Writing for New Media

My freshman year at Elizabethtown College, I never thought that I would be writing a blog post to officially close my college career, but now here I am, 4 years later.  Everyone told me when I was starting school to “Make the most of your 4 years in college, they go by so fast!”  As a freshman, I thought this statement was farfetched to say the least.  Now however, I realize just how true that statement was.  Here I sit, with the past 4 years in my rear view and graduation just a short week away…  Anyway, enough reminiscing.

This semester, I have a lot of fun in #etown315, and I’ve learned a few things too.  During the course of this semester, I have completely redesigned my website (which I am currently working on redesigning again…), launched a successful viral marketing campaign, learned a lot about using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as both fun social networking tools as well as potential ways to capture that illusive “real world” job.  I am eager to use the skills that I have learned and expanded upon in #etown315 to assist in building my portfolio and hopefully finding me a job shortly!

The major project of this class was working on creating a personal website and online portfolio.  While I did have an existing website, I was not happy with the layout or design of the site, and thought that overall it was extremely bland.  My current site is created on a Wordpress back-end, with a standard template with custom CSS edits that I performed to get it to look just the way I wanted.  As of right now (1:56am on May 14th), I am exploring the idea of changing themes to something more customizable.  In order to do that I just now switched from a site hosted by Wordpress to a Wordpress based site hosted by another provider.  This switch of hosting providers will allow me the flexibility to add custom themes and plugins for the site, in order to make it exactly what I want.  Look for the new(er) website to be complete in a few days.  For now, however, I am extremely happy with the way that the site currently looks.

My favorite assignment this semester was to create a viral marketing campaign for whatever we wanted.  I decided to use my current job at the Inc. Village of Port Jefferson as a spring board for my assignment.  By using the Village’s Facebook and Twitter pages, I encouraged people to visit Port Jefferson and snap photos of their family and friends and post the photos on our Facebook page.  Promotions for this “event” were done strictly sing Facebook and Twitter.  Overall, we received over 30 submissions.  Going into this project, I had no idea what to expect, and would have been happy with 10 responses.  Our initial post on Twitter was retweeted 12 times by both Port Jefferson residents and visitors!

So as the semester, and college as a whole, draws to an end, I am grateful for the education that I have gained from Elizabethtown College’s Department of Communications.  I was very excited to take Writing for New Media because it displays the fact that the department is moving in the direction of the future.  I hope that the department will continue in this direction in the future to serve the needs of the underclassmen and incoming first year students.

For my Viral Marketing campaign, I decided to use my job at the Village of Port Jefferson to create a viral campaign.  Through our Facebook Page, Twitter Account and Website, we advertised that visitors could “Become a Part of Port Jefferson Internet History” by visiting Port Jefferson between April 13 and April 18 and take photos of their families and friends downtown, and posting these photos on our Facebook Page.  I wasn’t sure how many entries to expect, because of the last minute aspect of the event.  I was hoping for a minimum of 10 entries.

I was very surprised with the publicity that we received through Social Media for this campaign.  Our initial post on Twitter was retweeted 15 times, and then other people posted about the campaign in their own words at least 10 other times.  At the end of the timeframe for the project, we received 30 entries.  Even more impressive was the 150 additional “Likes” that we received on our Facebook Page.  Now these 150 new people will be able to stay up to date with what is going on in Port Jefferson.  All in all, I think that this campaign was very successful, much more successful than I had originally planned on.

My site: www.stephenjuliano.com

At this point, my site is more or less completed.  For my site, I am using WordPress, with a blog hosted directly on wordpress.com.  In order to have my URL, stephenjuliano.com point to the site, I had to purchase the URL upgrade from WordPress.  This upgrade allowed me to move the site from my old, outdated page to my new, fresh WordPress site.

The site contains my professional résumé in both an on screen viewable and PDF version, as well as information about me, samples of the video design work that I have completed during my college career, contact information and links to the social networking sites I am active on, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

The homepage of my website contains recent updates, and new projects that I have completed.  Every time I create a new project or update a page, I will post the information as a post on the homepage as well as on the physical page where it belongs.  The sidebar for my website contains an additional navigation element as well as my most recent tweet.

When deciding what to include on my “Online Portfolio” page, I decided to include video projects dating all the way back to Freshman year, in order to show how I have grown during my past 4 years at etown.  Visitors who follow the link to my YouTube page will find even more videos uploaded to my account there.

In addition to working on my personal website, over winter break I was also responsible for designing and rolling out a new WordPress based website for my job at home for the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson.  I was responsible for the design, layout and many updates on the site.  We have opened the platform to several other users to post departmental updates for the Recreation Department, Building Department and the Highway Department of the Village.

I am also in charge of managing the Village’ presence on Facebook and Twitter.  I have setup a twitterfeed to automatically update both Facebook and Twitter with new posts directly from the WordPress RSS feed every 30 minutes.  This feature allows visitors and residents to post comments and receive answers to their questions from the Village in true Web 2.0 fashion.

Upon the initial launch of the Village’s Facebook page, we saw an amazing number of new “Fans” to the page.  Since then, the number has continued to increase weekly, however not as steeply as the initial climb.  The Mayor and Board of Trustees are embracing this resource and appreciating the feedback that is originating from it.  The Village does reserve the right to moderate any inappropriate comments, and we have done so on occasion.

No, this title is not meant to be an allusion to Valentine’s Day in any way (I mean, it’s a fake holiday to begin with, moving on.)  Instead, it is a motto that I believe in.  Like most other people, when I first created my Twitter account, I had NO CLUE how it worked.  I had heard a few people talking here and there about Twitter, so I decided to create an account.  My first tweet ever? “Checking out Twitter…” on March 16, 2009.  I then quickly learned the purpose of the @ tweets to communicate directly with others.

