. Applying the lessons from this course will help to better market in the digital world we are in today.

Negotiation and Deal-Making MAN6447

This was a very interesting course. I feel like I am a natural at negotiations. However, this course allowed me the opportunity to analyze myself in a negotiation and how it can help or hurt me. I found out that my communication style is the quiet supporter. I kind of don’t like that style but it’s good to know who I am so that I may push my comfort zone and be more outspoken. I also had the opportunity to view a mediation session. This would be one of my biggest challenges and fears while in the entertainment industry. How can I bring two people together with two different mindsets and personalities, as well as ideas and bring them to a resolution? Although it is exciting to view from the outside looking in, it would be very interesting to see how I would be in that situation. So, I did not know that there was a technical name to negotiations, mediations, and arbitration until this course. I know now that they are called Alternative Dispute Resolutions. It is my goal to do more research in this area so that I may be better prepared if ever these methods become necessary. I know that I am going into a tough industry full of creative people and visions. It is my purpose to put my best foot forward so that when I get to bargaining table, I have enough bargaining power for people to lean towards me in decision making. I know that I would need to keep the focus and maintain the grind to be the best podcast on this side of the podcast era. This class has given me the knowledge I need to understand myself and the person that I am trying to be. Soon and very soon, DCNDOLA will be in lights!

Product and Artist Management EBM591

I really enjoyed this class! It gave me a chance to put my manager hat on and learn best practices for bring and artist or product to the forefront. It is a very hands-on class that demands a fully attentive and open mind, as it helps you to explore several advertising opportunities. The content was very clear, and the purpose of given assignments was explained.

As a future Product and possibly Artist Manager, I look forward to staying abreast of current trends and providing the best marketing for my client. I know that when it comes to show business, everything has to be in order. Throughout this course, I also learned my leadership style. As a leader, I would employ a pacesetting and affiliative style of leadership. This is the time where quick lucrative results are desired, and trust is necessary. From the affiliative perspective, the goal is to create and maintain a bond and show him/her that people will come first. It was nice to apply the skills I learned to the person that I am.

What’s even more fascinating is that the class spent time teaching how to build rapport with fans and prospective fans. I am definitely going to look into purchasing the Super Phone. It is a way to keep in contact with fans and makes them feel even closer to you. I know that it can be hard to maintain a relationship with so many people. However, I do strive to do my best to keep up with my audience and their needs and let them know what is going on with me day-to-day. Again, I really enjoyed this class and with research, diligence, and patience, the sky is the limit for me! I look forward to continuing my professional journey in Entertainment Business.

Advanced Entertainment Law BUL5629

It is slowly but surely coming to an end for me in the entertainment business masters and I must say that I have learned so much up to this point. I am currently wrapping up my Advanced Entertainment Law class and I can say that not only have I enjoyed it, but it has challenged me in a great way. It has forced me to consider law in running my business. I have had a chance to analyze court cases and provide my own opinion to the case. This was extremely challenging to me because the language is so legal that it is foreign! However, I am getting a grasp on the jargon and learning how this could affect me in the future of my business. The goal for this course was to post social media embed links on my website. I decided to post my logo among other things. What was significant about this was that I had to purchase my logo in order to own it and upload it without worrying about anybody stealing it from me. This made me feel great. Now the next step is to trademark my name. This is something I should have done a long time ago and it is something I plan to do in the near future. This too will bring me great joy. This course did meet my initial objective of opening the door to the understanding of legalities as relates to my own business. It did just that and has encouraged me to extend my studies and be more knowledgeable in this field. However, wherever I lack in entertainment law is where my retained attorney will pick up! I have learned how to find the best attorney for what I intend to do, and I will follow this plan in making sure my business is protected. I truly appreciated and respected this class and I am excited about my next steps

Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution MMC6257

This month I participated in the Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution course at Full Sail University. My original goal for this course was to dive deep into publishing and distribution. I wanted to know what it really meant to publish work in the entertainment industry, as well as how to distribute this work legally and effectively. I have seen many up and coming artist not be successful because they did not follow the proper protocol for getting there music out there. On the other hand, there are many successful entertainers and entrepreneurs who became successful because they knew the rules of the industry. I want to be on the winning side. This course definitely has done a great job if breaking down the rules of publishing and distribution while at the same time providing the list of things not to do. This has increased my awareness and given me information of online sites that could help me get my music out there. Professionally I know that I would have to secure an agent that would get me in touch with the right people so that my business can grow, and my creativity can be protected. Personally, I know that I would need to do more research following this course so that I have a truer working knowledge of this side of the industry. Furthermore, litigation is very prevalent in the entertainment industry. I want to ensure that I have my ducks in a row before I step out into a world that could defame my name if I participate in any wrong doings; as well as choosing the wrong agent to handle my business could prove costly. This is a very competitive industry and it is my intent to maintain a competitive advantage by doing it by the book. This course has exceeded my expectations and has given me a great head start.

Business Plan Development GEB612

This has been an experience! I am now ending my first class of Business Plan Development and to be quite honest, it was intimidating at first. However, I do like how they broke this project down into two classes to give students time to refine and make corrections to the plan as needed. The most difficult part of this class is creating the financials. Podcasts are hard to create a breakdown of financials because as a YouTube podcaster, the startup costs are low, and the pay is determined by how many followers you have and how many times your videos are viewed. Therefore, in creating financials, it was built based off of predictions.

I do feel that I am prepared for what the future has to offer me in terms of business management and believe that I am no longer going into my “calling” blind. One piece of the business plan that took a hold of me was that I have to recite the pitch prior to each chapter. This is a reminder for me of what I am intending to create and profit off of and it is what keeps me going. I appreciate the feedback from my instructor and will use this is future assignments.

Before I began this class I created a business plan for my business, so I knew briefly what was included. However, after breaking down each essential part and having to elaborate on each section, I know that I am now better prepared to sell myself, remain professional, and maintain confidence. Being able to see another Full Sail Graduate and his journey lets me know that what I am doing is not in vain. It can be done and will be done! I am looking forward to what the next class has to offer, and I hope that with this class and the next class, I will be ready to soar once given my diploma.

Final Project: Business Plan

This class is my final class and it was the class where my business plan was finally presented. It has been a long road and well worth it. I had a chance of putting my whole business plan together and presenting it in a PowerPoint presentation. I felt complete with class and was given feedback that I can carry with me when going to investors or potential employees. This class was also bittersweet because it is the last class and now I am leaving the nest to start my own company with the skills I have learned throughout my journey. The sky is the limit and I excited about the future!

