professional investigation

after reading Hey unemployed media professionals!, i am shocked that the author does not mention online identity.

my online identity is something i am constantly waffling about. my blog is a really important part of my self-expression and i often don't contemplate the content/message of a post before clicking "publish." there is occasionally questionable material and i will be reminded of this by emails from my father. most of what i write is not really worthy of being read by anyone, it's just catharsis for me. over the last year, i've started a few side-blogs, none of which made it past a few posts: holiday mantis, we hate you, i can't stop.

i think that if there is one thing standing in the way of me getting a totally killer job as a video producer for a local news organization (that would be the ideal position for me) after earning my MA in new media studies, that thing will probably be my online identity.

and this is where the struggle comes in: do i sacrifice self-expression in the name of finding a job? i don't think that is something i can justify. this is a murky area ridden with fine lines and slippery slopes. i suppose the job determines the amount of importance on online identity. but much like i think drug testing for jobs is silly, discounting me as a potential job candidate because i write a blog about synchronicity and am often saracastic is silly.

anyway, back to the blog post and things she actually did mention:

i think her 5 main points hold true. you gotta be in it to win it and you can't expect to win fame and fortune by maintaining a blog.

online media as a career field is still new. no one really knows any sure-fire secrets to securing a job. this isn't law school or med school. and i think that's part of what makes it so exciting. we can do whatever we want. we can create a new job that has never existed before to suit our desires. to me, that sounds much better than taking the bar exam.