Intern Mentality = Product of Generation Y.

Recent college graduates are very important to have in the work environment. I have been in the real world work force for 8 months and have noticed the benefits of having a young person in the working environment.

Before graduating, many college students must partake in an internship. This gets them real work experience while striving to learn new things. College grads are use to learning new things and bring the intern mentality of learning to their job. Every day I learn something new, whether it is a new computer system, what to wear when meeting the company CEO, and better ways to sell our product.

We like to go to work. Well, we haven’t been doing it for long, so coming in to work in the morning is better than staying up all night writing a term paper. With coffee in our system (probably a skinny cinnamon dolce latte from Starbucks) we enter the office with a tolerable amount of perkiness. Most other employees who have been in the work force are groggy and need an hour to relax in the office before getting started. Intern mentality, generation Y peeps are ready to get started.

College graduates have also gotten the “latest” information in technology and new, innovative and creative ways to make the work place better. It can either be new ways to sell to clients, a creative way to market and how to keep the work environment fun (did anyone say Dance Dance Revolution tournament?)

So, make sure to get a Generation Y as part of your team, we are driven to learn new things and can bring great ideas to your organization.
……………when you hire a person with intern mentality, just make sure you know how to communitcate with us!

(My friend also wrote about being young in the work environment.)

My Own Music Director

I completly understand a Music Directors position; to keep the music that is on the top of the charts playing and to stay within format. But, nothing is more of a free experience than choosing the music you are going to play while you are DJing. When I worked for Y94, in Fargo, ND. I rarely got to chose the music. Well, this makes sense because it is a Top 40's station and we had to stay in format. When listeners would call in, and requested a song, I would mostly answer "I will see what I can do." Unless if the song had not been played within the last hour, is not scheduled for another hour and I could switch it out for an old song (Then I would consider playing it).

When I was the station manager for Kord Radio at Concordia College, Moorhead,MN, I got to play whatever music I liked, except three format songs from CMJ's charts. This was not a problem because I like the music from CMJ. So being a DJ at Kord was a lot of fun and opened me up to new artists and music.

There is a new station in New York, WXRP, that has DJs that chose their own music. “The New York Rock Experience”? From all indicators it is a blend of Classic Rock, Alternative, New Music, and Indie Rock. So you have to check it out, but keep listening to those Top 40 Stations and stations with a format because it is a great way to hear new songs and listen to the genre of music that keeps you going! OK?!?!

Vince Gill “I just got a Grammy from a Beatle, have you got that yet Kanye, have you?” This is just Priceless! Kanye is such a jerk. Ok, I think his music is neat and I really enjoyed him when he first came out on the charts. I made sure that my college radio station, KORD RADIO had his first album. But I think Kanye just manipulates every situation and tries to put himself on top. There is a classy humble way of doing things and then there is an attention getting, big head way of doing things. And pretty soon, Kanye’s head is going to get so big that it will explode.
When watching The Grammy’s I was so annoyed by the way Kanye used his mom’s death as a means for his publicity. At first, I thought it was kinda cool that he shaved MAMA into his hair, but he kept talking. When accepting his award, Kanye gave his props and then kept talking, even as the music started to play. Kanye said, “Are you really going to turn the music on, on me?” And at first, they kept the music going, but then after kanye repeated it again, they turned it off. How could the producers of The Grammy’s respect Kanye after being a jerk? Well, thank goodness for Vince Gill who gave it to Kanye! That made my day!
Thanks for letting me rant, I usually don’t do that!

I know it has been long since I have written last, but I have been working hard on getting people's blood for our hospital. The only music I have been exposed to in the past week was waking up to my alarm clock playing classic rock. Until, my ride into work, I got to thinking about another genre of music....MUSICALS!

On my way into work, I was blaring and singing (skwaking really) to music from Rent. I think musicals are making a comeback with the younger generation, due to High School Musical; which I love!

Music from musicals make great singalongs, in the car or at home. Many people know the words. When I took a road trip to Montana with a couple friends, I think we sang Seasons of Love from Rent more than 100 times. When I am driving along with my boyfriend, we have a great time signing songs from Avenue Q.

There is an emotion to every song in a musical and you can find one song that matches what you are feeling. Singing to musicals is a great way to release your emotions and just have fun!

The Radio Meets the Office!

Something I cannot live without....music! This is especially true when I am sitting in an office, sometimes bored or less motivated. I need music to give me the beat to work to. I usually listen to Mix 107.3 which is a hot adult contemporary station. (We are not allowed to listen to music over the Internet.)

I brought the radio in my second day of work and I have started a fad around the office. Everyone else brought their radio and listens to their own music. It is great! Yay for music!

For a long time, I have wanted a career in radio because I have been an intern and part-timer for many radio stations in the Midwest. Currently, I am not in radio, but work for a non-profit organization.

My heart is still with entertainment, especially the music industry. But, when I met with my mentor in Minneapolis, she was telling me that the best place to go for entertainment is with the Internet. She told me that radio is not dead and will be around for a long time; but, the best way to make a career is with going digital.I do agree with what she is saying, but I do believe in radio. I am very passionate about learning the movement of digital media and how radio can be incorporated with it.

I read an interview with Joseph Jeffe on Hear 2.0's blog where he said that radio is not interactive and a conversational medium. Also, that radio stations do not try new things to stand out above other media. Although I feel he makes really good points and there have to be some new ways to get companies interested in sales with a radio station; radio stations try to converse with their listeners.

For example:
1. I was a part-time DJ for Y94 in Fargo, ND. And during the Halloween time, we made videos about one of the DJ's being haunted. This was only posted on the website for listeners to see.
2. Elliot in the morning of DC101 in Washington takes calls and talks about whatever the listener wants to talk about.
3. Hot99.5 has their own chat on it's website where you can talk to other listeners.
4. DJs also use MySpace or Facebook to connect with listeners.
5. DJ's go out to remotes to promote a club or event and interacts with listeners.

So, I think radio stations are trying new ways to converse with their listeners while using digital media and in-person conversation. Maybe they have not found the best way to converse with listeners, but they are sure trying!

I am a cheerleading coach in Prince George's County, Maryland and my cheerleaders teach me new things everyday! They like to make fun of me because sometimes, being from Minnesota, I just don't know the PG culture. Anyways, they have taught me how to krump. Krumping is fun to do because it releases a lot of energy and it is like your body is having a dance seizure. My cheerleaders make fun of me a lot for that!

Also, they were telling me about a type of music that I didn't know about in DC; It's called Go-Go Music. This type of music originated in DC and uses a lot of percussion especially the conga. Unfortunately, go-go music has such a bad rap because a lot of violence has happened at go-go parties. So you won't be able to really listen to it live, but you can always purchase it on itunes. It's got a great beat!

Love listening to internet radio? Don't have time to listen to it right then? Life Hacker has learned of a new way to record radio or music into an MP3 of that program or song!

DRM is out the door, but some major record labels are working on new ways to stop piracy. I believe that because music is becoming more digital, more people are paying for their music on iTunes. I believe that if the band is good, more people are willing to pay for the music. But, if the music artist is not respected, like Brittany Spears (come on, I just HAD to throw her in! haha), then more people will download the music for free. It is going to be hard to stop piracy, but people who love music are more willing to pay because of respect for the artist. I am sure major labels hate the new wave of digital music. But for me....I love it!