Master of None

Jenny Anderson

Really? It has come to this? Struggling to write a blog post?

As a returning student at MPTC, I have been learning how to write HTML, Javascript and PHP; these languages create every single page on the Web. I have been taking these languages and creating something that not only works but is also aesthetically pleasing (see this). This task was not an easy one. I come from an artistic background and for the last two and a half years, I have been painstakingly rerouting my right-brain synapses towards the left. I have even had the sensation that my brain is larger than my head. (But hey, that could be another blog post.) But for now, I find myself here, incapable of writing a blog post about digital media marketing on a site that I could create.

So I depended on the one thing that has helped me through school: my keen research abilities. I Googled, “How to write a good, interesting blog.” This is what I found. Number one rule: choose an interesting topic. So here I go.

My topic: The importance of understanding digital media marketing from my perspective as a Web designer/ developer.

As an entrepreneurial Web designer, knowing all the needs of clients is imperative. Not only do clients want a fantastic-looking-highly-operational site, they also want to use that site to its greatest potential. Knowing how to promote the clients’ site by utilizing social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest can only bolster your credentials. Social media marketing works hand in hand with Web design. I think our era is one to represent the jack of all trades, master of all, culture. The more you know, the better you will be. The better you are, the more you can offer.

The end.

But keep in mind, the more you can offer the longer your days will be. For digital marketing and Web design never sleep, and I have the bags under my eyes to prove my point. I think I did it!
Hopefully, you found this post interesting.

FEAR: Public Enemy #1

By Cynthia Cannon-Zietlow

Brief message--we fear Fear. We hate Fear. We do not understand why we are so deathly afraid of Fear itself, but we are; hence, we fear its power.

After 55 years on the planet, Fear and I have a semi-functional relationship. Called Panic Disorder, Fear has been my Siamese twin. Because I had to, I learned to listen to and understand her, accepting her as part of myself. She told me I would never be good enough and took every single available opportunity to overwhelm me with mind-numbing panic that physically nauseated me--before a public speaking event, a math test, sometimes for reasons unknown. My error also was in believing her message was true; I withdrew into sports, books, poetry, music, nature, and art because in youth, there was no escaping her domain.

By age 21, I told her, "I have accepted you as Teacher.  You have shown me my weakness, awkwardness, ugliness, inadequacy, deficiency, stupidity. You have told me that I am good for nothing. I am aware that this is your truth. I accept that this must be your message.  Bound to you as I am, I nonetheless commend myself for hanging onto Life, because if I listened to you, then I would surely die. You are not Me."

For the first time, I was proud of myself. The truth of this resonated through me like sunlight, like Love.

Am I alone in being afraid of the power of Fear? No, as Americans, our greatest fear is being rejected, judged as unacceptable, or unwanted. Our second greatest fear is physical death. Our greatest enemy is Fear itself.

At various stages in my life I have had to face again the resurgence of Fear's power. Like me, she too has grown stronger with age. Yet now there is a way to reach out my hand, hold yours, and together we can stand tall in a way we never could before.... My life's battle with social anxiety has taught me that it is through caring for others more than myself that I can control and quieten Fear. My life's goal has been to learn to live compassionately with myself and my Panic Disorder, and therefore with others and their own weaknesses. The key is to learn to live peacefuly with ourselves and others.

With the help of the Internet and MPTC's Digital Marketing program, I will learn to use social media tools to connect with others. My objective, professionally, is to create relationships with a network of trusted friends and together share those companies, services, and organizations that do good in the world.

I want to do more to share this wealth--acceptance, kindness, honesty, diligence, and wisdom--beginning right here, right now.

Social Media Illusions

by Pam Stansbury

I love to paint. The style that I most enjoy comes from a French term, tromp l’oeil, (pronounced: trump ploy) which means to fool or trick the eye. This type of painting is so realistic, that for a moment, the viewer believes that what they see is actually there.

Because I have honed this craft, I am not afraid of it. I was afraid of working with social media.

Losing Control

With paint, I knew I had control over the shadows and highlights that were created by my brush. With the computer, even though I knew I could write based on my Public Relations background, I felt intimidated by the lack of control once the written word was blended into the mural of the Internet. If I could not hold the information in my hand, where was it? Who could access it? What could “they” do with it?

