NextMontreal: What’s a “day in the life” like for
Aimee Davison?
Aimee: Lately, my life is a lot more work than leisure. I wake up around 8 a.m. to get my son to school and then I work on my many concurrent projects, sometimes from home, sometimes at cafes, sometimes with clients. I pick up my son by 6 p.m., make dinner, spend time with him, and then return to the computer to read, research, apply, pitch, tweet and blog. Interacting with the Internet and creating content constitutes a large part of my day. Lately, I miss free time, modelling, performing and socializing with friends.
NextMontreal: How did you get into social media?
Aimee: I arrived reluctantly and accidentally. I created my first Twitter account in 2008 to promote my web series
Fashion Ambush, and was irritated by the responsibility at first. I didn’t realize yet that Twitter is a powerful tool and that I had to get past the initial grind of building an account; my experience was identical with Facebook. It wasn’t until I launched
OneHundredJobs.ca and personally invested myself into social networks, began reading articles voraciously and attending networking events that I began to gain experience and influence.
Also, social media personalities and their businesses were the first to accept and promote my project; Mile End Media was my first client. I believe the social media crowd intuitively understood what I going to accomplish by launching a unique self-publishing, experiential, and networking feat.
I met many social media stars by accident; I met Tara Hunt at a poorly attended karaoke event where we were the only ones to show up for the first two hours; I met Jimmy Wales while going down the escalator at Webcom; I met Kyle MacDonald because I applied to be on a YouTube chat show “The Blue and White Garage” and purely by coincidence, I was supposed to appear on the cover of Trust Agents, by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, but the publisher went with another cover.
NextMontreal: What do you think of the term “social media expert”?
Aimee: I think the term has accidental baggage created by spammers and self-aggrandizing blowhards who sell empty advice. A better term would be “social media professional”. So many talents need to be in perfect harmony in order to be an effective social media professional; you need to master multiple platforms and adopt new ones as they emerge, know how to build and manage social relationships, stay current with what’s popular on the web and in technology, have oodles of creativity and marketing savvy, possess the ability to understand your client’s needs and be able deliver advice and strategies with quantifiable results.
NextMontreal: What’s the idea behind One Hundred Jobs? Why start it? And how is it going so far?
Aimee: After not being able to turn a profit on
Fashion Ambush, I wanted tocreate a low budget, multi-platform web content vehicle where the monetization of the series was built into the concept. When I launched the project in September 2009, I was barely making ends meet with the occasional acting and modelling contract and was working part time as a cleaning lady. I knew that I needed to digitally empower myself and create an inspiring project that could promote all of my creative talents while entertaining and educating an audience.
One Hundred Jobs has vastly exceeded my expectations; I have completed 82 jobs across multiple disciplines, been featured in traditional media, improved my hosting, producing and video editing skills, made new professional contacts and friends and recently had the luxury of raising my rates far above my initial $100 minimum. One Hundred Jobs has enabled me to master social media in its current form, create a name for myself in social media and technology, and I feel so much more self-actualized and professionally accomplished than at the outset of the project. It’s been hard work but immensely rewarding.
NextMontreal: What’s been your favourite job? Worse job?
Aimee: I loved my collaboration with
Edelman Digital and their Levi’s
Shape What’s to Come campaign. I met 8 amazing adopted girls and tasted the luxuries of a sizable production budget. My worst job, and all jobs that deserve the title of “crap job”, were the ones where my employer had no respect for me or my services and wanted everything for nothing. I don’t mesh well with improper treatment!
NextMontreal: On Twitter, you’re “onehundredjobs” as opposed to “aimeedavison” – why go with the temporary brand vs. the permanent one?
Aimee: When I created the OneHundredJobs Twitter account, I didn’t immediately realize the value in promoting my own name. Now, I own Aimee_Davison, but I think the community on Twitter is bright enough to know who I am, my talents and what I represent, regardless of my name. Missrogue is a perfect example of the personal brand and name not being identical, but the perception of value remaining the same!
NextMontreal: What project (your own or for a customer) are you most proud of? Why?
Aimee: I love all of my projects for so many different reasons, so it’s very hard to choose. It’s obvious that I am definitely proud of One Hundred Jobs, but
YellowpageMountain.com was another social media victory of 2010. I managed to prove a case for the efficacy of Internet activism, make page 2 of the
Globe and Mail with an environmental stunt that went viral on YouTube, generate publicity for an environmental issue I believe in, make #yellowpagemountain a trending topic in Montreal on Twitter and, most importantly, raise awareness on how to
opt-out of the Yellow Pages. I also discovered valuable lessons about the hegemony of the Internet; I believe many adults who staunchly defend the Yellow Pages are not angered by the potential loss of a paper copy of the directory, but are crippled by their ignorance to and fear of computers and the Internet.
NextMontreal: With a 10-year old son, what are your thoughts about how digitally connected our children will be? Good thing? Bad thing? Does he have a Twitter account? FB account? Blog?
Aimee: Our children will not consider themselves to be digitally connected; technology will be seamlessly integrated into their existence. I consider our technological advancement neither good nor bad, but an inevitability with benefits and drawbacks. I believe social media is a social reality, so I educated my son in computer skills early on. I feel all parents should do the same.
Max is 10 years old and he has a blog he has never posted to, a Twitter account he barely uses, a
YouTube channel with an Epic Meal Time parody video produced that has 51 000 views (near viral!), and a Facebook account I set up. I make sure I have all of his passwords to keep tabs on his development and keep him moderated and safe.
NextMontreal: Who do you think is currently doing a great job at running an Internet project of EPIC proportions? (as per your
Ignite presentation)
Aimee:
EpicMealTime.com, from Montreal, has been a massive, epic success. In six months they have amassed 32 million upload views, tens of thousands of Facebook and Twitter fans, numerous lucrative sponsorships, sold branded merchandise, received massive coverage in the United States and landed a television show. That’s epic and that’s the kind of success I aspire to.
NextMontreal: What blog do you read regularly that would surprise people In what little spare time you must have … what do you do?
Aimee: What blog I read that would surprise people depends on people’s perception of me! Ha! Daily, I read
Salon.com (Francis Lam and Cary Tennis are amazing writers),
Jezebel.com (though it is starting to feel juvenile to me lately), and
TheSuperficial.com (funny, brainless and refreshing).
In my spare time, I drink wine and primp. That’s all I have time for, lately.
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