The most useful course I have taken in the duration of my long college career has been one geared toward media design and social media. Companies hire those fresh out of college first to fill lower-level positions and second to bring the company a competitive and “fresh” edge. This week alone, I have been offered five fresh-edged positions and only because I included my blog address at the top of my resume. Employers looked, liked what they saw as an emerging trend, and presented me with jobs and internships in my PR-related field.
While interviewing (via google talk) Sin City Sinners manager Jason Green a few weeks ago, I was blown away by the large role social media plays in the band’s success. I found it so interesting, I wanted to expand on my earlier post. If you live in Las Vegas or even visit for an extended period of time, you are at least somewhat familiar with the Sin City Sinners. In 2009, they were picked as runner-up in Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Best of Las Vegas local rock band category, just behind The Killers. They participate in every charity event that their schedule permits (they’ve even auctioned off dates with themselves to feed the homeless). The Sinners have also appeared on every local morning radio and television show possible and have presented the weather forecast during nightlife program 702 Scene. It is true that the band is advertised in weekly and monthly paper publications such as Las Vegas Weekly and Vegas Rocks! Magazine. The Sinners’ faces could even be seen a few months this year on a billboard while driving along the I-95 expressway.
However, according to Jason Green, each of the four band members — vocalist and guitarist Todd Kerns, guitarist Brent Muscat (of Faster Pussycat fame), drummer Rob Cournoyer and bassist Mike Ellis — felt that though they sampled many advertising vehicles in traditional media, “they weren’t personal enough. You see, the Sinners just started out jamming at Dive Bar one day. The next week they were asked to come back so they just told all of their buddies on MySpace to come out and support. They did and the band realized how powerful social media stuff really is.”
With a new album on its way, I spoke to frontman Todd Kerns about how his band is using social media to promote album sales and themselves. You can check out the interview on YouTube by clicking the link below.
Now, the Sinners play four solid gigs a week, and each band member posts their own bulletins and personally invites people they’re networked with to come out and rock. They like to do so, but they must also do so to keep attendance up. This is probably going to be a model others will follow. As bands and live entertainment continually get cut from casino and bar budgets in Las Vegas due to a depressed economy, entertainers must learn to make themselves more valuable than ever before. Talent doesn’t cut it anymore. Talent doesn’t necessarily draw people. Or bar sales. A belief that a venue in which a band is contracted with should bear the costs and weight of all advertising and promotion is flawed. Once the contract is up without history of good attendance, the band just becomes dead weight and will bear the costs of not working.
When asked for an example of how a local band can stay afloat, Green offered, “Some nights, when we know it’s going to be slow, we buy hundreds of dollars in drink tickets to give to the people we bug all of the time. It’s kind of a thanks for not dropping us as friends on Facebook even though we may over-promote ourselves,” said Green.
When writing about Web design, I’ve often given props to portfolio designers and Wordpress theme creators. Some designers have inspired me to put my personality out there and others have made me appreciate their own unique online presence. This time, I feel I should showcase and give thanks to another designer for simply creating a wonderful and easy-to-navigate site which I use practically every day. Craig Newmark, thank you for sharing (free of charge) with communities a phenomenon called Craigslist.org. Because the site offers up so many services to barter, a savvy college-aged Craigslister can live comfortably even if they don’t have the means to do so. Moreover Mr. Newmark, I just want to extend thanks for some specifics regarding your site, which I understand hasn’t changed much since the 1990s.
Photo of Craig Newmark borrowed from businessweek.com
By not subscribing to some modes of Webification, you have stuck to your guns. I never have to download another version of Flash Player, or wait extra precious seconds to upload pages. You have made it simple enough for people my grandparents’ age to upload photographs of their vintage wares for sale. Please continue to stick to the basics of text, photographs and hyperlinks.
You have built communities. People with common interests and zip codes have an easy way to participate in online forums and plan events. People who meet up to buy or sell items occasionally build relationships (I’ve built many friendships based on Las Vegas nostalgia).