My limited knowledge in an ever-expanding techno world is the stick drawings of art. A few years ago, my son and I saw a sign in McDonald’s that said they now have Wi-Fi. I had heard of Wi-Fi but I had never seen it spelled out. I asked him if he had ever had their new “Wee Fee.” He responded that we should go through the drive thru and order it. At the last moment he said, “no Mom, don’t order it.” To this day they call me the Wee Fee Queen. 

Student of the Arts

I have no fear in creating art, just passion. My perspective has changed from fear and denial to faith and digitally painting a tweet, blog or Facebook page. Look out digital marketing world. The “Wee Fee Queen” has arrived. I am no longer satisfied with stick drawings when I am accustomed to living the extremely detailed trompe l’oeil  lifestyle.

MPTC, Digital Marketing Student gets Internship

By: April Neumann

Amber Infalt, student at MPTC, gives us the inside scoop!

Why did you choose digital marketing?

I didn't really think I would get this into the digital marketing side of things until my last semester in the marketing program when I took a class with Kory on analytics. It really interested me that it is such a personable and creative way to do marketing and you can see the response of what works and doesn't work. It is also such a huge growing area and if you want to go into marketing, at any type or size of business, you should expect to do digital marketing. Many of us grew up with the internet, and look at how it is shaping the way we all interact. I'm sure that we will only become more technology-driven, so there is always that security of the job as well.

How do you like your job at Northbrook Insurance Associates in Slinger, WI?  

I enjoy the freedoms they give me. They have a good deal of confidence in me and that allows me to suggest new things. I am able to look at all of the analytics of our website and Facebook pages in order to maximize the reach of posts. Also, I make a lot of the email templates for bulk email promotions that are sent out when we have something going on or have new leads that are potential clients.

Currently I am working on a promotion called Schoolkits for Kids. We started a referral program that I was a big part of promoting as well, so I am pretty involved in a lot of the new things happening at Northbrook. It is very cool that they are investing in me and I look forward to continuing with Northbrook after graduation.

How did MPTC help you get the internship?

I owe a lot to Kory for giving me the heads up that they were hiring and for talking to Ryan from Northbrook about me. I would also say that Robin had a lot to do with it as well. She may not have directly been involved in the process but she prepared me and pushed me to be such a great student and to be one of those "go do" people. I think Moraine Park does a great job getting students ready for the "working world," and I appreciate all of the help from Kory and Robin.

Social Media or Bust!

by Paul Barnes

Over 100 years ago, when the American frontier was still being settled, stories of people and regions booming and busting were the norm. Some made fortunes, some lost everything, but all had at least one thing in common:

A gunslinger's willingness for risk.

Then, the fortune-seeker's frontier was a huge expanse of land west of the Mississippi River -- the Wild, Wild West. Today, marketers have a new frontier: the unsettling world of social media.

Hold onto your hat, Partner, because this place is HUGE.

Just as railroads brought unprecedented numbers of people to the American West; computers, and more more recently smartphones and tablets, are bringing a planet of people to social media. Budget-toting digital marketing professionals can't be blamed for blasting ad dollars onto the internet.

Fire away they must.

Social media gobbles up some 10% of every advertising dollar spent and, according to BIA/Kelsey (an ad tracking firm in Chantilly, VA), its appetite won't be satisfied anytime soon. Projections are for this type of advertising to grow at a ridiculously rapid annual rate of 18.6% over the next four years.

So, what is a gunslinger to do?

A good start might be to consider a few things:

• Make sure your aim is straight
• Don't use all your ammunition in the first shoot-out
• Hit the biggest targets first

Among the most powerful social communities are FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Pintrest, Google+, LinkedIn, and readers of your own (yes, your own!) blog.

Use these social media platforms to inform, educate, and network with the people and/or businesses you are most likely to serve. "Show 'em what you got," and make it easy for them to connect with or -- better still -- order from you. Take the good ideas and best practices you see from others out there, and then adopt them to develop and improve your own.

And ride on ... the wild, wide world of social media awaits!