[umseen]

Meet 5 Shillington Half Scholarship Winners, Currently Studying Part-Time in Australia

https://umseen.com/?p=15169 Meet 5 Shillington Half Scholarship Winners, Currently Studying Part-Time in Australia We’re announcing our 2019 Shillington Half Scholarships next month! To build up the excitement, meet five of our 2018 winners, currently studying part-time in Australia. Carolyn, Jess, Tara, Taylin and Don were all pumped to win Shillington Half Scholarships back in 2018. We loved their applications, which ranged from videos to GIFs to a super-clever written submission. It was impressive how they learnt new skills and spent serious brainpower and energy to share their stories, and explain why studying at Shillington would be their dream come true. Read on to meet them, and see their winning applications! Want to meet more past scholarship winners? Read about Arnold Omanyo, Brian Gurevich, Christina Capetola, Uzma Padia and Samantha Miller. Carolyn Hawkins, Shillington Melbourne Half Scholarship Winner Day job while studying part-time at Shillington: High School as an Art Technician Scholarship entry: Stop-motion video Before Shillington, what were you doing career-wise? When I left high school I went straight to art school to study printmaking, so my life since then has consisted of working part time at a range of different places (cafe, florist, art store, screenprinting studios) while maintaining an art practice. Right now I work at two high schools as an art technician, as well as a studio and gallery for artists with intellectual disabilities. I also have my own illustration practice and play in two bands so my life feels a bit out of control sometimes! Why did you want to study design? Why Shillington? In the last few years I’ve ended up designing and illustrating things like posters, tshirts and album art for different bands, which has come from being involved with local music stuff. I love working on these projects but felt like I was always fumbling my way through the Adobe Suite and the design process in general. Basically I wanted to get better at these things and learn things the ‘right’ way. My dream is to spend more time on freelance design and illustration, and to approach these things with greater confidence. I chose Shillington because I knew a few people that had been here and loved it, and I really liked a lot of the student work that I’d seen. The part time course also fitted in well with my schedule – I didn’t have to rearrange too many other parts of my life to attend the night classes on Wed and Thurs evenings. I’ve found that learning graphic design at Shillington has been like the missing link in consolidating all the seemingly disparate skills I have into a more cohesive creative practice. Tell us about your scholarship application. I made a stop motion animation for my application, which was heaps of fun. I cut everything out of paper by hand and then took a million photos and put them together using a free stop motion program from the internet. At the time, I’d just made a video clip for one of my bands using the same process, which definitely got me deep in the stop motion zone (and probably had made me a bit delirious – “oh yeah I’ll just make another video”), and I also had everything set up already which was very handy! I made the backing music myself on my keyboard and just recorded it using Garageband. It was a very satisfying experience to be able to put something together like that, from start to finish, on my own. How did it feel when you found out you won? I felt a little in shock when I received the phone call! Obviously I was completely over the moon and feel extremely grateful to have been given this opportunity—I’m so glad I applied! Also I really got a kick out of making that video so it was really cool to know that other people liked it too. What would you say to someone who’s thinking about studying at Shillington? I’m really loving the course at the moment, so I’d definitely encourage people to look into it if they’re thinking of learning more about graphic design. The course is very hands-on. I’ve already learnt so many things that have opened up the way I approach design—the course is jam packed with content that it’s crazy to think how much you learn in such a short amount of time. It really is a case of getting out what you put in, so you do need to be prepared to sacrifice a good chunk of your weekends to doing homework. The course zooms by so fast! Anything else you’d like to share? A bit of shameless self promotion perhaps… I recently made a couple of zines about my local neighbourhood which you can find here and here. It’s the first time I’ve made anything like this, even though I’ve thought about it for ages. I think I kept telling myself that late-20s is too late to start making zines—such a stupid non-reason! Which probably ties nicely into some potential Shillington promotion haha… if you really want to do something then it’s very rarely too late to start. It’s super corny, but I always try to remember ‘the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now’. Best to just bite the bullet and get cracking. Jessica Freeman, Shillington Sydney Half Scholarship Winner Day job while studying part-time at Shillington: Marketing professional in the travel industry Scholarship entry: Written “Creative Brief” What were you up to before Shillington? I completed a Bachelor of Business at university, with a major in Marketing. My first job once I graduated was in Account Service for an advertising agency. Following on from that experience, I decided to go ‘client side’ and have worked in Marketing roles within the travel industry ever since. Why did you decide to study design? Having worked in both agency and client side Marketing environments, I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside a number of creatives and graphic designers. I found myself becoming increasingly interested in their process and have always loved seeing a project transform from a written brief to finished product. So I decided I wanted to learn these skills for myself as I felt they would complement my existing Marketing experience but also give me the platform to work on some projects for myself on the side. Tell us about your winning scholarship application! I had been indecisive about whether to apply for the course for a while and found myself wanting someone/thing to convince me to have the confidence to do it. When I saw the Shillington scholarship opportunity, I thought I may as well apply and see what happens. I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could make my application stand out and be super creative visually but what I realised through that process was that my reason for studying at Shillington was actually to learn these sort of skills. So rather, I decided to lean on a skill that I was currently confident with—which was writing. In my role as a Marketing Manager, I spend a lot of time writing creative briefs for designers and so I decided to turn my internal battle (about whether to commit to the course) into a creative brief for someone else to solve. I used myself as the target audience and created a brief around educating the audience about why Shillington College is the right next step in their career. How did it feel when you found out you won? It was completely unexpected so I was pretty excited and proud of myself. And I felt it was a pretty good sign that I should commit to the course! How has it been juggling full-time work and part-time study? It’s definitely been a balancing act and in all honesty, I have found it challenging at times—in particular because I started a new job three months into the course! What I’ve learnt is that when I am super organised and actually schedule time during my week specifically to spend on homework or briefs, the workload is completely manageable. I guess you just can’t afford to be disorganised when working full time and studying! What’s been the best part of the course so far? There is so much variety—during the initial six months of study I’ve worked on briefs from posters, brochures and magazine covers to type lock ups, brand identity work and UX design. I’d also say that the teachers are fabulous. Both Sam and Alice are so passionate about what they do and it’s hard not to feel inspired by their lessons. Any idea what you hope to do after you graduate from the part-time course.I will continue to work in Marketing but I am excited to see how my Graphic Design skills complement my role. I already feel that I am able to better articulate design feedback and understand the concept from a creative point of view. Longer term I’d love to have my own side business one day where I can work on creative projects—I’m a bit of a stationery geek so the idea of having my own business designing stationery sounds kind of awesome. But at the moment I am really enjoying the course and settling into my new job, so I will reassess once I graduate and see where it takes me! What would you say to someone thinking of studying at Shillington? If you want to immerse yourself in an engaging and encouraging learning environment, Shillington College is the right place for you. As someone who had no prior design experience (and who was uncertain about whether I was ‘creative enough’), I’ve found it to be such a positive experience. The course work is incredibly practical and set at a good pace, where you are learning something new each week but at the same time reinforcing skills already taught. Almost two thirds of my way through the course, I can already see that I am going to graduate with all the tools to be a confident designer, and hopefully a fabulous portfolio! Follow Jess on Instagram Taylin Davis, Shillington Brisbane Half Scholarship Winner Before studying part-time at Shillington: Marketing coordinator Scholarship entry: Video Before Shillington, what were you doing career-wise? Before Shillington I was working as a Marketing Co-ordinator.  