After selecting an initial list of followers, I began tweeting about everything.  I went on Twoverload.  I began tweeting @ certain celebrities and bands, and following everyone in sight.  I signed up for text updates from my closest friends, so I would always be in the know.

My favorite thing about Twitter?  Well, let’s start with a story shall we?  Over the summer of 2009, I had purchased tickets for me and my friend @KrisToffales to see @TheFray in concert at @Jones_Beach.  Being an avid fan of The Fray, I began tweeting about my concert tickets and how excited I was about the show.  One day, I got an IM from my now friend @trevordurham.  I had no clue who this guy was at first, but he told me that he was a manager for The Fray.  After checking out the links on his Twitter page, I decided that he was legit, and we began to talk.  He told me all about the band, how the guys were in real life, what they did when they were on tour, everything.  He then told me that if I could get pictures of some of my friends holding their concert tickets that he might be able to “hook me up” with something special.  I sent him my cell number and off we went to the concert.

Sitting at the concert, I was beginning to think that I wasn’t going to hear from him.  I mean, he’s a manager for this band, I’m sure he has bigger things to do than text little old me.  But, low and behold, a text did come.  “Meet me at the backstage door stage right in 5.”  We get up to leave, and as I’m walking down by the backstage door, I got a text from a friend who sent me a picture with her tickets and saw me walking down!  This was really working!

After waiting at the door for a minute, Trevor came out!  He gave me and Kristen upgraded seats (3rd row, center) and backstage passes!  We got to go backstage as @JacksMannequinn was on stage, got the meet the guys in both bands and had an awesome time!  We then took our newly upgraded amazing seats and enjoyed one of the best live performances I have ever seen.

The next day, The Fray was performing on the Today Show, and Trevor hooked me up with VIP passes to that too!

After this experience, I have used Twitter almost daily.  I went through a period of time when I was literally too busy to tweet, but I got through it and now I’m back at it!

The moral of the story?  Tweet you heart out!  Tweet to celebrities, Tweet to bands, Tweet to people you don’t know but want to, Tweet to anything and anyone.  You just never know what might come of it! I think Twitter has quickly become an extremely useful resource for communicating quickly with people who you may have never had a chance to talk to before. Ok, enough talking, time to tweet.

Yours in the Twitterverse,
@StephenJuliano

Stephen Juliano is a senior communications major, with a mass communications concentration, at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA. He is very passionate about television production, and can often be seen carrying a camera and tripod across campus. When Stephen graduates in May of 2010, he hopes to continue his experience in TV by working as a Director or Producer for a television station on Long Island or in the New York City area.

Stephen currently works as the Productions Director at ECTV-40.  He assists in all technical aspects of the station, in addition to directing all in-studio productions. He also assists WWEC 88.3 in solving technical problems with their transmitter and exciter .  In the fall semester of 2009, he worked as a television production intern at WITF-TV in Harrisburg.  There, he gained valuable experience in both TV production and in working as a team toward a common goal.  He has worked for the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson in various aspects, currently as their Network & Systems Specialist, since he was 15.  He has been a member of The Society of Collegiate Journalists since his Sophomore year. As the recipient of the Port Times Record’s Volunteer of the Year Award in 2006, Stephen is dedicated to community service and since attending Elizabethtown College has gone out of his way to serve both the college community and the local area. He is always willing to help other students with projects or class work.

Port Jefferson, NY has been Stephen’s hometown since 7th grade. He lives with his parents, Kelly and Bob, and his younger sister, Victoria.  He and his family enjoy rescuing Greyhounds. They currently have two, Pinky (Racing Name: Pink Dogwood) and Pearly (Racing Name: Pearly Gates).  Stephen hopes to continue living in Port Jefferson, so that he can eventually become Mayor.

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Stephen Juliano is a senior communications major, concentrating in Mass Communications, at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA.  He works as the Productions Director for ECTV-40 and directs all in-studio productions.  Stephen hopes that upon graduating in May of 2010, he will be able to continue his passion for broadcasting by working as a director at a television station on Long Island or New York City.  When not in school, Stephen is currently employed by the Village of Port Jefferson as their Network & Systems Specialist.

My home town of Port Jefferson is located on Long Island, New York.  Although it is a small village, with a population of around 8,000, it has all the amenities of a large town.  Port Jefferson is home to two hospitals, Mather Hospital and St. Charles Hospital, two beaches, creatively named East Beach and West Beach, and two main transportation hubs, The Long Island Rail Road and the Port Jefferson Ferry Company, with service to Bridgeport, CT.

Port Jefferson’s economy is bustling during the summer months.  Driven greatly by tourism, Main Street is transformed from boring State Road 25-A to a bustling tourist destination.  With local shops, restauraunts and bars appealing to all ages, Port Jefferson is a place for everyone.

The newly renovated Port Jefferson Village Center is now the Village’s prized possession.  Originally a World War I shipyard building, the center now serves as a visitor’s center and the home of the Village’s Recreation Department.  Including rooms available for rent for private parties and business meetings, rotating photo exhibits on the 2nd floor gallery, and a seasonal outdoor ice skating rink, the Village Center features something to offer both visitors and residents all year long.

Port Jefferson is a beautiful village that I have lived in since I was 10.  I have worked for the local government since I was 16.  Starting at the Port Jefferson Country Club and then working my way up to the Village Center and then eventually to Village Hall, where I now work under the direction of the Mayor.  I look forward to being the Mayor of Port Jefferson myself one day!