Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
I recently spoke at a journalism class at my alma mater about how I’ve used my journalism degree to make my living as a non-journalist.
I put a lot of thought into how this blog has helped me get paid freelance gigs and how my efforts to work for free on certain projects have paved the way for paid jobs. So, what seemed like the most helpful thing was working through the process in which content is made and gets seen… here’s what I gave them:
So my friends, what else do you do to use your blog to help your career?
Chip Chick just announced their Top 13 Women in Tech in 2010 and we found some new women to admire from skimming the list. One of those women is Alicia Navarro.
Affiliate linking became a huge phenomenon in the web marketplace in 2010 and Navarro has truly capitalized on that momentum and even improved on the technology that makes it possible. Her site, skimlinks, makes it possible for online content creators to earn revenues when they link to other locations on the web and serve as a “referrer” when a user makes a purchase. It’s not a new concept, but the technology that has made this possible in the past has often been too cumbersome for smaller organizations to actually capitalize on this technology.
In a nutshell:
Alicia’s vision for Skimlinks is to see online publishers rewarded for the role they play in informing purchase decisions, by removing the technical and administrative complexities that hamper would-be affiliates. This, she believes, will help evolve affiliate marketing into a mainstream ubiquitous revenue model.
The development is nothing to scoff at. Site editors can focus on content and quit worrying about technical decisions and lost revenue. By focusing on the moderately-tech-savvy sector of the online population (that can oftentimes be ignored by the highly tech-savvy world of developers), Navarro has created something that not only has the potential to make money and be self-sustained, but she’s also has limitless potential for growth.
The tech media has taken notice too. Navarro’s site has earned accolades from New Media Age, the A4U Awards and more. We’d bet that there will be many more accolades coming for her and skimlinks in the near future. With that in mind, Alicia Navarro is our Lady Geek of the Week.
My awesome post about YouTube is lost in the queue ether as a result of Tumblr’s database issues. I forgive them - though I have to admit that I was really proud of my post - so here is try number 2.
“the court has decided that YouTube is protected by the safe harbor of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against claims of copyright infringement. The decision follows established judicial consensus that online services like YouTube are protected when they work cooperatively with copyright holders to help them manage their rights online.”
Viacom is an even bigger loser than they think. If the internet is a content democracy, then YouTube is the president. Their approach to copyright law is smart, insightful and representative of what internet consumers across the globe want: free entertainment.
The leading argument from Viacom and other content-protective sorts is that YouTube allows for people to “steal” copyrighted material. The thing is: users don’t gain much by “stealing” your copyrighted content. More often than not, users truly gain from YouTube’s ability to weed out what is a copyright infringement and what isn’t when the artistic, fun, creative and flat out hilarious parts of life are captured on film. Take for example, “Single Ladies Baby.” Should that baby be subjected to copyright infringement because it’s not fair use of Sony BMG’s property? Should he pay use fees for all those plays?
The resounding answer: NO. What Viacom and others fail to realize when they examine these situations with any amount of insight is that users aren’t the only ones that lose access. Viacom loses access. Access to the people that want to consume their content. Consumers that probably want to buy their products. Viewers who might just make a creative remake of the original and give you additional exposure in social media. Users who likely will share the content, giving you new engagement with your content. The list goes on and on.
Viacom is now stating that they plan to appeal the case. Instead of spending more money, why don’t they open their eyes to reality: they’re missing a huge market. Your creative content is worth something, I get it. But that’s why people want to see it.
I’ll leave you with the “Single Ladies Baby.” First, because he is just so damn cute. But also because, you know Beyonce sold a lot more singles as a result. Remember, the users aren’t the only ones that win.