Being in charge of a team meant I spent quite a bit of time managing people and budgets and not so much time being creative! Why did you want to study design? Why Shillington? ​Creativity has always been an important part of my life and as my career was progressing it just seemed to disappear more and more. My day-to-day was spreadsheets and data and I got to the point where I needed to evaluate the path I was on and whether it was really what I wanted to do. I studied design at University but didn’t feel like I left with enough skills to pursue a design career—I didn’t even leave with a portfolio!! I saw Shillington and it answered all my needs: a short course, teachers that were seriously talented and a portfolio when i was done. I decided it was time to try again… and I am so glad I did! Tell us about your scholarship application. When i saw there was a scholarship application I knew I had to apply—I had nothing to lose right? In a way, it was also a chance for me to prove to myself that I was still creative and that this really was what I wanted to do. I had dabbled in the other Adobe programs but something I had always wanted to try was After Effects. So I set myself the challenge of submitting an animated video to tell my design story! After countless video tutorials and help forums I finished with something i am pretty proud of and most importantly I was certain that design was the right path for me. How did it feel when you found out you won? It was insane! To be chosen out of all the other applicants and given the opportunity to study at Shillington was amazing. Not only am I grateful for the financial assistance, but the fact that people enjoyed what I had created was a real confidence booster for me. What would you say to someone who’s thinking about studying at Shillington? Don’t think, just do! The content is amazing, the teachers are supportive and extremely talented and you will see your skills transform every time you are in the classroom. It is amazing seeing everyone grow. My class has people from all walks of life, including people who had never worked on a Mac before. Now they are consistently producing incredible designs! If you have ever wanted to give design a try—this is the place to do it. Tara Cosgrave-Perry, Shillington Brisbane Half Scholarship Winner Day job while studying part-time at Shillington: Freelancing illustrating/designing and working in retail Scholarship application: Illustrated GIFs Before Shillington, what were you doing career-wise? I work in retail part-time and attempt freelancing design and illustration on the side. I’ve done some pretty cool things freelancing, but my retail job is consistent, it pays the bills, but doesn’t fulfill me. Why did you want to study design? Why Shillington? I’ve always been drawn to design and often wonder, I’ve studied design and illustration at Enmore Design Centre in Sydney which gave me a drive for design but still lacked confidence feeling like I was good enough. When I moved to Brisbane a few years ago I immersed myself into the local design circles by attending events like creative mornings, the Design Conference Brisbane and The Design Kids, where I met a lot of wonderful, talented people. Often in conversation it would come up that they had studied at or highly recommended Shillington. Last year I decided to check out a Shillington graduation with a friend, and I was utterly blown away by the all of the student portfolios. I was so impressed that such incredible content could be learned and produced in such a short amount of time. Tell us about your scholarship application. A friend sent me a link to the Shillington Scholarship program, I applied super last minute, which is always a bad idea. I honestly didn’t expect to win the scholarship, but I really wanted to try. So I gave it my all and researched past winners for inspiration as to what type of application might really stand out. I decided to create a simple animation to show off my creativity. On paper I drew out each page with details and cute illustrations on why I wanted/ needed this. Then I traced the six pages four times each, scanned, then aligned them in photoshop with a colour overlay to make it pop! I turned it into a gif and emailed it through and hoped for the best. How did it feel when you found out you won? It was a very surreal moment for me. After it finally sunk in I felt really excited to be studying again to work towards the type of career I’ve desired for so long. I’m thankful for this amazing opportunity I wouldn’t have had if I didn’t win. What would you say to someone who’s thinking about studying at Shillington? If you’re ready to up your design game, Shillington is an amazing resource to get you there in a short amount of time. Brush up on design principles and be open to experimenting and pushing your boundaries. Enjoy the ride! David Don, Shillington Melbourne Half Scholarship Winner Day job while studying part-time at Shillington: Creative Development Coordinator for Brisbane City Council Scholarship entry: Stop motion video Before Shillington, what were you doing career-wise? Before Shillington, I was a festival director whilst studying fine arts at university. I am currently Creative Development Coordinator for Brisbane City Council Why did you want to study design? Why Shillington? I wanted to study design due to my interest and amateur exploration in animation and motion graphics. I felt that Shillington would offer the necessary foundation and edge to better understand the design process and application to further develop my skills to advance competently to motion graphics. But above all, I just love creating! Tell us about your scholarship application. How did it feel when you found out you won? When I realised there was an opportunity for a scholarship I wasn’t terribly confident in my chances. My first thought was to create something that would stand out and capture Shillington’s attention. Given my explorations in animation, and at the time I was really interested in paper craft, I thought a stop-motion video would be different from the fixed imagery that would be normally submitted. I added a little narrative and silly jingle at the end and voila! Basically my advice is to think of something unexpected and silly, laughter most of the time works cutting through the grey. When I won I was totally surprised and absolutely stoked! Apart from being able to save on tuition fees, I thought this was sign from the universe to follow design as a career. What would you say to someone who’s thinking about studying at Shillington? I think even if you thinking about signing up, you’re looking for something different in your life. Whether you on another career path or in the industry and looking to up-skill, Shillington provides a place to think differently with the added bonus of having the tools to execute your ideas. It’s a slog but totally rewarding, even if you don’t pursue design. You work alongside other like-minded people who are looking for a new direction which only validates the choice you made was the right one. Follow David on Instagram Do you want to apply for a Shillington Half Scholarship for September 2019? Keep an eye out for the announcement in June! Announcements will be made across all our social media channels and on our website –> www.shillingtoneducation.com By: Shillington Design Blog https://umseen.com/?p=15169

[fmservers]

The Mom Project, a job site for moms returning to work, nabs $8M from Initialized and more

If you are a mother who has taken a break from full-time employment to raise kids, you may have also experienced the challenge that is jumping back into the working world after your break.