You have made your site extremely user-friendly. Using breadcrumb navigation which everyone is familiar with, there isn’t any process-learning. Web minimalist and author Steve Krug would probably thank you, Mr. Newmark, for not making him think! Craigslist.org takes a common sense approach to Web usability in that it follows conventions while shifting any marketing extras to the side. To cater to conventions, minimalism and simplicity, Craigslist.org must suffer a little bit. Some would say your site is ugly and not aesthetically pleasing. Personally, I’m one of those people who believe it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Yeah, you might say I’m crushing on you right now.
I’ve written about minimalism in Web design before. I’m a fan of simplistic designs and don’t like to navigate. I appreciate to see options organized neatly in front of me. That’s all I ask of sites. And it’s probably all potential employers will ask of me when trying to figure out if I’m the one for the job. Soon, I’ll be creating a Web portfolio from scratch, and you can bet your buttons I’m keeping minimalism in mind. I’ve found three examples of Web portfolios which I found interesting, well-designed and to-the-point:
CLAIRE IS COLORFUL
In Claire, it’s a no-brainer for the navigator to find what he/she is looking for. The tabs are easy to find. The bright colors exhibit the page-owner’s personality while the ‘about’ section is located smack-dab in the middle. User friendly means employer friendly.
CHAMA IS PROFESSIONAL
Chama is love at first sight. The black and white scheme presents itself as no-nonsense professionalism. The tabs running along the top make this a one-stop shop. There’s nothing to wade through. Funny, this portfolio was created while the company was re-creating their real Website. I’d like to see how they improve on this.
SARAH BETH IS SIMPLY CREATIVE
Sarah Beth gives the creator the option to change the overall effect of the portfolio whenever they choose. They just have to insert a new photo. This portfolio example is my personal favorite, for it can be colorful and creative while getting straight to the point: Showing what I’ve got to offer.
As interactive media design students, we are only on the cusp of what is to come. We have seen and comprehended that social media isn’t just used for social communication. It is used for professional collaboration, in citizen review of services, branding and marketing, up-to-date news, and education. Of course, the list goes on. There are even industries out there which rely heavily if not entirely on social media. Take the Las Vegas band scene, for instance. One such band, Sin City Sinners, owes a large part of their success to social media. Sin City Sinners’ manager, Jason Green, granted an interview to Rebecca’s World to speak about the importance of social media in local music and in his budding company.
Jason Green and K-Fed
JASON :I googled “social media” to figure out what it was. I was a media major drop-out in college and it turns out I didn’t need to graduate. I know all about this stuff.
REBECCA: Don’t worry. I just figured it out, too. I don’t even know why I’m trying to finish school.
JASON:Does that mean this interview is over?
REBECCA: Absolutely not! Let’s get to it. As a manager for a local band, how important is the use of social media for promotion?
JASON:The band I manage, Sin City Sinners, was basically built through Myspace and it is still our number one method of promotion. It is a great way to target an audience. Many fans come to shows because they read a Myspace bulletin or blog. Youtube and Twitter have also been very useful for promotion.Youtube is good if you have a good product, because everyone can actually see your band. If the band is just all hype people will figure it out and not bother going to the shows.
REBECCA: When did you begin using social media for the purpose of promotion?
JASON: Two years ago and I would say that was getting onboard late. But, as soon as we started, we just took off.
REBECCA: Which tools do you use to network the band? Is word of mouth as important as it used
to be?
JASON:We find Myspace and Reverbnation.com to be the most useful, in addition to press releases. For a local band, word of mouth is still huge, but many people spread that word of mouth through social media.
REBECCA: Do you use social media to land the band gigs? Do you communicate this way with professionals in charge of venues?
JASON:In the beginning many gigs were booked and communicated though Myspace. Nowadays the band is playing four solid gigs a week, so we are not looking. But there are still gigs to be found for bands on Myspace.
REBECCA: Myspace is supposed to be music-oriented. Is social media something you use in your personal life
JASON:I keep a personal account to try and talk with friends, but I spend more time on my band and other business accounts that I don’t check it very often.
REBECCA: When you’re not busy dealing with band stuff, you also run a business with a partner. What is the name of your company and what do you do?
