C.C. Chapman is a blogger, a podcaster on music and new media, and VP of New Marketing for crayon, that "new marketing" company presided over by Joseph Jaffe with offices in Second Life.
Given the increased demand for interactive marketing expertise and the accompanying talent shortage, I called C.C. to find out how he had carved out a niche for himself as a new media "go-to-guy."
Turns out he's got a killer combination of technical know-how - he started his career as an information systems consultant before teaching himself HTML, landing a job as a web-master, and eventually morphing into a digital marketing manager - and a palpable passion for new media.
"Passion" is frequently heralded as the key ingredient to professional and personal success, but if we are to learn from C.C.'s example, we will quickly learn that "passion" is not enough. C.C. distinguishes himself by being a rather hyperactive doer. He doesn't just enthuse about blogging - he's been blogging for 6 years. He doesn't just marvel at the potential of podcasting - he created a successful, syndicated podcast. He doesn't just think that Second Life is "neat" and "promising" - he actually meets clients there.
Long story short, if you want to create campaigns that integrate and rely on new media, you need to familiarize yourself with it in a hands-on fashion. You've got to get into the sandbox and play. Start a blog; produce a podcast; try out Twitter. As "new media" or interactive marketers, says C.C., "We've got to do what we're talking about; that's part of the fun."
OMG! We can have fun doing this? Yes, we can, as long as we take a page from the C.C. Chapman playbook and remember that the fun is IN the DOING.
Rock on, C.C.!
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