You may find you need more time flexibility; you have been out of the job market for years and so your confidence is knocked; your skills are no longer as relevant as they were before; or you just want to rethink your career; plus many employers — whether they say it or not — seem less interested in you because of all of the above, and no level of burnishing your resume on LinkedIn will help. It can be tough (and I say that from first-hand experience).

Now, Chicago-based startup The Mom Project, a platform specifically built to help female knowledge workers find jobs after pausing to raise kids, has raised a little egg of its own to take on this challenge. It’s picked up a Series A of $8 million that it plans to use to bring its job marketplace to more cities — it’s currently in Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco — and to expand the kinds of services it offers to make the challenge of juggling work and parenthood easier.

The funding is being led by Grotech Ventures and Initialized Capital, with another new investor, Aspect Ventures, and previous backers Atlanta Seed Company, Engage Ventures, OCA Ventures, BBG Ventures, IrishAngels and Wintrust Financial also participating.

This brings the total raised by The Mom Project to $11 million, and with 75,000 registered moms and 1,000 companies including Procter & Gamble, BP, Miller Coors and AT&T, the startup claims it’s now the largest platform of its kind in the US.

From selling diapers to changing diapers

Allison Robinson, the founder and CEO of The Mom Project, said she came up with the idea for the startup in 2016, when she was on maternity leave from a strategy role at Pampers.

“I started realising a lot about moms before I became one,” she says about her last role before striking out as an entrepreneur. “But what I hadn’t understood until I was on maternity leave myself was that your priorities can change after having a child.” (She’s pictured up above with her son.)

Citing a study she’d seen in the Harvard Business Review that estimated 43 percent of skilled women exit the workforce after having children, Robinson realised there was a gap in the market for those among them who had timed out from returning to their previous roles, but still wanted to make the leap back into working at some point.

And she has a point: not only do people who decide they want to return to work face all of the usual issues of newly needing more time flexibility, wondering whether their skills are still current enough, general confidence, and so on; but the average recruitment process, and job sites overall, do not really have ways to account for any of that very well.

And the gap exists on the employer side of the marketplace, too. Businesses — both large corporates very much in the public eye as well as smaller businesses that are not — are rethinking how they hire and keep good people in the overall competition for talent. (Just this week, the UK’s Office of National Statistics said that the number of unfilled positions in the information and communication technology sector rose by 24.3 percent compared to last year in the country, a shortage that’s reflected in other markets.)

Having a diverse workforce — including more women and women from different walks of life — is key not only to helping counteract that, but to contribute to better overall work culture. That’s a fact that many employers have realised independently or have simply been thrown into the spotlight unwittingly and now are trying to repair.

And yet, there haven’t been many opportunities for them to pursue more diverse hiring practices.

LinkedIn recently made a tiny move into exploring diversity in hiring by at least allowing recruiters to search their job candidate results by gender, but this is a far cry from actually addressing the specific predicaments that particular segments of the working population have, and how to help them connect better with employers who might be keen to bring more of them on through recruitment.

In fact, the idea of providing improved job search for knowledge workers in specific cases is actually a very interesting one that shows there is definitely still room for innovation in the world of recruitment: Handshake earlier this year raised $40 million for its own take on this, which is providing a better LinkedIn-style platform to connect minority university graduates with interesting job opportunities at companies keen to make their workforces more diverse.

“Companies have started to realize the value in building a diverse workforce, but we still have a long way to go in achieving equal representation and opportunities,” said Julia Taxin, a partner at Grotech and new Mom Project board member. “Allison and her team have built an incredible marketplace of diverse talent for companies and I look forward to working with The Mom Project to execute on their vision of helping to close the gender gap in the workplace.”

The Mom Project, Robinson said, is tackling the challenges at both ends of the spectrum.

On the employer side, she said there is a lot of educating going on, talking to HR people and getting them to understand the opportunity they could unlock by hiring more parents — which tend to be almost entirely all-women, but sometimes men, too.

“We want to provide more data to these companies,” she said, pointing out that it’s not just a matter of providing a job opportunity, but also giving parents options in areas like childcare, or flexible working schedules. “We want to showg them ‘here is where you are doing well, and here is where you are not. Fixes don’t cost a lot of money, but a lot of companies are just not aware.”

“We’ve got 75,000 women on our platform, and currently around 1,000 companies posting jobs,” she said. “The goal is to have 75,000-plus jobs. We want to make sure that all the moms signing up on the platform are getting work.”

“The Mom Project is determined to create a future where women aren’t forced to choose between their families and their careers,”said Alda Dennis, partner at Initialized Capital and new Mom Project board member, in a statement. “There is a huge pool of experienced talent, parents and non-parents, that is sometimes overlooked because companies haven’t created the kind of diverse, flexible workplace culture that attracts and retains them. Initialized wants to be part of making this cultural shift happen.”

On the parent side, not only is it also about making the platform known to people who are considering a return to work, but it’s also about some fundamental, but very important basics, such as giving would-be jobseekers the flexibility to go to interviews. Robinson said that one campaign it’s about to launch, in partnership with Urban Sitter, is to provide free childcare credits to Mom Project jobseekers so that they can get to their interview.

“Sometimes you have to go to an interview with 24 hours notice, and lining up a sitter can be stressful,” she said. “We want to alleviate that.”

Parents also know that this isn’t just an issue for the interview: many towns and regions have what Robinson called “childcare deserts,” where there is a scarcity of affordable options to replace the parent on a more daily basis.

Contract work is king (and queen)

For now, Robinson said that the majority of jobs on the platform are focused on fixed-term employment — that is, not permanent, full-time work.

This is due to a number of reasons. For example, parents coming back to working after a break may be more inclined to ease in with shorter roles and less long-term commitment. And employers are still testing out how this demographic of workers will work out, so to speak. Equally, though, we have seen a huge swing in more general employment trends, where businesses are hiring fixed-term workers rather than full-time employees to account for seasonality and to give themselves more flexibility (not to mention less liability on the benefits front).

