Last week I wrote about my experience of learning to converge digital tools with the entertainment industry. Here's a take on it from Participant Media's founder, Jeff Skoll with a big dose of social change mixed in:
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
High-Tech Goes All Hollywood
Before returning to school for my MBA, I spent several years working in the high-tech industry. Now, for those who know me, this was a surprising career move - technology was never my strong suit. But that is precisely why I made the move. I had grown frustrated by not understanding the realm of digital technology and so I was determined to jump in head first and learn. Fortunately, I found a great boss who saw how my previous work experience was useful to her IT department and gave me a shot.
So I became the technology coordinator and business analyst for a global software company and I had to work hard to understand what the heck my colleagues were even talking about - it was truly a foreign language to me! But my weakness turned into a strength as I became responsible for much of the corporate-wide communication from the IT department... I became, in effect, the department's "translator" and it was up to me to communicate about technology in terms that even a newbie like me could understand... I was quite the antithesis of Saturday Night Live's snarky "IT Guy".
The decision, to plunge into an area that had previously intimidated me, led to other jobs and offers and turned out to be one of the best career decisions I ever made. You see, it wasn't my goal to become the smartest IT person around, but rather to understand it well enough to translate it for traditional business users.
The value of this vision has been reinforced recently by two conversations I've had at my internship. The first was with Rob Avey, Senior Director, Business Operations of Take Part (the organization which manages Participant Media's digital footprint). Mr. Avey, who is an big-time expert, has been able to apply his extensive high-tech knowledge & experience in a new way - to shape and support the digital strategy of an entertainment company. It was exhilarating discussing with Mr. Avey how technology is changing the face of traditional business and to explore new applications in our ever increasingly digital world.
The 2nd conversation was with Chris Gebhardt, EVP & GM of TakePart, after I had the chance to sit in on a conference call with Warner Brothers. I got to speak with Mr. Gebhardt about the opportunities and challenges of the increasing use of digital tools and how they apply to the entertainment industry. It has been such a privilege to speak 1st hand with people at the fore of bridging the gap of traditional business and cutting edge technology!
So now I've come full circle and am reminded why I jumped into the high-tech world in the first place (other than just the sheer challenge of it) - to be that bridge between the digital and traditional worlds!
Recommended reads from Mr. Avey and Mr. Gebhardt:
This Business of Film: A Practical Guide to Achieving Success in the Film Industry
Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations
The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You
The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change
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