The end is REALLY close.

I haven't even missed a full day yet, and I already miss my internship...

But it is my Birthday! Went to lunch with the family and now I'm spending the afternoon working on my presentation for later this week.

Now that the internship is officially finished (and they gave me a lovely send off), I have a trip back to Utah on Wednesday, presentation Thursday, defense meeting Thursday. That is all that stands in the way of being completely done!

Now I just need to see if I can get away with making people call me "Master Tyler."

Unlikely? We'll see.

NERD ALERT!!!

This week was the COOLEST!

Tuesday and Wednesday after work we got to observe some research Focus Groups. Patrons had been called based on previous ticket giveaways and asked to participate. We got some really good results with almost all 4 panels filled out completely. There was a range of types of people and obviously a range of opinions. It was super cool for several reasons:

1: We got to sit behind the two way mirror and observe the whole thing while criticizing and griping about people.

2: we got some really useful feedback on several items

-a mailing we were planning was less than helpful to the panels

-we're already training some bad behavior

-flashy colors are eye catching and without them people don't care.

-some graphics need re-working

-people don't read their mail.

3:I made a networking connection with the woman running the focus groups. She works for an Arts Consulting and Market Research company.

4: we learned several great lessons.

-Chinese food is not so great luke-warm

-fortune cookies don't hold actual fortunes anymore

-that mailing we were going to print on Thursday wouldn't have been effective

(STOP THE PRESSES)

-Always check the sound proofing on your observation room before leaping from your seat and yelling at the participants "Don't you read your F&@%ing mail!?)

All in all a wonderful experience. More on wrapping up the internship later.

I suck at Blogging.

So.

How's it going?

Ok well. I'm gonna give a quick re-cap of recent events.

Work is going amazingly well. I am loving this internship and my time there has been SO unbelievably worthwhile. I've only got two weeks left, which is a little sad. So I warned my co-workers today that I'll be leaving soon and if they need me to work on anything they better get it to me soon. A couple weeks ago we had our annual office rejuvination effort. The President has this pet project where every year in July everyone spends two work days cleaning out their offices, files, and generally tidying up the whole building. It sounded awful, but it's a really good idea. Especially when the follow through actually happens. Without that, the whole place would be so cluttered and unorganized I don't even want to think about it.

There is lots of craziness right now as the Tech and Ticket office people work on updating and interating both Patron's Edge and Raiser's Edge. These are our ticketing system and Development database system. They both are getting lots of new capabilities and are being integrated so that they cooperate better. It's a very good thing and will be helpful and amazing and exciting. But at the moment... it's just obnoxious and there's lots of stressing out about it.

In other news, I'm getting a little excited to head back to Utah! It's only for a few days and I'll get to hang with those people I miss like crazy. So I'm flying into SLC and driving down to Cedar City for a couple days. Then I'll spend the rest of the weekend in Salt Lake chillin and visiting.

Most importantly, I have several leads on jobs. Hopefully something will come through soon. Keep your fingers crossed!

Marketing Summit

Due to a board connection, we had a summit of marketing folks from 3M come to work this afternoon to talk with us about our e-marketing strategies. We looked over our website, email system, facebook, and twitter and got their input and discussed as we went.

Overall, VERY helpful. They had some resources which sound absolutely AMAZING. Some analytical applications and such which got us all completely nerding out. It was great. There were a few drawbacks.

First, it seems that we continually ran into the same profit V. nonprofit roadblock. Maybe it was only perceived but there seemed to be a certain amount of condescension from certain members of their group in particular. Now usually I can just let that go and still hear what the person is saying and take what is useful from that. But it was a little more difficult today for some reason.

Second, there seemed to be a lack of respect for our financial limitations. WE ARE NOT 3M!! We certainly don't have their marketing budget. While the suggestions they made were helpful, they didn't seem to understand that we can't just go right out and do that. We can work on a plan and integrate it maybe over the next few years, but it'll take some time. And even then, we need to have some confidence that these changes will indeed help us to increase revenue rather than just value to the customer. These in theory are linked but we need some seriously solid numbers in order to really be able to sell these things internally as a good investment. One suggestion was to have appropriate music play on our site for all visitors. That's a great idea! But for the approximate cost of $150 a month...not so much worth it. The shock and disgust on some faces that we thought this was a prohibitive amount was a little of-putting. Especially when there are other things to focus on as priorities.

Third, we need to prioritize. Yes I see the contradiction. (How can you not have music? ...but Prioritize!). This was in reference to Facebook and Twitter. They felt that we were jumping the gun and we needed to really prioritize and focus on improving our website. Now they didn't come out and tell us to ignore these other areas, but that seemed to be the implication. I could have gotten behind that about 4 months ago, before we had started using them. But now that we're into it and have people linked to us, we can't just ignore them till we're ready. We need to maintain at the current level while also building the base of our website content. It's definitely hard and maybe less than ideal, but I can't imagine trying to restart Facebook and twitter pages after leaving them dormant for a year or even just several months. Maybe in the for-profit world, you can focus on one thing at a time individually, but I think the strength of many non-profits is their ability to juggle things and keep it al going, mostly because we don't have the resources to hire the necessary number of people to do the jobs that need to be done.

So in conclusion. Non-profit work is way harder than people think. Go out today, find a non-profit you like (you probably know of several already) and make a donation, however large or small. You have NO idea how much it will be appreciated and how well it will be put to use.

Pride, retreat, and looking ahead.

