The First Week.

By Jacqui Geday

The past week has been a whirlwind; I got my first full time job, quit my part time job, caught an incredibly horrid stomach bug, started my first full time job, found out my parents were moving to Canada from Singapore, and had an influx of marriage proposals come my way due to the election. Needless to say, life is complicated. Bernadette Jiwa’s blog is not. I’ve chosen to follow her work for the simple reason of simplicity, because goodness knows I need that in my life right now.

The job that I am referring to is as a marketing coordinator for a virtual reality studio (shout out to Lindsay – her sister is my co-worker and her other sister provides the baked goods that serve as my breakfast every morning). It’s the perfect fit for me: primarily English, next to two of my favourite coffee, 30 minutes away from my house, deals closely with Hollywood and their top marketing execs (which is where I want to be in 10 years), and there’s a black retriever named Bilou who roams around the office.

But I had a rather daunting conference call today; the company advisor and my boss listed all the upcoming projects the company has going for them in the next few months. It’s in line with a couple of major film festivals and events. As well, I have to develop press kits that follow the corporate narrative, and then create more press kits for each VR experience. Just to clarify, I’m not complaining. I’m extremely excited to get along with all of this work – but it’s daunting, and again, complicated.

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While sifting through the VR experiences to get a clearer idea on what to focus on, I was met with a sensorial overload – immersion is the name of the game. I’ve been described as an ‘introvert with a hyperactive mind,’ so it’s hard for me to focus on one message to market to the greater population. Do I go with the experience itself? Do I focus on the technology used? How about if I play up the narrative? What could get people’s attention? I concluded that I needed to follow a blog that emphasizes on conveying a message, on the idea that an audience is aware that what they see is what they get, and on making sure that an impact is made in the best way. Jiwa’s blog provides just that.

The post that inspired me to follow her was one called ‘No Success Without Fear.’ It describes how fear of doing something is a sign of you caring about your work. She refers to Elon Musk’s plan of going to Mars, and how if he wasn’t afraid of failure, he wouldn’t be so invested in succeeding. That struck a chord with my current position and me. Frankly, I’m terrified of what’s in store, but the clarity of Jiwa’s three-paragraph post was more than reassuring. And that in itself is incredibly impressive.

In this journey of following her, I hope to be able to be as concise, clear and inspiring as she is with my own work.