An Awesome

future you…

Communities

Portfolio

Life Planning

Networking

Social Media

Bits and Pieces from the Level 6 Web Dev Modulette –2014 – Nia Wearn

You, Online

What is your Personal, Online Brand?• Who are you? – What are you

putting across to other people? Be Clear?

• What are you? – Skills, Passions

• What makes you special? –How do you stand out? Does your life have a narrative that might engage people?

• What makes you do what you want to do?

Your personal brand might

evolve over time – that’s ok, but be aware of it

Think about how the world sees you• Whatever field you’re going into your online

presence is going to be a factor

• The lines between personal and professional space online are horribly blurred

– There’s very little you can do about it

– Be consistent in your approach – but be open to new possibilities

Facebook can still be a private space – just a about – but the lines are blurring ever more since it’s so useful for events & public pages and has successes where others have failed.

Twitter can be a private space, but you’ve no control over who follows you

Reddit can also be a private space but choose your username carefully

• Where we’re going to start our journey

• LinkedIn has been described by online trade publication TechRepublic as having "become the de facto tool for professional networking".

• "LinkedIn is, far and away, the most advantageous social networking tool available to job seekers and business professionals today," according to Forbes.

Your Profile• Keep it updated

– If it still says ‘student’ at Staffordshire University when you graduate you’re doing it wrong

– Don’t just update it when you’re looking for work – keep it current

• Words to avoid– Graduate – your education

history covers this.

– Unemployed – It looks bad and has negative connotations

• Find the right groups for you

• Engage in discussions

• Even a Like can get you noticed / encourage others

Linked In Groups

Facebook Communities

• Increasingly groups on Facebook are used to organise all manner of things

• Ask subject specialists what group’s their members of

• Look for local event groups / hubs

• Think about your voice online

– Who do you interact with

– What do you promote

Twitter

• Take some time to understand how a community works

• Don’t be afraid to join in discussions

• Play your part – it will pay off in the end

Making good use of

Smaller Subreddits can be useful, fewer people / more interaction

My List of games Subreddits

Taking part in events – Games Jams

• What else could you be taking part in?

– How can you use these to your advantage?

• Promotion

• Portfolio

• Skills

• Networking

It goes without saying you should be attending this =D

Future You

Working out a future plan

• Now is a great time to work out what you want to do

– Or what you don’t want to do

• Work out your priorities in life

– What are you willing to do for a job

• Location

• Role

• Company– You need to be open minded

– The Games Industry is a big place

Audit your Skills• Start looking at jobs if you haven’t already

– It will give you a clear idea of where you’re heading

– It will motivate you when times are hard

• A recent Skills audit will be a big help

– If you’re planning to go freelance it will help with working out how much you’re worth per hour

– It will help guide you in the near future at least

Audit your Life• What’s important to you?

• What have you put on the back burner while you’ve been studying?

• What do you need to do to reach your goals?– What have you enjoyed most

in your time here?

• Do an honest SWOT analysis of your life

• Learn how to control your demons

Building in discipline

• If I’ve a lot of work to do I default to the Pomodoro Technique

• There are five basic steps to implementing the technique:– Decide on the task to be done– Set the pomodoro timer to n minutes

(traditionally 25)– Work on the task until the timer rings;

record with an x– Take a short break (3–5 minutes)– After four pomodori, take a longer break

(15–30 minutes)

Hunt around for digital pomodoros, use your phone, a

kitchen timer –whatever works for

you

This is me when I work from home

Giving Back – What else could you be doing?

Raise your profile as an individual

Build your CV

Interact with interesting people

Inspire the next generation of game devs

Help fundraise for worthy causes

Networking

Networking in Real life• IRL Networking goes hand in hand with Digital

Networking– When you meet someone you’re both at a specific point

– Keeping track of each other online means as you move through life you can keep being useful to each other

• Any conference worth it’s salt will have a networking event

• The UK is pretty good for Game Dev Networking meetings

• If there’s nothing local to you, start one up!