While Robinson said that the aim is definitely to bring more full-time job opportunities to the platform over time, this has nonetheless presented an interesting business opportunity to The Mom Project. The startup acts like Airbnb, Amazon and a number of other marketplaces, where it not only connects job-seekers and employers, but it then also then handles all the transactions around the job. When the job is fixed-term, the Mom Project essentially becomes like the job agency paying the employee, and that is how it makes a cut. And it also becomes the provider of benefits and more.

In other words, while there is an immediate opportunity for The Mom Project to compete against (or at least win some business off) the likes of LinkedIn to target the specific opportunity of providing jobs for women returning to work, there is potentially and equally big one in becoming a one-stop employment shop to handle customers other needs as employers or workers, providing a range of other services, from payroll through to childcare listings and more.

  Via Ingrid Lunden https://techcrunch.com

[oblivionspeakk]

On Page SEO Methods To Rank Higher In Search engines

Within order to does come in order to attending a popular SEO meeting, you can be rest guaranteed that the benefits will become immense. Plagiarizing in school has been frown upon as well because for good reason. Passing a person's work off as you have is unethical and unoriginal. Individuals visit different blogs to collect varying perspectives not to consider the same identical content under the different name. In addition this particular will only hurt your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION efforts by being penalized intended for duplicate content. The Google search for PSD in order to WordPress conversion benefits” brought myself to countless articles extolling the particular points of ‘user-friendliness', and ‘SEO', and more. The truth is usually that those are features a person can get from any great WordPress theme. Any good support provider will do that. Simply by contrast, I found via SEO-Blokes a story published on a good online marketing agency website titled " How Web site design Got Me personally Laid ", that is the textbook example of how not really to brand your business along with sex. Since you're generating valuable content, make sure that will it's discoverable on Google. Possess a robust SEO strategy therefore that you feature in best search results. Also, get the Google Business Listing for your own hotel, and make maintain QUICK SLEEP (Name, Address, and Phone number) consistency across platforms like Yelp, Yahoo, Foursquare, and TripAdvisor. The popular SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION conferences will permit you in order to make that crucial step with regard to taking your search engine marketing services to a brand fresh level. You must make certain that you do work really hard and update yourself regarding the particular current market trends by getting several discussions with the people in the meeting. You can also learn more about just how to impress your clients plus please them with your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION strategies and plans. Rand Fishkin, The Sorcerer of Moz: He's founder plus former CEO of Moz plus co-founder of An active doodlekit, Rand regularly writes on SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, content, search, & social upon the web, from his several blogs. Known for his 'Whiteboard Friday' lectures, Rand is nowadays the most sort after believed leader in Digital Marketing room. In some situations, you might be able in order to find videos or other mass media summarizing SEO conference sessions exactly where key ideas have been talked about. Again, the lack of framework could make hard for the novice to follow. Still, some really good ideas that you haven't believed of or come across might be provided so this may be worthwhile for continuing training. If you believe that SEO and online marketing and advertising can and will save your own company, you happen to be completely wrong within the beginning! Yes, these equipment can and will help a person promote a business, but just if people trust you. Should you do not let the world know regarding yourself, if you do blog9t SEO not earn you with least basic customers circle, a person won't be able to take pleasure in the benefits of online advertising. Even today everything begins through the good-old handshake. Maximizes Partners Chargeable Hrs. Due to the reduced quantity of time spent pursuing possibilities, the time invested by Companions is also reduced. There is definitely a fraction of the period spent on site visits, potential customer meetings and conference calls in order to move with the prospect via the sales cycle. With SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION partners are now able in order to insert themselves into the product sales process in a time performance way. They can sell the particular chance in a much smaller time period than leads discovered through traditional marketing techniques. This particular leads to additional time regarding partners to focus on chargeable work.

Also known since web advertising, online marketing careers can comprise an incredible array associated with specialties - Pay-per-click (PPC) work, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) work opportunities, affiliate marketing jobs, sales careers, account administrator jobs, web style and marketing. In marketing plus advertising, job opportunities are incredibly challenging in addition to actually varying so you need in order to Blog9T Youtube be prepared and ready in order to adapt. As a rule, the particular aim in marketing is in order to reach the prospective audience plus extend growth from the organization Blog9T. At the higher-ranking level, marketing and marketing jobs incorporate preparing for the marketing and marketing campaign and is executed from the executive level. However, since blogging grew to become important for SEO much a lot more people jumped on the music group wagon and it has turn out to be a useless tool for marketing and advertising unless certain ethics are used. Aside from finding your personal style, tone and subject issue there are few considerations in order to take in before you start blogging.

The best method to have a strong on the web presence is to make certain that the content in your industry’s website is search engine pleasant. This is achieved by 'localizing' your content. This is in fact the process of translating content material, but taking it one phase further to make sure that will it's readability is perfect plus checked against local customs, ethnic differences and preferences. International SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION copywriting is simply a procedure of providing localized content that will is original, not translated. 36 yr old Urban and Regional Planner Hutton from Keswick, really likes juggling, top seo trends in 2018 and poole pottery. During the last month or two has gone to places for example Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley. Create sure to find content article writer has from your market plus is, in fact, a native-speaker. This dramatically increases your possibilities of getting noticed by associates of the local target marketplace.

[technicaldr]

5 Amazing Healthcare Technology Innovations in 2016 | referralMD

1.   Interoperability between Health Systems

Interoperability solutions for exchanging patient information across care settings is one particular technological development that will shape the future of healthcare organisations.

https://getreferralmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/interoperability-referralMD.jpg" alt="Healthcare Interoperability ">

Value-based care and health information exchanges are an increasingly important part of the overall healthcare landscape, and the ability for all providers – from general practitioners and specialists to post-acute care organisations, etc. – will only grow as a critical component of care delivery in the future.

These types of solutions have only started being developed in the past few years by companies such as referral-MD, that are changing how healthcare companies communicate by including post-acute care providers in critical interoperability workflows, as these providers are expected to be a big part of health care cost containment.

 By including post-acute care in interoperability strategies, healthcare organisations can ensure that critical patient information across all care settings will be connected, providing a more detailed patient picture for more specific treatment plans and improved patient care.

