The rookie’s got to play to become a pro

I finally joined the blogosphere. Well, technically I’ve been here before but that was back before the term was even coined. The Internet was a bit less mature back then, and so was I. But it was good to get my feet wet, and I have no regrets.

Anyway, I intend to use this as a sort of professional diary to chronicle my career and track the growth of my knowledge. Many people in my life have instilled the concept of being a lifetime learner in me, so here that is on display for the world to see. I intend to talk about things that I am trying to understand in the ever-changing world of media and will occasionally comment on news items as I see fit.

I also see this as a way to set goals for myself and track my progress in achieving them.

The first pin to knock down is getting myself up to speed with the latest in web design. I don’t even know where to begin. There’s just so much to learn, and none of it simple. CSS, XML, RSS, PHP, ASP… sure I know what some of those things mean, but working with them is another story entirely.

I’ve made websites before, but they were simple HTML creations made in WYSIWYG programs like Dreamweaver. The last thing I put together was www.emersonhockey.com for my college’s club hockey team (I was a right wing bruiser) and I still think it’s a nicely laid out site, but it could be richer and more tech-savvy. More web 2.0, I suppose you could say.

It’s my goal this summer to create a site that showcases my talents in video and graphic design. I want it to tell prospective employers who I am and what I’m capable of. Embedding this blog into the main page will be my first step. I think I’ll base my design around it.

After I have a good layout, I’m going to figure out how to get all my video stuff up. I don’t want to just link it from YouTube. To me, that’s the easy way out. It helps that I’m currently working for an Internet video site (www.how2heroes.com – check it out!) but I don’t expect to glean an understanding of flash video through osmosis. It’s going to take some reading and asking questions.

So that’s where I’m at right now. I’ve had some experience under my belt, working here, interning at WCVB’s Chronicle and studying at Emerson for the past four years (thanks Mom, Dad and Pop!) but this was all just initial training. Just as in sports, you can learn all the fundamentals and skills, but the scouts are only going to take notice if you are adroit in employing them. As a rookie in this field, the only way I can become a pro is to train and keep getting better.

I’ll leave this today with a great quote from Muhammad Ali that inspires me and I’ll be repeating as a mantra while trying to learn all this technical stuff that can sometimes be overwhelming and mind-boggling:

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ”Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”