Ok, I'm catching up here, but Twin Cities pride was last weekend.

It was overall a really fun time. I hung out with some old friends and met some new ones. Really a great time and so much more fun than Salt Lake Pride...I'm just sayin.

I hit up some parties did the festival loop, watched the parade. But something happened at the Block party that night. I really can't fully put it into words. I've tried. But I just felt happy.

The crowd was calm, everyone was just there to hang out and have fun and there was a feeling of respect in the group. I couldn't even tell you what was happening or who was on stage but there was a moment where everything just seemed right, and content, and so very much a part of a group. It's one of the few times I've felt that in my life and it always surprises me.

**EDIT: I can't believe I let myself be that schmaltzy. So here is my favorite story from pride. I was standing around a very crowded block party when this 20-something woman walks by and stops dead in her tracks. She stares at me for a bit til I started feeling a little nervous. Then she says: "You are to goddamn fucking cute! GOD! Why the hell is he gay!?" Just a bit of an ego boost there. But it was hilarious as well. I love it.**

Anyway, after that work was fun. I began the week with quite a sunburn from the whole day sunday outside. Things at work are going really well and I'm really enjoying it very much, while at the same time looking for a job for when my internship ends. It's a little odd. Thursday though, we had a department retreat at my boss' parents' house. We spent the day on the patio around and in the pool, with food and drinks and discussing some long term ideas, goals, and plans. I LOVE talking about that kind of thing so it was amazingly fun. It was really relaxing but also very productive I think. I have a lot of respect for my co-workers and this whole day was just a treat.

Now unfortunately I need to start thinking about my presentation and binder for the end of this whole Graduate degree thing. I'm almost done, but I keep forgeting that I have to go back to Utah and present everything there. I'm very excited by the opportunity to see some people there, but I would much rather just be working and doing this job which I'm enjoying so much without having to put together all these documented accomplishments and reflections. It feels so forced, but I just have to remember that I'm still technically in school and once I'm done that stuff will be lessened a bit.

Holy crap!

Has it ever been a busy week!

We had an event on Tuesday night which was really fun and had plenty of wine and appetizers. Lot's of interesting people and all around a good time. 

Wednesday was our commercial shoot. So basically I spent the day watching people in a fake shower. It was odd, fun, really interesting, and HILARIOUS! These people we recruited were all amazing and were such hams. The commercial will be amazing. Plus the guys at the production company are just amazing to work with. They're very fun, relaxed and have a great visual eye for what will work on film.

On the Way back to the cities I drove my co-worker Julie as well as an 80 year old woman who was in the commercial. She's the mother of our Production Director and an absolute HOOT. BUT> My left rear tire started disintegrating on I-94 about 20 minutes from downtown. So I pulled out the jack and the donut spare to change it, only the old tire was rusted on! Boo. A state trooper called a highway-helper who sledge-hammered it off, helped replace it and we were on our way (at no more than 50 mph). 

After that fiasco I showered and went to Acme Comedy Company to see Chris in the Funiest Person in the Twin Cities competition. He won that night! and the following acts (especially the headliner) were hilarious. Well done. Finally after a very long day I drove home to Red Wing going under 50 mph because of the donut tire. What normally takes just over an hour was 2 hours. Suck.

Then today at work was the Board of Directors Annual meeting. I didn't have to do anything for this, but there was just a sense of tension, anxiety and ceremony in the air. It all went well from what I heard and development was able to bring in a good chunk of the amount we're short for the fiscal year end which is rapidly approaching (June 30).

So it's been hectic and crazy but I'm loving it. Everyone here cares so much and likes their job and wants to do the best they can. They also appreciate everyone's work so much. Maybe I still have some rose-colored glasses, but it seems that there is a genuine respect and validation in the day-to-day interactions here. Plus they know how, and when to have fun while recognizing that things don't need to be serious every minute of every day.

So with all that behind me I'm taking some time this weekend to relax and enjoy life. Maybe some parties, maybe just some staying in Red Wing for relaxation, movies, and biking. We shall see...

Three Weeks In

I now feel, after three weeks, that I'm fully integrated to my work situation. I may not know all the details of everything yet, but I've gotten into the swing of it all. This place seems much more fast paced than I'm used to. And that's even in the off season now. It makes me curious what the production season is like. 

 While I'm working on a bigger project regarding social media initiatives and writing a formal plan for the organization, it seems like there's always something new coming across my desk. I'm stuffing, sealing, labeling, and mailing various things for different reasons, as well as near constant amounts of proofing at times. And while those sometimes feel menial and less significant I know they're really important and helpful, and they certainly NEED to be done. But I'm also connecting with various people inside and outside the organization. I've met with the board for the young professionals group. I'm writing a budget proposal for some of their advertising. I'm researching approaches to online marketing. Finally, I feel like I'm bringing a new set of lenses to this operation. 

So many of my coworkers have been there for a while, and they know how things work. It seems like every single day I have at least two moments where some alternate way of doing something crosses my mind. These ideas usually come from work experience at USF or St. Olaf, or often from classwork. I don't necessarily voice all of these ideas, but often times I think they are helpful so I try to mention them either in that moment, or later in a one-on-one setting. It's sometimes hard to tell if these are appreciated, but in some respects I don't really care. I think it's good to hear different ideas or approaches even if they're not utilized. 

So all in all I'm just really glad that I've got a internship where I feel like I can make a contribution. And that's all the rambling for today.