The statistics are damning, hospitals lose $75+ million per year per 100 affiliated physicians due to referral leakage, a burden that can be reduced by proper referral network management that companies such as referral-MD can help monitor.  Hospitals are just starting to get make changes in their budgets to include programs that can truly help patients receive better care, and save their staff’s time in the process.

Not only are hospitals affected but so are small-to-mid sized practices, with many having to juggle 100's of speciality offices with different workflow requirements, without an electronic way to exchange information, the process breaks down, information is not accurate, and time is wasted.

2. Robotic Nurse Assistant

I have many of friends that are nurses that are injured every year from having to move or lift patients in bed or after an emergency from a fall.  The problem is very common and many of times there is not someone around that is strong enough to lift a patient immediately after one of these occurrences.

There are many variations from a full robot such as RIBA (Robot for Interactive Body Assistance) developed by RIKEN and Tokai Rubber Industries and assisted hardware such as HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) robot suits delivered by Cyberdyne.

https://getreferralmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/RIBA_robot_nurse2-277x300-1.jpg" alt="RIBA">

 RIBA is the first robot that can lift up or set down a real human from or to a bed or wheelchair. RIBA does this using its very strong human-like arms and by novel tactile guidance methods using high-accuracy tactile sensors. RIBA was developed by integrating RIKEN's control, sensor, and information processing and TRI's material and structural design technologies.

https://getreferralmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/HAL.jpg" alt="HAL">A company by the name of HAL is a robotics device that allows a care worker to life a patient with more stability and strength and helps prevent injuries to our nurses.

  3. Artificial Retinas

The United States typically defines someone as legally blind when the person’s central vision has degraded to 20/200, or the person has lost peripheral vision so that he sees less than 20 degrees outside of central vision. Normal vision is 20/20, and people can usually see up to 90 degrees with their peripheral vision. An estimated 1.1 million people in the United States are considered legally blind.

This has led to companies like Nano-Retina to develop a sophisticated and elegant solution intended to restore the sight of people who lost their vision due to retinal degenerative diseases. The miniature Nano Retina device, the NR600 Implant, replaces the functionality of the damaged photo-receptor cells and creates the electrical stimulation required to activate the remaining healthy retinal cells. NR600 consists of two components; a miniature implantable chip and a set of eyeglasses worn by the patient.

https://getreferralmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Nano-Retina-e1454272108993.jpg" alt="Nano Retina">

 Very interesting technology for those that are always sitting in front of the computer like myself, hopefully it will not be needed by me, but it's great that companies are advancing for those that suffer this debilitating illness.

4. Tooth Regeneration

Hey Kids, here is some candy!  All kidding aside, this could be an amazing advancement if the technology holds true in the coming years.

Colourful fish found in Africa may hold the secret to growing lost teeth. In a collaborative study between the Georgia Institute of Technology and King’s College London, researchers looked at the cichlid fishes of Lake Malawi in Africa, who lose teeth just to have a new one slide into place. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, identifies the genes responsible for growing new teeth and may lead to the secret to "tooth regeneration" in humans.

"The exciting aspect of this research for understanding human tooth development and regeneration is being able to identify genes and genetic pathways that naturally direct continuous tooth and taste bud development in fish, and study these in mammals," said the study’s co-author Paul Sharpe, a research professor from King's College, in apress release. "The more we understand the basic biology of natural processes, the more we can utilise this for developing the next generation of clinical therapeutics: in this case how to generate biological replacement teeth."

Another study from a Harvard team successfully used low-powered lasers to activate stem cells and stimulate the growth of teeth in rats and human dental tissue in a lab. The results were published today in the journal Science Transnational Medicine.  Stem cells are no ordinary cells. They have the extraordinary ability to multiply and transform into many different types of cells in the body. They repair tissues by dividing continually either as a new stem cell or as a cell with a more specialised job, such as a red blood cell, a skin cell, or a muscle cell.

https://getreferralmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/tooth-regrowth-stem-cells.jpg" alt="tooth regrowth">Dentures and dental implants may soon become a thing of the past. Stem cell research is making it possible to regrow your missing teeth! This is a much-needed medical advancement, especially considering that by age 74—26% of adults have lost all of their permanent teeth.

 5. Light-bulbs that Disinfect and Kill Bacteria

https://getreferralmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/light-bacteria.jpg" alt="http://www.indigo-clean.com/">Hospitals are known to be potentially dangerous place with lot's of people with different elements and diseases.  One company, Indigo-Clean has developed a technology using visible light that continuously disinfect the environment and bolsters your current infection prevention efforts.

How it works

The 405 nm emitted from Indigo-Clean reflects off of walls and surfaces, penetrating harmful micro-organisms

The light targets naturally occurring molecules called porphyrins that exist inside bacteria. The light is absorbed and the excited molecules produce Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) inside the cell

405 nm creates a chemical reaction inside the cell, similar to the effects of bleach

The Reactive Oxygen Species inactivates the bacteria, preventing it from re-populating the space

   Technical Dr. Inc.'s insight:

Technical Dr. Inc.'s insight:

Contact Details : inquiry@technicaldr.com or 877-910-0004 www.technicaldr.com/tdr

[eboniethegreatone-blog]

Ebonie Johnson Full Sail Program Reflection

Mastery Personal Development and Leadership MDL501

This was my first course and opened my eyes to the journey I was about to embark upon. This course let me know what classes I would have to take as well as their expectations. I completed a mastery journal timeline and was given a chance to see what I would be expected to complete. The first task I had was to complete a turning point video and put it on YouTube. At this time, I didn’t even know how to work a MacBook and how to post a video using it so it was very new to me. I did complete the task and to see how far I have come from then is amazing! Full Sail really did a great job of shaping me today.

Executive Leadership MAN630

Based on the industry I wish to get into, the entertainment industry, I will benefit more from Greene’s style of leadership. He is very direct and straight to the point and provides ways to be successful using a set of laws, or rules. Furthermore, his leadership style removes the stress from the leader by encouraging delegation, being calm and saying less, as well as not wasting valuable time. He also encourages re-inventing yourself and not following others or what the world may make you out to be. One law that really resonates with me is the one of timidity. Greene says that you must enter with boldness and not be timid or shy. No one will take you seriously in business if you don’t speak up (Greene, 1998).

