A shiny new job title

This month I read eagerly as the writers of two blogs I follow (Dave Knox of Hard Knox Life and David Griner of The Social Path) showed off their shiny new social media job titles. I yearned for the day I could make such an announcement myself, just waiting for the right time..

and so it is.

I am honoured and excited to announce that next week I will be joining Worldways Social Marketing as their Director of Social Media and Interactive Technology. According to their about page,

Social marketing is helping socially responsible organizations imagine their futures; create new programs and products; and connect with the people that need them. Social marketing is the use of traditional and emerging marketing techniques to bring about changes in policy, practice and behavior that improve the well-being of people and communities.

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve always loved technology for how it could be used to foster community and communication. Indeed, back in 2000 I worked as webmaster for youthone.com, a government-sponsored initiative targeted at local youth.

The idea is to strengthen and build a youth community so that young people can pursue their dreams and ambitions without being restricted by social barriers. It also provides a forum for young people in Edmonton to communicate with others their own age. One of the most helpful parts of the site is the crisis chat and the crisis forums, where teens can go to chat about their problems or see how others have dealt with their own. It’s free and can be used anonymously.

- from Youthone: not just another project by ‘the Man’ (2002)

When I first spoke with the folks at Worldways about their vision to really embrace social media and online communities, it was as though things were really coming full circle for me. This is why I got into working on the web in the first place: I saw the potential of technology as an alternative communications channel and a way to foster community regardless of physical proximity or ability.

Obviously, accessibility and social media are particular areas of interest to me, and they’re related. Technology can be used not only for entertainment, but also to facilitate communication and gather information, as well as to actually remove barriers for individuals. I am very excited about the opportunity to be able to offer my expertise in online community building and leveraging social media to effect social change.

I hold degrees in Combined Languages (French and Spanish), Digital Communications, and Computer Science. My interest in technology was always been centered around facilitating communication, in creating systems that could have a positive impact on people.

A decade ago I could have never predicted I would be taking a job in “social media”; the term didn’t yet exist. But if I could have described what I wanted to do, this would be it. I’m very excited to take on this new endeavour.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I found out about this position thanks to the listings provided by Forrester Analyst Jeremiah Owyang, whose blog and twitter feed I follow.. an example of social media success in and of itself!

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