So? How do I Network?Nia’s Key Rules for successful Networking

• Find an in – cool t-shirt / trainers / discuss the buffet• Don’t ignore the suits• Keep talking and circulating• Lend a Hand• Don’t be an arrogant twerp• Try not to get Star Struck• Follow up online as soon as you can

– Linked In & Twitter are go to s

– I wouldn’t hit them straight up on Facebook unless they mention it

• Everything and everywhere is a networking opportunity – be prepared

Networking is all about talking to people with a reason

• Who Are They?• What do they do?• Can they / might be

useful to you now / in the future?

Business Cards• Why are paper

business cards still important?

• You’re more likely to get a card in return if you give one

• They are a record of who you’ve been in contact with –and it makes it easier to follow up

Business Cards tips and Tricks

• Keep the info clear & precise

• Make sure it won’t date too quickly

• Quirky is ok, but you want to be taken seriously

• Proof Read it!

Physical needs to be backed up by Digital & Actions- If they ask you to e-mail – do it!

- If they ask you to send something – do it!

- Your e-mail sig should have relevant details in it

Business CardsDo your research – Look at one online / you’ve collectedIt’s worth paying for quality• You can spot Vista Print instantly• Don’t be tempted to print & cut your own

Moo cards are lovely, but small and easily lost

QR codes are pointless on a card – make your website address easy to read / type in

Use high res quality images if you have to• Make sure it’s your art

Your business card is your first impression – and might be the impression someone takes away about you.

Portfolio

Your portfolio

• What purpose does it serve?

• Who is your portfolio for?

• What does it say about me?

You might need to work out a few things first

Basic Website structure

2D Art

3D Art

Contact

An example:

Remember lots of artists have more then one avenue

e.g.

• A professional blog• A tumblr for rough

ideas / sketches• Prints for sale on

Studio 6 or RedBubble

Your website should work for all of the avenues to host your work

Crowdsourced examples of portfolios -

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1N1ufB9nuyzl9nNm814G0FnWGEg2KgsOHWDPyCvkGc

NI/edit?usp=sharing

Websites - Templates• Work out your domain

– Make it stand out

– Future proof it

– Make it easy to remember

• Work out what works for you

– If you go with a template how much freedom does it give you

– How easy is it to update

– Are there hidden costs?

– What about bandwith?

You don’t need to be a HTML wizz- Look at templates- Understand the basic

structure- Don’t be afraid to ask

for help- Work out what can be

hosted elsewhere e.gvideos

http://www.freewebsitetemplates.com/http://www.templatemo.com/

Portfolio Hosting SitesCarbonmade - https://carbonmade.com/Behance - https://www.behance.net/Shown’d - http://shownd.com/

An easy answer – not necessarily free- Benefits from being part of a community- Might make it harder to stand out

Key things to remember

• Don’t get tied up in the HTML

– Use templates / existing blog services

• The address needs to be easy to remember, scribble down at the end of a night’s ‘networking’

• Think about your e-mail address too

What should you put in your portfolio?

• http://games.wiki.staffs.ac.uk/Placements/Examples_of_Portfolios

• https://bbrathwaite.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/what-should-i-have-in-my-portfolio-fall-2009-edition/

• https://bbrathwaite.wordpress.com/2007/10/19/hello-world/

• Do some research – look at other portfolios– DON’T COPY SOMEONE ELSES PORTFOLIO STYLE

• Look at the websites of artists & designers

• It should be YOUR BEST WORK

• WIP is fine, if it's followed up by finished work

• Documentation – in moderation is fine – if it’s backed up by a game – even a prototype

Final Thoughts• How easy are you to find online?

• What communities are you part of?

• What impression do you make in Real Life?

• What Impression do you make On-Line?

• Do you follow up with the people that you network with?

• What are you doing to make your life easier?

• Have you worked out a Life Plan (even for now)