For many years I was a timid person who did not speak up and say what I had on my mind. Many times I would have dreamt of several great ideas but never spoke about them. These are opportunities that could have been big for me that I ultimately missed. Then one day I told myself that I would never be shy again and that changed my life. I got into activities where I was eventually given leadership roles and got to meet many different people who would eventually help me to reach my goals. One law that I am working on is controlling my emotions. I am a very emotional person and it often times gets in the way of my business personality, especially if I’m working closely with people I know. Mastering how to be in control of myself at all times is something I aspire to do well. Overall, I like Greene’s approach to leadership as it covers all basics of life and can be useful in your professional and personal life. It is also an effective type of leadership for the entertainment industry as it teaches you how to be the best you among others you are working with (Greene, 1998).

References

Greene, R. (1998). The 48 laws of power.

Wordpress Web Address

https://eboniejohnsonsmasteryjournal.wordpress.com

Project and Team Management

Project Management is very important to Entertainment Business. In many instances, projects define the course of a successful entertainment business. Research has told us that project management in the live entertainment industry is much more dependable and constant than it is in many other industries, in relation to meeting deadlines, pleasing stakeholders and prospering commercially. This is primarily due to the fact that the entertainment industry events are time-sensitive, require proper planning and delegation, as well as have an opportunity for networking for future projects (Hartman et. Al, 1998).

Project Management has many components that address all areas of project planning. These components cover the brainstorming stage all the way to actually executing the project. This class has definitely shaped how I intend on carrying out future projects and has given me the tools do so. One of the hardest things for me to do personally is establish and stick to a budget! Project Management accounts for budgeting and actually lets you see how much it would cost to hire people, obtain equipment, and design the project. This can be altered based on financial means.

What was challenging for me throughout this course was the Quality Management portion. Quality Management consists of incorporating a strategy that oversees all activities and task required to “maintain a desired level of excellence”. This includes establishing a quality policy, developing quality planning and assurance, and quality control and improvement (Investopedia, 2019). This is probably the most important piece of Project Management because it accounts for safety measures, any issues that may arise, and ideas to be used during future projects. This is why it scares me! However, I know that if I continue to practice the skills learned in this course, I will have competitive advantage over other entertainment business professionals. What a ride this class was!

References

Hartman, F., Ashrafi, R., & Jergeas, G. (1998). Project management in the live entertainment industry: What is different?International Journal of Project Management, 16(5), 269-281.

Investopedia (2019). What is quality management? Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/q/quality-management.asp

Business Storytelling and Brand Development MAR630

Brand storytelling is “Using a narrative to connect your brand to customers, with a focus on linking what you stand for to the values you share with your customers (Marketing Insider Group, 2018).” This brand storytelling class was everything for me! It gave me the opportunity to really know my brand and what I really want my brand to tell the world! Furthermore, I learned how to break down the true values of my brand by creating a Brand Identity Prism, as well as create a Brand Strategy to understand where my brand is currently and where it is going. I now know my target audience and how to appeal to that audience. I also now know the true meaning of DCNDola! It is a podcast broadcasted via YouTube that males and females can come watch that will insight thoughts and feelings and they have the freedom to share those thoughts. It is an interactive platform that allows the hosts to talk to their audience and get suggestions and responses to better improve the podcast. I am excited to now grow this company and see how far it can go!

I can not only use this course to help me professionally, but I can use it to develop me personally. In order for my brand to be successful I have to be presentable because I will not just be selling my company to future investors, but I will be selling myself as well. I am going to have to reinvent myself. In order to do that I must create a Brand Identity Prism for Ebonie. I would also have to create a Strategy for myself for the audience I am targeting, as well as any potential investors. I will remember what I have learned in this course and take it with me in the future with future courses and business endeavors.

References

Marketing Insider Group (2018). Brand storytelling, defined. Retrieved from https://marketinginsidergroup.com/strategy/brand-storytelling-defined/

Entertainment Business Finance

The course I took this month was Entertainment Business Finance. I must say that this course was a challenging course for me. It dealt with math which is not necessarily an issue because I actually love math. However, explaining my reasoning for my answers, as well as explaining what those answers told me about a particular company was quite challenging. I currently hold a master’s degree in Business Administration, so the material was not new to me. However, applying it to a business I will stake my future income on was quite nerve racking, while at the same time realistic. I would have liked more time in this course because I believe it was rushed. However, the wealth of knowledge I have achieved in these past four weeks helps me to know what I need to strengthen and areas in which I remain confident.

The Pro Forma Statement is very new to me. I had not heard of this concept prior to taking Entertainment Business Finance; however, it is a necessary component of business. I freshened up my skills with determining the break-even analysis, I got the chance to sharpen my mathematical skills, as well as I learned a whole new level of patience! In finance, if you miss one number, you can mess up the whole equation. This can be detrimental to a business; which is why I must hire an accountant as soon as I get my business rolling!

Another piece to consider is how I am going to gather investors and how I will save my money to invest myself in my business. I juggle many jobs currently and it can be a hassle. However, it is my goal to one day be financially free. It will take hard work and dedication, and most of all support. As always, I will continue to research other podcasts to see what they are offering and determine how I will put a twist on mine to maintain a competitive advantage. I look forward to what the future has in store for me!

Digital Marketing MAR681

Looking back on my goals for my portfolio and future career, I can see that I’m well on my way to gaining the knowledge and strategies to be successful. My goals were to be a successful videographer, editor, producer, and cast member of a podcast. Through the activities assigned up until this point in the program and the activities I have done while producing my podcast, I am doing okay! The goals for the portfolio include exuding confidence, gaining industry experience, improving social media performance, and experience working with software. These skills and attributes are still being manifested and will be shown on my digital portfolio.

As for this course, the goal was to increase my knowledge in the area of digital marketing and performance. What I got was more than that! I was able to get an in-depth view of digital marketing channels, an introduction to SEO Strategies, as well as an introduction to analytics. There is more going on behind the scenes I was not aware of as it relates to effective digital marketing. Now with this newfound knowledge I will be able to bring more traffic to my channel and bring a greater awareness to the brand. Implementing the best SEO strategies will do just that! It is now my goal to dig into SEOs and analytics following the completion of this course in order to provide the best look for the brand. As the company grows, it will be my intent to hire someone who solely focuses on analytics so that this will be a daily occurrence to check to status of the brand and examine its true audience and how it falls in line with the target audience. DCNDOLA has much to do in the upcoming months to be the powerhouse I can see it will be. Applying the lessons from this course will help to better market in the digital world we are in today.

