an internship with perks - shocking enough

Today was really quite fun. At least, it was different than my usual day sitting behind a computer mentally banging my head against the wall because the internet is horrible. Today I got to make like I was a real photographer, photographing an ACTUAL photographer. Exciting, yes?

Lorna Simpson came to the KIA today, to take a tour of our galleries and decide where and how she wanted to set up her own exhibit that's coming here in May. Her photography quite interesting and thought-provoking, so this opportunity was quite exciting. My job was to take candid photos of Ms. Simpson during her visit. It was fun, for starters becaues I love taking pictures. I would never claim to have any professional experience or training with a camera, but I like to think I take a bit more care than the amateur with my shots. I also got to meet Ms. Simpson, who was lovely.

With my candid shots, I try to stay out of the way as much as possible. When you're actually trying to do work, having a camera up close and in your face can be ridiculously distracting and obnoxious. I try to keep this in mind.

So that was my entire day today. Such a nice change!

the end that has just barely begun

So the three of us (Paul, Gabi, and I) had our semi-standard Friday meeting last week, and the general consensus seemed to be that our project is nearly finished. At least for this semester. The Wikipedia has been set up, the Myspace is finished. Flickr and Youtube are still being investigated, of course, but the main body of the social-media marketing scheme is done.

"Done" is a rather loose term for this kind of work, though. Characteristic of the internet itself, viral marketing is always changing. A social website like Myspace can be the height of chic popularity one day, and ridiculously out of date and uncool the next. Then some other linking site will crop up, and everyone will join it, and the cycle continues. That's exactly what happened with Facebook a few years ago - an independently-run site that came out of nowhere is now the social norm for college students (and other groups) to meet people. With that in mind, this project will run on in the (hopefully) years to come, with new interns taking over where we leave off and maintaining the sites Gabi and I have created.

As for the outside projects I've been working on, I'm still doing my usual photography for events the KIA puts on. For instance, just this past weekend I went to the museum to photograph the young artists' exhibit/reception we just recently installed. Lots of adorable little kids were running around excited pointing out their artwork to their parents, it was great. I got lots of photos that look like this one. I'm also now investigating Flickr and seeing how/if that will benefit us greatly in our marketing, and if it's worth the effort to set up an account.

I should also add that the reason for lack of Gabi-posts is that Blogger is apparently being mean to her and won't let her log in. So I have re-invited her again, and we'll see if this can get her back on board. She's only had one post! And I feel like I'm jabbering! Hopefully this blog can actually become TWO-user friendly instead of just one.

I need to get back to work now, even though that's difficult what with the little kid that has entered the library and is deciding to scream at the top of his lungs. Oh well. Til later!

-Laura

Wikipedia!

Look at what I did. I'm proud.

It's our very own Wikipedia page!

I'm pretty excited about this, mostly because I managed to figure out Wikipedia's formatting system (it's like HTML, but just different enough to be confusing). It looks like all the other Wikipedia pages I've seen. It's small as of right now, but the main interest here concerns all the hyper-links I've inserted in the text. It's the main use of Wikipedia: each article can be linked to any other articles remoted mentioned.

Again, this might just be the basic groundwork of what this page might become in the future. I'll leave it to the incoming interns where they want to take it, but as of right now I'm calling this project FINISHED.

working out some glitches, ie. I hate technology

Another few weeks of the internship has gone by. Progress has, in my opinion, been on and off due to the lovely infallibilities of technology. In essence, I hate the internet and everything to do with it because it never works when I ever need it to. But we persevere! And work has been done. Yay.

I started on the KIA's new-fangled Wikipedia page. So far, if you were to search "Kalamazoo Institute of Arts" at Wiki, there'd be a text-only profile. That is definitely better than nothing, and at least we now have a presence there. It is just one of Wiki's ridiculously comprehensive breadth of articles, but as I figure out how to resize pictures (and make them look good at the same time) and start hyper-linking, traffic/searchability should increase. One of the photos there so far is this one of our downstairs gallery.

The hyper-linking is especially crucial on the site. If a reader is browsing an article containing any shared key words, that word would be hyper-linked to our site. I even know some people (definitely not anyone I know personally like my friends or myself or anything silly like that...) that make a game out of starting on one Wikipedia article and clicking hyperlinks to see where they end up. It's a very interesting feature of Wiki that we could definitely use to our advantage to create traffic and buzz about the KIA and its exhibits.

This blog should also undergo some changes as well. The computer in the volunteer room is fixed and new, however many internet plug-ins aren't available yet. So I haven't been able to do much with it as of now. However, it's my spring break! And I'm in California, thank goodness, where the sunny weather and palm trees are putting me in a good mood to be productive. I have my laptop here with me, so I'm going to keep on working on the Wiki, as well as this blog and continuing my work updating the various tourist sites the KIA profiles.

