Its a Friday night and yet again, I'm home with nothing to do. Back in Canada, something would occupy my Friday nights. A dinner date with my girls, chilling with my family or at work. I'd be doing something! Don't get me wrong, I love NYC, i keep hearing how amazing this city is and all the things I have to do here, but where am i supposed to start? Who's supposed to show me Amazing NYC?! I wish I had the social aspect here, that I had back home. I need the interaction of people my age who are interested in the same things that I am.
I'm very impatient, so I can't help but ask myself if I'm trying to rush meeting friends. Each time I meet a young person, I say to myself, "Maybe this person will be my friend and I'll have a companion!" But so far, it hasn't worked out like that! I have yet to meet someone who I wouldn't mind spending time with after work. Guy or girl!
I'd put my life on it (or all the money that I don't have) that in August I'm going to have so many friends, that I won't want to ever leave NYC. It'd be just my luck that after 3 months in the city, I make no friends and then the month before I go home, I'll meet the man of my dreams or make some life long friends, whom I just cannot leave behind and will miss them dearly once I get back to Toronto.
SO what is this I'm feeling? Is it just the desire to to have a social life? Or am I homesick, cause home is where my social life is...
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Networking
My "work" week ends here, on Thursday! This week has been very productive and I'm liking the way that things are going right now, I'm very optimistic.
I've decided to take in as much of what my "mentor", I'm not sure if I can call him that, or if he knows, Preston Green has said to me. If I want to become this super amazing publicist, I need to network: build and maintain relationships. Preston suggested that I go to Twitter and reach out to people. So I go on Twitter and start following all these random people!
I reach out to some people and people reach out to me. Turns out this intern from GIANT magazine and he's Funk Master Flex's P.A, is following me on Twitter! YAY a friend, finally! Turns out he know's Preston Green too-- small world, even on Twitter!
But the real issue that I'm having with networking, is: I reach out to all these people, they reply to my posts, I know they're well connected, but how do I ask them for anything? Do I say to the E in C of VIBE, "Hey D, I'm here in New York for the summer, I have nothing to do, can I be your friend and come with you to industry parties?" Is there a proper way to network? Or is it as simple as just reaching out to someone and making a connection. If there's a formality to networking, I don't know it!
Its like going up to Jay-Z and giving him your demo. I feel like I'm using them, which is what networking technically is, but "networking" is the formal name. I guess I feel bad for asking them to do things for me cause as an intern, in a new city without a job, I have nothing to offer them.
I need to figure out, how to reach out to people, without feeling guilty, I just hope I'm doing this right...
I've decided to take in as much of what my "mentor", I'm not sure if I can call him that, or if he knows, Preston Green has said to me. If I want to become this super amazing publicist, I need to network: build and maintain relationships. Preston suggested that I go to Twitter and reach out to people. So I go on Twitter and start following all these random people!
I reach out to some people and people reach out to me. Turns out this intern from GIANT magazine and he's Funk Master Flex's P.A, is following me on Twitter! YAY a friend, finally! Turns out he know's Preston Green too-- small world, even on Twitter!
But the real issue that I'm having with networking, is: I reach out to all these people, they reply to my posts, I know they're well connected, but how do I ask them for anything? Do I say to the E in C of VIBE, "Hey D, I'm here in New York for the summer, I have nothing to do, can I be your friend and come with you to industry parties?" Is there a proper way to network? Or is it as simple as just reaching out to someone and making a connection. If there's a formality to networking, I don't know it!
Its like going up to Jay-Z and giving him your demo. I feel like I'm using them, which is what networking technically is, but "networking" is the formal name. I guess I feel bad for asking them to do things for me cause as an intern, in a new city without a job, I have nothing to offer them.
I need to figure out, how to reach out to people, without feeling guilty, I just hope I'm doing this right...
Monday, June 8, 2009
Super Mega Publicist
So I've been out in NYC for about a month now. I know how important it is to maintain my blog. Its like, Twitter, if you never update your Twitter, then who cares?! So I'm promising myself that after today I will make more of an effort to blog more regularly.
Today, I had a meeting with Preston Green of WEA, who helped me get my career path started. One of the first questions he asked me was, "What do you want to do here?" I didn't know! I'd thought that I wasn't in the right department, that maybe doing Corp. Communications wasn't for me. Long story short, by the end I figured out that I PR is where I want to be. So Preston helped me to reach out to Richie Abbott in the WMG L.A offices, who gave me some sound advice: know everything and everyone in every place if PR is where you want to be! He then allowed me to reach out to Nadia Ali in the WMG NY offices, and the idea of a Fall Publicist internship came up!
Now this is something to think about. I want to do it, but I have to think about school and taking this last class that's only offered in Fall and then if I say, "Screw it all!" stay in New York until December, I have to work! I can't go on without being employed! I need to develop a social life, meet and interact with people my own age.
I realized that I wasn't taking this as serious as I should. I need to eat, sleep, breath and shit New York. I just need to make some money to do it! Now I'm trying to follow all who I can on Twitter, mega celebs or not, just people who even in the most miniscule way, could be a possible contact, or will post info about an event I can go to and network that way. I need to eat, sleep, breath XXL, Source, Vibe, AllHipHop.com and let this life and culture consume me.
So now what? Am I on the road to becoming a super mega- publicist? I sure as heck hope so! All thanks to Mr. Preston Green!
Today, I had a meeting with Preston Green of WEA, who helped me get my career path started. One of the first questions he asked me was, "What do you want to do here?" I didn't know! I'd thought that I wasn't in the right department, that maybe doing Corp. Communications wasn't for me. Long story short, by the end I figured out that I PR is where I want to be. So Preston helped me to reach out to Richie Abbott in the WMG L.A offices, who gave me some sound advice: know everything and everyone in every place if PR is where you want to be! He then allowed me to reach out to Nadia Ali in the WMG NY offices, and the idea of a Fall Publicist internship came up!
Now this is something to think about. I want to do it, but I have to think about school and taking this last class that's only offered in Fall and then if I say, "Screw it all!" stay in New York until December, I have to work! I can't go on without being employed! I need to develop a social life, meet and interact with people my own age.
I realized that I wasn't taking this as serious as I should. I need to eat, sleep, breath and shit New York. I just need to make some money to do it! Now I'm trying to follow all who I can on Twitter, mega celebs or not, just people who even in the most miniscule way, could be a possible contact, or will post info about an event I can go to and network that way. I need to eat, sleep, breath XXL, Source, Vibe, AllHipHop.com and let this life and culture consume me.
So now what? Am I on the road to becoming a super mega- publicist? I sure as heck hope so! All thanks to Mr. Preston Green!
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