Negotiation and Deal-Making MAN6447

This was a very interesting course. I feel like I am a natural at negotiations. However, this course allowed me the opportunity to analyze myself in a negotiation and how it can help or hurt me. I found out that my communication style is the quiet supporter. I kind of don’t like that style but it’s good to know who I am so that I may push my comfort zone and be more outspoken. I also had the opportunity to view a mediation session. This would be one of my biggest challenges and fears while in the entertainment industry. How can I bring two people together with two different mindsets and personalities, as well as ideas and bring them to a resolution? Although it is exciting to view from the outside looking in, it would be very interesting to see how I would be in that situation. So, I did not know that there was a technical name to negotiations, mediations, and arbitration until this course. I know now that they are called Alternative Dispute Resolutions. It is my goal to do more research in this area so that I may be better prepared if ever these methods become necessary. I know that I am going into a tough industry full of creative people and visions. It is my purpose to put my best foot forward so that when I get to bargaining table, I have enough bargaining power for people to lean towards me in decision making. I know that I would need to keep the focus and maintain the grind to be the best podcast on this side of the podcast era. This class has given me the knowledge I need to understand myself and the person that I am trying to be. Soon and very soon, DCNDOLA will be in lights!

Product and Artist Management EBM591

I really enjoyed this class! It gave me a chance to put my manager hat on and learn best practices for bring and artist or product to the forefront. It is a very hands-on class that demands a fully attentive and open mind, as it helps you to explore several advertising opportunities. The content was very clear, and the purpose of given assignments was explained.

As a future Product and possibly Artist Manager, I look forward to staying abreast of current trends and providing the best marketing for my client. I know that when it comes to show business, everything has to be in order. Throughout this course, I also learned my leadership style. As a leader, I would employ a pacesetting and affiliative style of leadership. This is the time where quick lucrative results are desired, and trust is necessary. From the affiliative perspective, the goal is to create and maintain a bond and show him/her that people will come first. It was nice to apply the skills I learned to the person that I am.

What’s even more fascinating is that the class spent time teaching how to build rapport with fans and prospective fans. I am definitely going to look into purchasing the Super Phone. It is a way to keep in contact with fans and makes them feel even closer to you. I know that it can be hard to maintain a relationship with so many people. However, I do strive to do my best to keep up with my audience and their needs and let them know what is going on with me day-to-day. Again, I really enjoyed this class and with research, diligence, and patience, the sky is the limit for me! I look forward to continuing my professional journey in Entertainment Business.

Advanced Entertainment Law BUL5629

It is slowly but surely coming to an end for me in the entertainment business masters and I must say that I have learned so much up to this point. I am currently wrapping up my Advanced Entertainment Law class and I can say that not only have I enjoyed it, but it has challenged me in a great way. It has forced me to consider law in running my business. I have had a chance to analyze court cases and provide my own opinion to the case. This was extremely challenging to me because the language is so legal that it is foreign! However, I am getting a grasp on the jargon and learning how this could affect me in the future of my business. The goal for this course was to post social media embed links on my website. I decided to post my logo among other things. What was significant about this was that I had to purchase my logo in order to own it and upload it without worrying about anybody stealing it from me. This made me feel great. Now the next step is to trademark my name. This is something I should have done a long time ago and it is something I plan to do in the near future. This too will bring me great joy. This course did meet my initial objective of opening the door to the understanding of legalities as relates to my own business. It did just that and has encouraged me to extend my studies and be more knowledgeable in this field. However, wherever I lack in entertainment law is where my retained attorney will pick up! I have learned how to find the best attorney for what I intend to do, and I will follow this plan in making sure my business is protected. I truly appreciated and respected this class and I am excited about my next steps

Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution MMC6257

This month I participated in the Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution course at Full Sail University. My original goal for this course was to dive deep into publishing and distribution. I wanted to know what it really meant to publish work in the entertainment industry, as well as how to distribute this work legally and effectively. I have seen many up and coming artist not be successful because they did not follow the proper protocol for getting there music out there. On the other hand, there are many successful entertainers and entrepreneurs who became successful because they knew the rules of the industry. I want to be on the winning side. This course definitely has done a great job if breaking down the rules of publishing and distribution while at the same time providing the list of things not to do. This has increased my awareness and given me information of online sites that could help me get my music out there. Professionally I know that I would have to secure an agent that would get me in touch with the right people so that my business can grow, and my creativity can be protected. Personally, I know that I would need to do more research following this course so that I have a truer working knowledge of this side of the industry. Furthermore, litigation is very prevalent in the entertainment industry. I want to ensure that I have my ducks in a row before I step out into a world that could defame my name if I participate in any wrong doings; as well as choosing the wrong agent to handle my business could prove costly. This is a very competitive industry and it is my intent to maintain a competitive advantage by doing it by the book. This course has exceeded my expectations and has given me a great head start.

Business Plan Development GEB612

This has been an experience! I am now ending my first class of Business Plan Development and to be quite honest, it was intimidating at first. However, I do like how they broke this project down into two classes to give students time to refine and make corrections to the plan as needed. The most difficult part of this class is creating the financials. Podcasts are hard to create a breakdown of financials because as a YouTube podcaster, the startup costs are low, and the pay is determined by how many followers you have and how many times your videos are viewed. Therefore, in creating financials, it was built based off of predictions.

I do feel that I am prepared for what the future has to offer me in terms of business management and believe that I am no longer going into my “calling” blind. One piece of the business plan that took a hold of me was that I have to recite the pitch prior to each chapter. This is a reminder for me of what I am intending to create and profit off of and it is what keeps me going. I appreciate the feedback from my instructor and will use this is future assignments.

Before I began this class I created a business plan for my business, so I knew briefly what was included. However, after breaking down each essential part and having to elaborate on each section, I know that I am now better prepared to sell myself, remain professional, and maintain confidence. Being able to see another Full Sail Graduate and his journey lets me know that what I am doing is not in vain. It can be done and will be done! I am looking forward to what the next class has to offer, and I hope that with this class and the next class, I will be ready to soar once given my diploma.

Final Project: Business Plan

This class is my final class and it was the class where my business plan was finally presented. It has been a long road and well worth it. I had a chance of putting my whole business plan together and presenting it in a PowerPoint presentation. I felt complete with class and was given feedback that I can carry with me when going to investors or potential employees. This class was also bittersweet because it is the last class and now I am leaving the nest to start my own company with the skills I have learned throughout my journey. The sky is the limit and I excited about the future!