The internet is a crazy, ever-warping place...which is part of what makes this internin' project so nifty. As much work as Gabi and I get done this semester implementing our plans, the project will never be truly finished. We'll pass off our various passwords and usernames and methods to the next batch of interns, who will (hopefully) continue to maintain these sites as a newly-integral part of the KIA's PR and marketing scheme.

In any case, there's always something new to get done. It's a good thing. Well, I'm off to go revel in weather that is actually above sub-zero (and then some). I know Gabi hasn't been able to post on here due to some...technology issues, but I'm going to see if I can work those out and get her back on board here. We'll see how it all goes!

-Laura

productivity, here I come

Hiatus, what? Well, it wasn't by any choice - this has been an odd week, for sure. I wasn't able to come in Monday due to the heinous weather (even WMU was closed!), then Wednesday the computer in the volunteer room ie. the intern office was broken, and Friday was our weekly "what have we accomplished lately?" meeting.

So I haven't gotten tons done. But today, that's all about to change. Hopefully. Mostly, I can't get over the fact that this internship involves blogging, googling, and being on Myspace. That is what I do with all my time anyway. This is so much better than homework.

I'm typing up this entry from the lovely and warm lobby of the Kalamazoo Public Library, looking out the window at the continuing heinous weather. Since the computer is still broken and the KIA itself isn't wireless, I trudged the miles (or block and a half) to the library to utilize their services. Hooray for the internet!

The viral marketing plan is excitingly underway. This blog is one major aspect of it, as is the Myspace profile and Facebook group Gabi set up; more info to come as those get a bit more developed and set up, but if you're on either of those sites, please give us a google and join up!

Today I've been working mostly on some individual projects that Paul gave us - checking out various travel/tourist websites for Michigan and seeing what good things they have to say about the good ol' KIA. Sites like the Arts Council of Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce, Michigan.org, etc, are all really easy ways for someone not too familiar with the area to see what on earth there is to DO around here, and the KIA should definitely be on that list. Some sites have a better profile than others - Michigan.org, for example, has a nice picture of the museum and an event calender, while the Visitors Bureau had us listed as an advertiser only and not even under the Arts&Entertainment page. Updating many of these profiles and making them all somewhat cohesive would be a great move for the KIA and its online marketing.

That's about all for now. Like I said, Gabi's set up a Myspace (which is a BIG check off our list) and I'm sure she'll let you know more about that as it gets developed. My googling and whatnot is going to continue this morning and this week, and seeing what comes up on my radar.
Ciao for now. (I rhyme! How's that for a creative writing major, eh?)
-Laura

PS- as soon as the computer gets unbroken, there will be pictures here. Next level, I'm telling you.

My First Post!

Hello! I'm so excited to be writing my very first post chronicling my internship at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. This is my second internship during my college career and I'm looking forward to learning and continuing to study the world of public relations.

Previously, I was a public relation intern at a student-run radio station here on Western Michigan's campus. I'm definitly bringing the skills I learned there to my new position at the KIA. Although both organizations are non-profit, I think I've enter a whole new world of PR.

I'm hoping to chronical the progress that Laura and I make over the course of the semester and hopefully look back with great pride and the feeling of accomplishment. This week I've been sending out mail pieces to promote the different events we have scheduled this year. My mission for the rest of the week is to begin the 'viral marketing' campaign that Paul S. wants us to focus on. This week I hope to launch our MySpace page and a Facebook club.

I'm excited to start these projects, and even more excited to report back next week with my progress!

Until then-

Gabrielle

I like to thank Laura for setting up this awesome blog and welcoming me to the world of blogging!!! Thanks Laura!!

first post

So, this is the first post of our internship blog! Until Gabi gets set up here, I don't want to go into too much detail and/or hog posting priveleges, so this should be relatively short. Think of this more as a test post, so in the future I can be sure that I'm correctly typing up blog posts and not contributing to the downfall of society or anything like that. Think of it like that, and be excited about the sweet things to come in the future.

Essentially, this is (as the lovely sidebar succinctly notes) an account of my (that's me, Laura C.) and Gabi's respective internships at the Kalamazoo Institute for Arts this spring. The Institute is both an art museum and art school, though we'll be working more closely with the former. Specifically, we are interns under Paul S., who heads the marketing and public relations department of the museum. We are working on a project to set up a viral/social-media (ie. internet-based) marketing plan for the museum and for exhibits it brings in.

I'm thinking we will update once a week or so, both Gabi and I, giving different view points of the experience given our different backgrounds. Gabi is a senior at Western Michigan University and a public relations major, while I am but a freshman and (currently) double majoring in creative writing and journalism. Hopefully you, lovely readers, will flock in great quantities to this blog and read our excellent adventures, trials, tribulations, and all that jazz.

That's probably as much of a summary as anyone has patience for, so I'll cease for the time being. Once Gabi gets set up here, the posting shall begin, and life shall be wonderful. Until then, ciao (I will also think of an appropriate sign-off at some point, I'm sure.)

-Laura C.