JASON: I am the co-owner of the classic film company Paradise Visuals. We release and distribute movies from the 1980’s to DVD for the first time.
REBECCA: Do you also use social media when dealing with your company?
JASON:I use all the same methods of social media that I also use with my band.
REBECCA: As a business-owner, would you pay someone savvy in search engine optimization to ensure your business tops google’s searches?
JASON:In the past I have done it, but it seems not to be necessary anymore. As most Myspace and Twitter posts already rank high in google searches, so do reviews.
REBECCA: This question pertains to the band: Do you live-stream images and video to any websites via your phone?
JASON:I put up photos on Myspace of the band with my iphone. At one particular show Britney Spears’ ex husband K-Fed got on stage and I was able to have the photos on myspace within minutes. Another time we had members of No Doubt on stage and I got photos up asap. It’s a great way to show people what they are missing. Some of those images were even used by the L.A. Times later on.
REBECCA: You know that makes you a citizen journalist, right?
JASON:Please. I don’t want to google any more terms today.
Until recently, I had prided myself with being a technological minimalist. My home was neat, uncluttered and dotted with mid-century appliances. Anyone I wanted to communicate with, I’d call or send letters to. My e-mail contacts were low in numbers. I would physically step into a store to shop. I felt social networking sites were ridiculous and unnecessary. I suppose I just enjoyed what I had, including free time. I liked that I could be successful in school and in the work place all the while living under the wire. I Googled myself once, and couldn’t find anything. I wanted nothing to do with the emerging technologies of Web 2.0 era, and hoped to keep it that way.
And then one day, I realized I was going to graduate soon. Of course, I began searching for jobs and internships. Most of the applications had to be sent through my e-mail account, and most of them (like LinkedIn) claimed I must provide links to my Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and blog pages. Only then did I realize I had to play some catch-up and leave my pseudo-nineties lifestyle. My future depended on it.
I’m currently taking a course at UNLV titled Interactive Media Design. It’s been nice starting from scratch and having guidance from a Web 2.0 instructor. Though to be honest, each time I’m forced to set up an account with a new social platform, my shoulders sag a little. I can feel the anonymity leaving my body. I suppose I’m wary of becoming overexposed, and also don’t want to be bombarded with useless information. Just as I don’t care to learn through Twitter whether someone is eating a tuna sandwich, I also don’t care to see hot tub party photographs on Facebook. My minimalist nature urges others and myself to get straight to the point. Cut the fluff, pointless self-condemnation and certainly scrape off the spam. Like most, I want to know if someone has something to say, something which to learn from. I want to keep my web deposits bare-bones and stick to a professional path. If I’m eager to learn about the hot tub party, I’ll search for it. I just don’t want it thrown into my cyber face. Nor do I want future employers to know I’m somehow linked to such nonsense. I’ll reiterate here: If there’s something to be sold, I’ll find it in a store on my own accord. It’s been difficult to find ways to weed out the unnecessary. But I found some on the journey to Web 2.0 land. And for you fellow technological minimalists, I’ve got a few tips:
1) Understand your goals. Remember the reasons you’re out there social networking and don’t stray far. A perspective employer will be able to tell in 30 seconds what your focus is just by looking at your page. Keeping this in mind will make you choosy.
2) Once you’re choosy, identify significant people and become networked. The brilliant part of social networking is that (for the most part) you pick who you’re connected to. When you have something of relevance to say, make sure the important people have access to it.
3) Actively get to know your fellow bloggers/tweeters/facebook friends, etc. Once that happens, they’ll share their friends and with you.
4) If (undesireable) people you know become offended that you’re pushing them aside, create another account not linked to your real name. You can communicate with them that way and curb away future employers.
5) TrueTwit – This application can supposedly figure out the difference between human tweeters and automated robot tweeters who spam, spam, spam. In my experience it works rather well. The one problem with TrueTwit is that it annoys those who are truly following you by sending them direct messages. Instead of just watching what you have to write, they have to prove themselves to you. Take it upon yourself to figure out if that’s proper etiquette.
